Siman 260

It is written: "And my soul is cast off from peace, I have forgotten goodness," and our sages of blessed memory expounded in Shabbat (25b): "And my soul is cast off from peace" — this refers to the lighting of the candle on Shabbat; "I have forgotten goodness" — this refers to the bathhouse or the washing of hands and feet with hot water on the eve of Shabbat. Therefore, the majority of Israel are accustomed to go to the bathhouse on the eve of Shabbat, for the sake of the honor of Shabbat. And some are accustomed to also immerse in a mikveh because of the sanctity of Shabbat, and happy is their lot, for through this they draw upon themselves an abundance of sanctity from the holy Shabbat, and they also wear a white shirt in honor of Shabbat.

And this is what the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch wrote: "It is a mitzvah for every person to wash his entire body in hot water on Erev Shabbat, and if it is impossible for him, he should wash his face, his hands, and his feet," see there. And in the Gemara they did not mention "face," for this is a simple matter, as we have already learned there (50b): "A person washes his face, his hands, and his feet every day, for the sake of his Maker," see there. And so it is stated there regarding Rabbi Yehuda, that every Erev Shabbat they would bring him a tub full of hot water, and he would wash his face, his hands, and his feet, see there. And the fact that they did not include the face in "I have forgotten prosperity," is not because the face does not require it, but rather because the face is not included in "prosperity." That is to say, that hands and feet in hot water toward evening was a remedy, as we say there (108b): "Better is a drop of cold water in the morning, and washing hands and feet in hot water in the evening, than all the eye-salves in the world," see there, and the verse is not dealing with Erev Shabbat, therefore it did not say "face." And behold, it is certainly so that a bathhouse to wash his entire body is a greater mitzvah than washing his face, his hands, and his feet, and as for why Rabbi Yehuda did not do so, I have seen one who labored over this. (Eliyah Rabbah, subsection 1) And it seems to me the reason is simple, because Rabbi Yehuda had a headache, as it is stated in Nedarim (49b), and one who has a headache is unable to enter a bathhouse because of the heat, and therefore he did not wash his head as well.

We say in Shabbat (61a): When he washes—he washes the right and afterward washes the left; when he anoints—he anoints the right and afterward the left. And one who wishes to anoint his entire body—he anoints his head first, because it is king over all the limbs; see there. And if so, also when washing his entire body, he must wash the head first for this reason. And as for why this was not mentioned regarding washing, it seems to me because most washing in the time of the Shas was in a bathtub, as we learned in Nedarim (41b): "and he washes with him in a bathtub," and according to this, his feet necessarily enter the water first, and therefore regarding washing it mentions only the hands, the right and afterward the left. And according to this, one who washes not in a bathtub should wash the head with the face first, and afterward the heart, which is prior in importance to all the limbs after the head, and afterward the right hand and afterward the left, and afterward the feet, first the right and afterward the left, and so shall he do in anointing with soap, which is called "section."

We say in Nedarim (81a): "The filth of the head leads to blindness, the filth of the garments leads to madness, the filth of the body leads to boils and sores." That is to say, when one does not comb his head regularly, he will come to blindness of the eyes; and when one does not wash his clothes regularly, he will come to filth and will be in madness and bewilderment of the heart; and when one does not wash his body regularly, he will come to boils. And we say in Pesachim (111a): One who combs his head dry will come to blindness, and one who wears shoes on his feet while his feet are damp will also come to blindness, see there. Therefore, all Israel are accustomed to wash the body on Erev Shabbat, and to comb the head after washing, and to wear a white shirt, and he will be saved from all three evils that we enumerated, and it is the delight of Shabbat.

It is proper to cut the fingernails on Erev Shabbat, and to shave the head when necessary; one should shave or cut hair on Erev Shabbat. One should not shave after the time of Mincha if its time has arrived and he has not yet prayed, as was written above in siman 232. It is also forbidden in a bathhouse as was written there, but the world is lenient in this, because our bathhouse is not similar to their bathhouse, which had great steam and danger because it was heated from beneath it, which is not the case in our bathhouses. Above in siman 232, our teacher, the Rema, wrote a permission regarding eating, see there, and we wrote there in section 15 a permission based on the Yerushalmi, see there, and naturally the same law applies regarding a bathhouse, even if we do not distinguish between our bathhouse and theirs.

There are those who wrote based on the testament of Rabbi Yehuda HeChasid not to shave and not to trim nails on Rosh Chodesh, even if it falls on Erev Shabbat (Magen Avraham) due to danger. (Ba'er Heitev) And there are those who wrote not to cut the nails of the hands and feet on the same day, (ibid.) and there are those who wrote not to shave and not to cut the nails on Thursday, because they begin to grow on Shabbat. (Magen Avraham) And this is against an explicit Mishnah in Taanit (Chapter 2, Mishnah 7), for the men of the priestly watch would shave on Thursday; and also, what prohibition is there if they begin to grow on Shabbat? Rather, for the honor of Shabbat it is more proper to cut hair on Erev Shabbat. However, if one knows that on Erev Shabbat he will not have time, he is simply able to shave and cut on Thursday. And they also wrote that when one trims his nails, he should not trim them in their order, and he should start on the left with the ring finger and on the right with the index finger, and the mnemonic for this is D-B-H-G-A on the left and B-D-A-G-H on the right. And they wrote that the Arizal was not meticulous about this and would mock this, (Magen Avraham) and nevertheless it is worthwhile to be careful ab initio. (ibid.) And all these matters have no place in the law, and one who is meticulous—is meticulous, and one who is not meticulous—is not meticulous. And he should cut the nails of the right hand first and afterwards the left, and in the name of the Kol Bo they brought the opposite, to trim the left first, (Eliyah Rabbah, subsection 6) and I do not know his reason. And he should be careful not to throw the nails to the ground, lest a pregnant woman pass over and miscarry. (Moed Katan 18a) Therefore, in a place where a woman is not found, such as in the beit midrash—we have no concern with it. (ibid.) And so too if the nails moved from their first place where he threw them—we also have no concern with it. (ibid.) And so too if he cut something with a knife after the throwing of the nails—the concern has also passed. (Niddah 17a) And they said there regarding nails: a chasid—burns them, a tzaddik—buries them, and a wicked person—throws them. And all the words of our sages of blessed memory are very faithful, and they are segulah matters that are hidden from the nature of the intellect. And it is simple that all these things: washing and cutting nails and shaving—it is better to do after midday, for it is more recognizable that it is for the honor of Shabbat. And nevertheless, if he did so before midday—it is also good, for anything one does on Erev Shabbat—it is recognizable that it is for the honor of Shabbat, and so it is explicit in Nazir (5a) see there. And there are those who delay the bathhouse and the mikveh very much, and they say that so it is according to Kabbalah, and they are mistaken, and one should rebuke them. On the contrary, if it is only after midday—it is a mitzvah to do it early. (And there is no contradiction from the Rema at the end of siman 262)

We have learned in the Mishnah (34b): "Three things a person must say within his home on the eve of Shabbat as it grows dark: Have you tithed? Have you made the eruv? Light the candle." For this is not relevant in the form of a question, as he sees that they have not lit. And among us, one must say "Have you separated challah," but our women are diligent and do not wait for the statement of their husbands. And one must say it in a soft and gentle tone, (Gemara) and he should also warn them to cease from labor. And regarding eruvei chatzerot when necessary—he should do it himself and not rely on others.