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We are continuing in siman 4, where the Chayei Adam introduced the problem of a woman who forgot to cut her nails before Shabbos and needs to go to the mikvah Friday Night.
The Chayei Adam writes that one should ask a non-Jew to cut them with a shinui, such as biting them off. It is a shvus d’shvus (amira l’achum and biting them) b’makom mitzvah, so it is muttar. If a non-Jew is not available, she should clean her nails well and go to the mikvah without cutting them.
The Chayei Adam is not willing to permit asking a non-Jew to cut them with a kli. This point is a machlokes Shach and Taz, as we learned. One opinion is that removing fingernails is a melacha she’eina tzricha legufah, since the fingernails are not needed. If so, removing the nails itself is a derabanan, so asking a non-Jew to remove them creates a shvus d’shvus b’makom mitzvah.
There are a few concerns with this approach. The Baal Hamaor points out that gozeiz is mentioned throughout the Mishnayos within the context of cutting nails and hair, even though the nails and hair are not inherently needed. Therefore, he concludes that gozeiz is an exception, and since the primary purpose of this melacha is a melacha she’eina tzricha legufa, it must be that melacha she’eina tzricha legufa will be chayav. In a similar manner, the primary melacha of borer is to take bad from good, and taking good from bad is muttar. However, taking bad from good is a melacha she’eina tzricha legufah, because the item being taken is not being used. Therefore, the Baal Hamaor concludes that borrer is also a situation in which melacha she’eina tzricha legufah is chayav.
The Ramban disagrees, because there is no mention in the Gemara of exceptions to the machlokes of melacha she’eina tzricha legufah. Rav Shimon, who holds melacha she’eina tzricha legufa is patur, does not appear to differentiate in any way. Therefore, the Ramban concludes that there is a mistaken premise. When a person performs an act of gozeiz, it is not only done to the hair, but to the body as well, because one takes the hair off of the body. Hence, the maaseh is being done to both the hair and body simultaneously, and inasmuch that the body benefits from the removal of the hair it is considered a melacha hatzricha legufa, and that is why one is chayav for the melacha. (He points out that this is true for borrer as well, since the good and bad are in a taaruvos, it is one unit, and the removal of the pesoles is being done to the whole taaruvos.)
The Rivash offers another approach. He writes that gozeiz was performed in the Mishkan for two purposes, in order to have hair and wool to create things, and to remove hair from hides to make the hides look nicer. If so, we see that the inherent melacha of gozeiz applies to the hide and not just to the hair, so it must be that the act of gozeiz was a melacha hatzricha legufa for the hides as well as for the hair or wool itself.
The Biur Halacha offers another possibility of heter. He writes that even if one accepts the Ramban, that gozeiz for the benefit of the body is a melacha hatzricha legufa, a woman cutting her nails for the mikvah is still a melacha she’eina tzricha legufa. In all likelihood, the woman is perfectly fine with her nails the way they are, and she is only cutting them because of the halacha. If so, she is not doing it for her body, but for the external purpose of halacha, so it is still a melacha she’eina tzricha legufah. If so, amira l’achum for the non-Jew to use a kli should be muttar, because the two levels of derabanan are the amira and the inherent cutting of the nails in this situation. The Biur Halacha concludes that one can rely on this psak when needed, based on this sevara.
It is important to note that whether there is a heter of shvus d’shvus b’makom mitzvah in regards to a melacha she’eina tzricha legufah is a machlokes itself, as arguably melacha she’eina tzricha legufah is more chamur than most derabbanans, but the Mishnah Berurah relies on it in multiple places, so it appears to be muttar.
Summary
There is a machlokes regarding what a woman should do if she forgot to cut her nails before Shabbos and needs to go to the mikvah. The Chayei Adam holds that she should either instruct a non-Jew to cut them with a shinui, or, if there is no non-Jew available, clean them well and go to the mikvah without cutting them. When necessary, we rely on the poskim who allow for asking a non-Jew to cut them with a kli.
