05 Sep ARE BOOK DARTS KOSHER?

\Book darts are
bookmarkers that hold
your spot in a book. They
can be used to mark the
page or even the specific
line on a page for your
future reference. Are
you allowed to use them
on Shabbos? In order to
research this subject, I purchased the elegant
“18forty: I Read This Over Shabbos” branded
book darts to see how they work and whether
they are acceptable for Shabbos reading.
Before receiving the package, I had broken
down this question into two parts. Below I
will explain how I revised this analysis after
using the book darts.
I. The Pampers Question
In 1971, Pampers released disposable diapers
with adhesive tape. In those days, the tape
only sealed once. This meant that parents had
only one chance to seal the diapers properly.
Rambam (Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Shabbos
10:11) forbids gluing together paper using
“scribe’s glue” (kolan shel soferim) because
that constitutes sewing, even without a needle
and thread. Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim
340:14) rules likewise. This means that it
is forbidden to tape things together because
of the Shabbos labor of sewing (tofer), and
it is forbidden to rip off the tape because of
the opposite labor of tearing (korei’a). For

this reason, most halachic authorities only
allow using this type of disposable diapers on
Shabbos with safety pins.
In 1982, Huggies developed refastenable
adhesives. This allowed parents to open and
close the diapers multiple times. It means
that sticking the tape was only temporary,
which bears halachic significance. Rav
Avraham Gombiner (17th cen., Poland;
Magen Avraham 340:18) allows sticking and
unsticking of glue if it is only temporary (this
is a simplification of the issue). Therefore, in
theory the adhesive should be permitted on
Shabbos. However, the first unsticking of
the tape is potentially problematic. The tape
was covered with plastic in the factory and
remained there for days if not weeks.
Rav Eliezer Waldenberg (Tzitz Eliezer
16:6:5) considers this factory sticking
problematic and forbids unsticking it on
Shabbos. Rather, he requires a parent to
prepare disposable diapers before Shabbos
by unsticking and then resticking them
temporarily. Shemiras Shabbos Ke-Hilchasah
(15:81) rules similarly. Indeed, when my
older children were little, part of my Shabbos
preparations was taking a pile of unused
diapers and unsticking and resticking the
adhesive so we could use them on Shabbos.
Some other authorities were more lenient.
Rav Ovadiah Yosef (Yechaveh Da’as 6:24)
does not require preparing disposable

diapers before Shabbos. Rav Yosef Kafach,
in an unnumbered footnote to his edition of
Mishneh Torah (Hilchos Shabbos 10:11),
argues that diaper adhesives do not fall under
Rambam’s term “scribe’s glue” (kolan shel
soferim) and therefore closing and opening
adhesive diapers is completely permitted.
All of this changed in the late 1990’s, when
a velcro-like system became widely used in
disposable diapers. Nearly all authorities
agree that this does not fall under the Shabbos
labor of sewing.
II. Bookmarks and Post-It Notes
Presumably, this same discussion applies
to Post-It Notes and similar brands, when
the notes are connected only by adhesives.
Pulling off a note is similar to unsticking a
diaper for the first time, which is problematic
according to many authorities. Sticking
and unsticking a note after the first time is

different from a diaper in the sense that Post-
It Notes are usually used once for a few days

and then thrown out whereas diapers are
always used for only a few hours. Therefore,
diapers are temporary while notes usually are
not. For this reason, some authorities prohibit
the use of Post-It Notes on Shabbos (heard in
the name of Rav Zvi Sobolofsky). However,
Rav Yisrael David Harfenes (Nishmas
Shabbos 7:206) allows using a Post-It Note as
a bookmark if you prepare it by unsticking it
the first time before Shabbos. Then he allows
using it again on Shabbos to mark your
place in the book without concern for the
Shabbos labor of sewing because these
are temporary placeholders that you move
often.
Initially, I thought that book darts are
like Post-It Notes. If so, I would only use
them if I unstick them for the first time
before Shabbos. However, after receiving
them, I saw that they are not adhesives at
all. Rather, as one website describes the
product, book darts are “precision-cut,
paper-thin metal line markers that attach
easily to any page without damaging it.”
They are clips, like bobby pins but flat,
smooth and shaped like an arrow.
However, perhaps there is another
problem of preparing for after Shabbos.
It is forbidden on Shabbos to prepare for
after Shabbos. Is it permissible to place
a bookmark or a book dart in a book to
remember your place? Shulchan Aruch
(Orach Chaim 340:5) permits making
a mark in a paper with your fingernail.
Mishnah Berurah (ad loc., 25) says that
this only applied to paper from long ago
that was hard and the mark did not last.
However, it is forbidden to make a mark
in paper with a fingernail today because
the mark is more permanent. Setting
aside the issue of the type of paper, the
discussion seems to imply that there is no
problem of preparation for after Shabbos.
For this reason, some authorities permit
folding the corner of a page (dog ear) in
order to remember the page. Rav Yisrael
David Harfenes (Nishmas Shabbos

4:393) suggests that this is not considered
preparation for after Shabbos because it
involves no effort. He questions, however,
whether you are allowed to get up and get a
piece of paper or bookmark to put inside the
book to mark the page because of the effort
you exert.
Rav Avraham David Horowitz (Kinyan
Torah Ba-Halachah 2:116:2) says that if you
insert a piece of paper or something similar to
mark a place in a book of Torah teachings on
Shabbos, this is permissible because it is for
a mitzvah. He adds that this was the practice
of Torah leaders throughout the generations.
Rav Mordechai Eliyahu (Responsa Ma’amar
Mordechai 4:108) quotes a tradition from
Rav Yosef Chaim of Baghdad that when he
had a creative interpretation on Shabbos, he
inserted a fruit pit into a book to mark the
place and then after Shabbos would write
down his thoughts. Rav Eliyahu deduces
from this story that it is permissible to insert
a bookmark. Additionally, Rav Eliyahu
deduces that Rav Yosef Chaim did not feel
comfortable folding the corner of the page,
presumably because it leaves a permanent
mark. Rav Ephraim Greenblatt (Rivevos
Ephraim 1:238:11) quotes Rav Yehoshua
Neuwirth, Rav Binyamin Zilber and Rav
Yisrael Porat as allowing bending the corner
of a page on Shabbos in theory but not
allowing it on a Torah book even during the
week because it is disrespectful.
It seems that most authorities would allow
the use of book darts and bookmarks on
Shabbos because it does not constitute
preparation for after Shabbos. Additionally,
when I use bookmarks on Shabbos, I often
refer back to the book on Shabbos. In other
words, placing the bookmark or book dart is
for Shabbos itself and not (just) preparation
for after Shabbos.