Q&A from the Bais HaVaad Halacha Hotline

In Suspense

May 18, 2023

Q There is a hammock in my backyard, hanging between two trees. May we lie in it on Shabbos?

A Chazal forbade climbing on trees on Shabbos, lest one pull off a branch or a fruit and violate the melacha of kotzeir (Beitzah 36b). Included in the decree is using a tree in any way, including leaning on it (Mishnah Brurah 336:2), placing something on it, or hanging something from it (Shulchan Aruch ibid.).

If something is affixed to a tree, it is treated like the tree itself and may not be used (ibid. 13). A typical hammock may therefore not be used on Shabbos. But there is a manner in which it would be permitted: The Shulchan Aruch (ibid.) says that one may climb a ladder that is leaning on a nail affixed to a tree, as the ladder is separate from the tree. So if you hammer a peg into a tree and tie the hammock rope to the peg, you could lie in the hammock on Shabbos. (Tying a second rope to the existing rope is not a viable solution, because the second rope would be viewed as part of the hammock; see Shmiras Shabbos Kehilchasah perek 26 n. 58.) The hammock must be hung before Shabbos, as hanging the hammock on the peg is considered direct use of the tree (Mishnah Brurah ibid. 60). Only a solid tree that doesn’t shake when you lie down may be used, because moving the tree this way is considered direct use of it (Mishnah Brurah ibid. 63).

According to some Rishonim, a visibly dead tree is not subject to the prohibition, because there is no concern of kotzeir (Mishnah Brurah ibid. 1). But the halacha follows those Rishonim that don’t differentiate between them (Shulchan Aruch ibid. 1).