Am I going to gehenim?

Biting nails with thy teeth as opposed to nail clippers or some pair of scissors is Osuur mi’deRabbonon, so doesn’t carry an Issur Sekilo for Schabbos nor an Issur Koreis for Yom kippur as would a Toroh prohibition.

Don’t say you can’t do teshuva. there’s no such thing. Everyone in this world has free choice and its up to you and only you to stop or continue. No matter how long you’ve been doing it

If you are on the subway headed “inbound”, then the answer is obviously “yes.”

Harri,they punish in Gehennom even those who do issurim de’Rabbonon. Much hatzlochah in your struggle! Daven for help. At least, you have the right hashkofos aready.

Pharmacies sell some substance to dissuade nail biting. It’s something you apply (similar to how you would nail polish) that tastes horrible, so you get turned off. I don’t recall what it’s called or how effective it is. I also don’t know if it would last for a three day Yom Tov, but it’s probably worth your while to look into it and try to break the habit. You can also try making your own concoction, I’d assume with cayenne pepper–you can search online for ideas.

Yekke2: Ra”e holds that it is an avairoh, just no chiyuv korban. I believe that R’ Chaim held not

Harri: If you Mamash don’t notice it then you are a Misasek and completely Pattur. Just make sure to stop the second you notice it.

What do you do with the pieces? Eat them? Throw them on the ground? I had this problem years ago (maybe not as severe as you, but also biting nails since childhood – which is a nervous habit) and I spoke to a rabbi about it. He told me that if I’m eating the nails, they have tumah and that I’m putting the tumah into my body. If you are leaving them on the floor, then there are issues with a pregnant woman walking over them. Maybe if you focus on what are the consequences in this world of what you are doing it will help give you a sufficient deterrent. It’s not always possible to worry about what’s going to happen after you die unless you are already ill with a terminal illness, since then death has more of a reality to it than something that will happen “eventually”. This finally got me to stop biting my nails.

Another thing would be to see if you can figure out why you do it? As I said above, it is usually a nervous habit. When you find yourself that you are already biting them without realizing it, as you put it? If you are doing it out of stress, see if there are ways to lower your stress level before it gets to the point that you start biting.

Hatzlacha finding a solution to your problem.

There is a product out there called ‘bite it’ you might want to try

Everyone struggles with different things. Just do your best, and if you get up there and they bother you too much about it, scream for the Shach, and when he comes, tell him he should explain to them that what you did was a ????? ????? ????? ?????.

> but after a few seconds i peel off the hanging half. or even sometimes “even out” one finger with a longer nail to match one with a smaller nail (since i bit that one.)

I used to have a similar problem. Part of the obsession is ensuring the nails are about the same length. Here’s what I did, it may work for you:

Try your very hardest not to bite them for one day. Then cut them with proper nail cutters (not scissors). Your nails with be smooth and even for the first time in ages! When you next bite them, notice how they won’t ever be as even as the cut nails, so don’t bite then quite so deep and then recut them with nail cutters. Hopefully, you will find as I did that nail cutters leave them much more even than teeth and biting only ruins the symmetry rather than helping.

Best of luck!

Harri: If you’re that worried about this, perhaps speak to a Rov who might want to recommend a psychiatrist for anxiety issues. That aside, it’s still not Assur. Just stop as soon as you realize what you’re doing. If you start again without realizing a minute later, stop again as soon as you realize what you’re doing. I find it quite improbable that you’re this worried about it and are still actually willfully and intentionally doing it.

harri –

No one really agrees with him, but the Shach in Nekudos Hakesef in YD 198 taynahs that cutting nails is generally a melacha she-eina tzricha legufa, and that theoretically biting nails should be permitted.

Try wearing gloves?

Even if one is ????it is an ????? on Shabbos to be ?????, if it is ????? (see above) the ?????? says that there is no such thing as being ???? ????? on a ?????. (See ???? ?????)

Nechoma, I had heard that the problem of a pregnant woman stepping on nails is only for normally cut nails, not bitten. I don’t remember where I heard this but if true it would minimize the issue and would probably also take care of “eating tumah” which I had never heard of. Do any of the CRabbis here know this halacha?

What does he do with the Mishna?

I think the Ramban ties together doing it for the sake of the person as in cutting nails and hair with cutting for the sake of what you get, as in wool. But you can argue that biting nails is for neither, which will make it Eino Tzricha Legufa which is a Derabanan according to Rebbi Shimon. Couple that with the Derabanan of not doing it Bikeli. Makom Tzaar…

yekke: Bimchilas K’vodcha, you are confusing several issues here. Biting nails on Shabbos is a Misasek because you are not at all paying attention to what you are doing. That is called a Misasek. We can get in to more detailed definitions (maybe we say Misasek by the Prat of an action, for example by Niskavein Lachtoch Es HaTalush), but the basic definition is if you have no Shaychus to the action being done.

Also, I’m not sure what your point by Niskavein L’hatiach is. That’s still a Misaseik, it’s just Chayav because SheKein Neheneh.

It seems like you bite your nails, maybe b/c of anxiety, but instead of asking for help, you want to know if you should feel anxious about the repercussions for it!

Try to find some time to relax, either deep breathing, exercise, or a hobby. Definitely take a walk on shabbos, where you can relax your mind and stay off your nail biting.

I hope that it’s therapeutic for you to air your question in the cr; I also hope that you are not constantly concerned with the hot place. While it’s important to know, learn and remember schar veonesh, it’s unhealthy to live a life of anxiety based on it. Instead focus on ahavas Hashem, how you are trying to break a bad habit because you love Hashem and are trying to please Him.

Fear of G-d is a great treasure and asset.

The vast majority of my generation has very little fear of G-d.

Some people here are so ignorant. Maybe first look up things like tourettes syndrome and trichotillomania and then talk. These are anxiety compulsions that can only be slightly controlled.

As for Shabbos, nail biting and hair pulling is midirabanan.

Second, compulsions are anus. The gemara in Eiruvin discusses similar situations.

Third, dirabanans are mutar in cases of tzar. The anxiety of compulsions is a great tzar.

This does not mean that we should do these things lichatchila. But if one ends up doing it because of an anxiety compulsion, it is not a an issur.

On the other side, these kind of issur look alikes might stem from or be suggestive of deeper issues, so it is always something to you need to be mifashfesh.

These things are also always meant to humble a person.

Outsider. My post was not in reply to yours at all. I see now that it can seem that way. I actually think we are on the same page.

From many of the posts it seems like there is little understanding about compulsive disorders (which the OP seems to have). They are not controllable. Yes, for a few minutes or sometimes hours or even a whole day, but by and large it cannot be controlled.

3 compulsive anxiety disorders that everyone should read more about are OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), tourettes syndrome (vocal and motor tics), and trichotillomania (obsessive hair pulling).

There is also little understanding of hilchos shabbos. Compulsions are not misasek. A person may start off not knowing, but then they do know what they are doing and can’t stop. Compulsions are anus, not misasek. In gemarah times it was called ruach raah. See Eiruvin 41b.

I was not discussing the effects of medicine on these disorders. Medicine is always an option, but its effects are somewhat of a mixed bag.

>> I know it’s not their way to study “worldly” things,

>> but on the Outside, if you argue against the world’s

>> age, you are a total religious anomaly.

46% of Americans and 58% Republicans believe in Creation less then 6,000 years ago. Most Americans respect Torah which they call Old Testament.

Lost, that might be true, but quite frankly, I don’t care what the “average population” believes. Heck, they even voted for George W. Bush. What does that tell you?

95% of scientists see the truth about evolution for what it is.

If you want the real answers you have to ask the experts about what is measurable and observable within reasonable parameters.

Maimondies knew this.

Let me ask you this. Would you ask a Native American Shaman about a cure for cancer? Of course not. You would ask a doctor who has studied and observed cancer for the majority of his career.

………..

Gentlemen, I would also like add that I really am impressed by the level of knowledge that young men have about Torah. Since we’re a small shul, our Rabbi tries to bring in guests from a larger nearby city over Shabbat to insure that we have minyanim. I don’t want to appear like I’m putting anyone down.

(ooops… and you ladies too, but we really don’t get too many women guests that talk to me, so I can’t speak from experience)