A Nail-Biting Dilemma
Question
Can I/Should I consider myself a shomer shabbos if I can’t help but bite my nails? I always bite my nails and pick my lip and I was wondering if this prohibits the food that I cook being kosher.( I think I have a skin picking disorder I have been picking since I was around seven or eight years old) ANYWAY thank you very much!
Answers
Baruch Hashem, you are Shomer Shabbos! The fact that you struggle with certain details within Shabbos does not negate the fact that you do keep Shabbos. In fact, we all struggle within our Avodas Hashem – that is actually how we are able to grow and draw closer to Hashem. Both through our triumphs and our (temporary) defeats!
May I make an unsolicited suggestion? If you have not yet tried it, there is a form of nail varnish that is sold expressly to try and help people stop biting their nails. It is transparent and it tastes absolutely awful!
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team