שבת שבתון לה’ כל העושה בו מלאכה… (ויקהל לה:ב)

Shabbos is a rest day for Hashem and everyone working that day…this pasuk alludes to the ל’’ט מלאכות –  the 39 activities that are prohibited on Shabbos.

When Maran Rebbe Aharon of Belz zt’’l spent one summer in the resort town of Bad-Homburg, in Germany, he requested that the carpet on the floor be removed from his room.  After removing the carpets, the shiny wood flooring was very slippery. Once in a deep trance, Maran Rebbe Aharon zy”a almost slipped. R’ Chaim Nuta Katz z’’l asked Maran Rebbe Aharon permission to replace the carpets. Maran zy”a agreed that they could only be laid on the floor from Sunday thru Friday and removed before Shabbos.

R’ Chaim Nuta asked why, to which Maran Rebbe Aharon replied: “Water or drinks can spill on the carpet on Shabbos, and when treading on the carpet, one can transgress the מלאכה of סחיטה – the prohibition of squeezing on Shabbos. Therefore, it’s better to eradicate it, and because of hazardous reasons, I allow the carpets to lay on the floor until Friday afternoon.”