6349 —סתימות שיניים זמניות ודיני חציצה

B"H, Eve of Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, 5718. Brooklyn.

Haraha"g Haraha"ch iy"a nu"n oseik b'tzt"z Ephraim Eliezer HaKohen

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I received your letter from the 27th of Sivan. Today, as I was at the holy resting place of my father-in-law, the Rebbe zatzukal l'havdil ben chaim l'chaim zichron tzaddik v'kadosh livracha, I mentioned you. May it be G‑d's will that you share good news in both general and personal matters. With blessing.

Regarding what you wrote about sealing a tooth cavity for several months—as it relates to chatzitzah (halachic barrier)—it is worth noting the responsa of tzt"z Yoreh Deah at the end of Siman [section], and the sources cited in Darkei Teshuvah to Siman 198:24 and Taharas Yisrael there. Surely this has not escaped your attention.

In Shaarei Tzion (Mikveh Collection, Jerusalem 1925) Siman 54, he tries to reconcile two opinions on the law that if one is not particular (makpid), it does not constitute a chatzitzah (according to Rambam and Rashi), since one does not wish to remove it due to inconvenience. According to the first opinion, even with a temporary filling, there is no desire to remove it except to replace it with a more permanent one (i.e., so that her flesh—which is what we are discussing regarding chatzitzah and not about the object itself—will be covered more permanently). This differs from utensil handles inserted abnormally where connection is required but absent—see there for details (and I do not have time now to review that work to see if he debates this logic).

However, based on this: a) Even a filling for just one or two days should not be considered a chatzitzah. This is unlike several later authorities. b) With a temporary filling, on the contrary, she is particular to remove it (just not immediately), so here we must consider connection and nullification.

By the way: Your note from Yerushalmi Yoma 4:4 that permanence by means of a nail nullifies the chatzitzah of the sheath—even though it is only for one day—Yom Kippur—I do not agree; because there it is true permanence since this shovel is designated only for Yom Kippur.

Summary

This letter explores whether temporary dental fillings constitute a halachic barrier (chatzitzah) in ritual contexts. The Rebbe references classic sources and analyzes different opinions, guiding that even short-term fillings may not be considered barriers depending on intent and permanence.