Daily Halacha - Is a Woman Permitted to Do Laundry on Friday?

Is a woman permitted to do laundry on Friday?

According to the ordinance of Ezra the Scribe, laundry should be done on Thursday so that people won't be burdened with the labor of washing on Friday. However, nowadays with washing machines, this decree was never applied as it is similar to giving clothes to a non-Jew to wash on Friday. Nevertheless, if a woman washes clothes by hand, it is proper to be stringent unless it is needed for Shabbat [Shulchan Aruch 242, Yechaveh Da'at 3, 18].

Some say that according to Ezra's ordinance, it is forbidden to wear on Shabbat a garment that was worn the previous Shabbat if it wasn't washed [as inferred from the language of the Mishnah Berurah 242:5]. However, in practice, one may be lenient [Piskei Teshuvot 242 in the note].

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