Is a helium balloon muktzeh?
Answer:
A helium balloon does not fall under any of the muktzeh categories, and it is permitted to move it/play with it on Shabbos.
Sources: A balloon is something that may be used on Shabbos, involving no prohibited labors, just like other simple toys. Beis Yosef, Orach Chaim 308:44 discusses the status of a wooden ball on Shabbos, but the reasoning mentioned in connection with the ball would not apply to a balloon.
Would one be chayav a chatus for taking a helium balloon outside bring that it carries itself?
No. Because the balloon carries itself, there will be no Chiyuv Chatas, because you are not carrying it but only “guiding it.”
This is clear from the Gemara concerning children, for whom there is no Torah labor in carrying, since “somebody who is alive carries himself.”
However, a rabbinic prohibition applies.
Best wishes.
What about using a helium tank? My son wants to do something with this for Seder, which is also on Shabbat.
baloons may not be filled on Shabbos, if there is some other permissible use for helium on Shabbos it would permissible to use.
Leave a comment