Arukh HaShulchan, Orach Chaim 301:100-106

Sugya Map: The Status of Kli in Hotza’ah

• Issue: Does a vessel (kli) lose its classification as a "vessel" when it is broken, thereby altering the issur hotza’ah (carrying) in a reshut harabim?
• Nafka Mina: Whether one is chayav for carrying fragments of a kli that are no longer functional but still possess material utility.
• Sources: Mishna Shabbat 10:11; Rambam, Hilchot Shabbat 18:7; Arukh HaShulchan, OC 301:100-106.

Text Snapshot

• Arukh HaShulchan 301:100: "דכל שאינו ראוי למלאכתו – אינו כלי." (Whatever is not fit for its work—is not a vessel.)
• Leshon Nuance: The AHS insists on re’uy l’melachto. If the kli is functionally "dead" (batel), it ceases to be a kli in the eyes of hilchot Shabbat, rendering its transport potentially permitted (or at least not k’derech hotza’ah).

Readings

• Rambam (Hilchot Shabbat 18:7): Posits that if a vessel is broken such that it cannot perform its original function, it is batel. The chiddush is that shem kli is functional, not ontological.
• Arukh HaShulchan (301:106): Argues that even if the object is batu’l from its major function, if it retains a secondary tashmish (utility), it retains shem kli. The chiddush: Functionality is a spectrum, not a binary.

Friction

• Kushya: If a shard of glass is sharp enough to cut, is it a kli (a tool)? If yes, chayav. If no, patur.
• Terutz: The AHS distinguishes between melechet kli (intended design) and tashmish (incidental use). If the fragment lacks hiddur or design, it is pesolet (refuse), and carrying it is patur.

Intertext

• Shulchan Aruch, OC 308:3: Discusses keli she-melachto l'issur. The AHS synthesis here aligns with the principle that shem kli follows current utility (re’uy l’melachto).

Psak/Practice

The AHS heuristic: If an object is discarded and functionally useless for its primary purpose, it is avanim (stones/debris). Do not carry it. If it retains any secondary utility, it retains shem kli and carries the prohibition of hotza’ah.

Takeaway

Halachic status is not inherent to the object; it is a derivative of functional viability. If it serves no purpose, it is not a kli; if it is not a kli, the prohibition of hotza’ah (which requires a kli) evaporates.