Law Summary

Picking one’s nose on the Sabbath is illegal.

Why does this law exist?

The reports about the prohibition were widely circulated and misunderstood in the secular press in Israel - to say nothing of abroad. The press reported a religious directive, handed down by a Rabbi, prohibiting nosepicking on Sabbath. The reasoning behind this directive was the loss of nasal hair, cause for bleeding, etc. which violated the religious code governing the sanctity of the Sabbath. Rabbinical directives, or any other form of religious law, are not legally binding and are not, and cannot, be enforced by the State of Israel. They are directed to believers of the Jewish faith (wherever they may reside), and not to citizens of Israel. Furthermore, they bind only those who feel religiously obliged to seek rabbinical authority on such lofty spiritual issues as boogers.