Q. Hello Rav!
My wife needed some medication from her purse on shabbat, which brought up an interesting question in muktza. I believe medicine and purses are muktza, but the medicine becomes permitted if its needed. Since the medicine was accidentally left in the purse, would that make the purse completely permissible to move and open to get the medicine out or does the purse remain muktza? If it does remain muktza, what type of muktza is it? (its some category of mutzka itself, but its also a basis for the money, etc). I'm assuming it takes on the status of mutzka that can't be moved even for its place or a permissible need. However, even with it being muktza, can one still open up the zipper of the muktza purse in the normal way? If not, how should the purse be opened? Is it good enough to use an extension of the hand like salad tongs to grip the zipper and open it, or is it necessary to use a more "back-handed" manner such as using your teeth?
Any differences for sephardim?
Thank you so much
A. Horav Shlomo Miller’s Shlit’a opinion is that is she is taking the necessary medicine, or there is a chance she will be taking it, it does not become muktze. It could then be removed from the bag, which is a bosis to heter and issur.
However, If she does not take that medicine at all, it remains muktze.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit”a
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