Question:
1. Lets say I am playing a card game with my children on Shabbos. If I am holding a hand of cards and want to look through them to see what I have, I may need to spread the cards out or move them around within my hand. In this situation, I am not removing any cards, discarding cards, or setting anything aside—just shifting and shuffling them so I can view each one. Is there any concern of Borer simply from rearranging or spreading the cards within my hand in order to examine them?
2. Many games require that if I have a certain card, I take it out of my hand and place it on the table—either to show a match, complete a play, or follow the rules of the game. In that case, I am selecting one card from among the others, but I am doing so for the immediate purpose of the game, not to organize or sort the cards for later. Is taking a card from my hand and placing it on the table considered a permitted act of selecting “for immediate use,” or is there still a concern for Borer since I am removing a specific card from the group in my hand?
Answer:
Hello,
- It is not considered borer, because you want all of the cards for now, and they are all good. A second reason is that even if the “bad” card is rearranged[1], but still in the mixture, it is not borer, as long as it wasn’t separated from the good.
- It is permitted, because you took that card for whatever use you had for it right now, therefore it is allowed.
Best wishes
Sources:
[1] שביתת השבת בורר ס"ק ל"ד הגר"ז בסידורו וכן משמעות פמ"ג סי' של"ט בא"א ס"ק י"ב, וכן בארחות שבת פ"ג אות מ"ה-מ"ז.
