Hello,
I have questions about Muktzeh and how to relate to it.
1. Is the prayer of someone wearing pants with Muktzeh items invalid? Let me give an example. If you go to Friday night service and you have in your pocket Muktzeh items like car keys of doubtful Muktzeh like a cellphone (I said doubtful because in my opinion it seems that the status depends on the use you give to it and if the person sees electricity as fire, etc). Since you are carrying them and wearing something that covers you is essential for prayer to be valid, and the clothes you are wearing may be Muktzeh, is prayer still valid?
2. Is a keychain that contains all your house keys and the car key as well necessarily Muktzeh? I read it depends on most important keys.
3. What is really Muktzeh? I read the S”A and it seems that everything is permitted except for thinks that you don’t move because they are very expensive and have just one function, like a shochet knife. At home we barely have things like this and it seems that if you plan to use something and it doesn’t cause a real melacha it is permitted.
Thank you!
That’s exactly the reason why I asked this question. In the current observant world everything is treated as Muktzeh and this sometimes leads to a very very unhealthy OCD. I suffered from that before.
When I learned more about the topic I realized that it isn’t black and white and it depends, as you mentioned, on the Halakhic opinions you hold to and on what you already plan to use on Shabbat for certain permitted things. It seems that it can be very relative except for things that are definitely used mainly or only for forbidden activities or that have no use whatsoever on Shabbat, like stones or coins or rubbish, right?
But even when this items cannot be moved, you can moved for permitted activities or their place and even those with no use can be moved if they cause you stress or are disgusting (like a wet clothes that may look messy for you or others, or dirt and rubbish in the table, etc) correct?
The laws of Muktzeh are very complex, but the basic idea is that something is Muktzeh when its primary use is for an activity forbidden on Shabbat — for example, a plow (forbidden to plow on Shabbat) or a lit candelabra. Such items may not be moved on Shabbat, though you may touch them.
Many common items people worry about are not really Muktzeh. If there are major halachic opinions that allow using an item on Shabbat (like tefillin, electricity, or even just sitting in a car), it cannot truly be considered Muktzeh. A car key, for example, can still be used to open the door, so it is not automatically Muktzeh.
And even if you accidentally carry something that might be Muktzeh in your pocket, that does not invalidate your prayer. You should still pray, because your tefillah is about connecting to Hashem — not about whether your pocket is perfect.