30 Sep DIRTY LAUNDRY ON CHOL HA-MOED

Does the
prohibition against
washing dirty
clothes on Chol
Ha-Mo’ed, the
intermediate days
of the holiday, still
apply today when doing laundry is
relatively quick and easy?1 In theory,
washing laundry always should be
allowed on Chol Ha-Mo’ed. Generally
speaking, simple work needed for the
day is allowed. If you run out of clean
clothes, you need to do laundry so you
can wear clean clothes on the holiday.
However, the Sages enacted a special
prohibition forbidding the washing of
laundry on Chol Ha-Mo’ed to ensure
that we wash our clothes before the
holiday (Mo’ed Katan 14a). Built into
this rabbinic prohibition are specific
exceptions, including someone with
only one garment. Even if he washes
it before the holiday, he will have to
wash it again in Chol Ha-Mo’ed.
Times have changed since the Talmud.
In olden times, washing laundry took

hours. You had to take the clothes to
a water source (river or stream), hand
wash every item, hang then to dry
and then press them. It was common
to wear clothes for many days before
placing them aside for laundry.
Today, plumbing and technology have
turned laundry into a relatively quick
experience. The washing machine
and dryer do all the work. We just
have to carry and fold, and perhaps
iron shirts if necessary. Most people
today wear clothes once and then place
them aside for laundry, particularly
undergarments. Do we still have to
follow this ancient enactment? If so,
we need enough undergarments to
last every day of the holiday without
washing.
The simple answer is yes; the
enactment remains in place because we
cannot remove it. However, to some
degree, the reason for the enactment
still applies despite the advances in
technology. With all the preparations
for Yom Tov, it would be easy to delay
work like laundry. But that would

leave us entering Yom Tov without
newly laundered clothing (see Rav

Yekusiel Farkas, Chol Ha-Mo’ed Ke-
Hilchaso 5:3 n. 8). We must prepare

for the entire holiday by washing our
clothes rather than waiting until Chol
Ha-Mo’ed.
However, given the changed behavior
patterns regarding clean clothes,
perhaps another leniency applies.
On the one hand, we change our
clothes every day, certainly our
undergarments. Technology makes
laundry much quicker and easier. On
the other, clothing is less expensive.
If for whatever reason, a person runs
out of clean undergarments on Chol
Ha-Mo’ed, he usually can buy plenty
of new undergarments for less than
$20. Most people will find that a minor
expense. For people who can easily
afford new undergarments but run out

of clean undergarments on Chol Ha-
Mo’ed, can they do a quick laundry or

should they pop into a store (or shop
online with overnight delivery)?
Among the exceptions to the

prohibition of laundry on Chol Ha-
Mo’ed, the Mishnah (Mo’ed Katan

14a, 18a) includes a person’s only
outergarment and hand towels, which
get dirty very quickly and even in
ancient times could not be reused
on multiple days. The Chayei Adam
(110:2) extends this to handkerchiefs
used for blowing your nose, which also
get dirty quickly. Do undergarments
today have the same status as hand
towels and handkerchiefs?
Rav Ovadiah Yosef (Yalkut Yosef,
Yom Tov, p. 198, cited in R. David
Brofsky, Hilchot Mo’adim, p. 658 n.
25) rules that because undergarments
are changed every day, you may wash
them on Chol Ha-Mo’ed if you run
out of clean undergarments. Similarly,
Rav Asher Bush (Sho’el Bi-Shlomo,
no. 31) rules that if you prepare for
Yom Tov properly by doing laundry
but run out of clean undergarments,
you may wash dirty undergarments
(but nothing else) on Chol Ha-Mo’ed.
However, Rav Dovid Zucker and Rav
Moshe Francis, the authors of Chol
Hamoed: A Comprehensive Review
of the Laws of the Intermediate
Days of the Festivals, sent a number
of questions to various authorities.

Among the responses from Rav Moshe
Stern is a ruling on this subject (p.
184, no. 22). Rav Stern writes that
he does not want to permit it outright
because clothes are inexpensive in
this country. But if there is a great
need, people should be advised to ask
their rabbi who can permit based on
the above reasons. Rav Zucker and
Rav Francis summarize this ruling
(p. 47): “If the supply of a particular
item does become depleted on Chol
HaMoed, usually the only recourse is
to purchase whatever is needed for the
festival. (If purchasing is difficult or
unduly expensive, competent Rabbinic
opinion should be sought.)”
Interestingly, Rav Yekusiel Farkas,
in his Chol Ha-Mo’ed Ke-Hilchaso
(5:11 #3) rules that someone who runs
out of clean socks can wash them on
Chol Ha-Mo’ed. As a source for this
leniency, he quotes Rav Moshe Stern’s
response to the authors of the book,
Chol Hamoed. Rav Stern was actually
less lenient, which is why the authors
advised purchasing new clothes over
washing dirty clothes.
Rav Farkas also quotes Rav Yehoshua
Neuwirth, who permits washing
socks Chol Ha-Mo’ed if you run out
of clean socks (Shemiras Shabbos
Ke-Hilchasah 66:66). However, Rav
Neuwirth (n. 260) points out that
we know how long the holiday lasts
and roughly how much clothing we
will need. If you fail to prepare in
advance by cleaning them before the
holiday, you may not wash them on
Chol Ha-Mo’ed. That is precisely how
the original enactment was set up, to
ensure we prepare for the holiday in
advance.