A fire may not be extinguished on Shabbat unless there is danger to life. Is there anything that a person may do in order to at least prevent the fire from spreading further?

If a house is burning on Shabbat, may a person extinguish the fire if it poses no danger to life? If not, what methods may a person employ in order to limit the fire?

Why is a person who sets his friend's house on fire liable for breaking Shabbat, whereas one is generally exempt if he does something in a destructive manner?

If a person writes with an ink that is not permanent, or on a material that will not maintain the ink, is he liable? Is a person liable if he draws a picture on Shabbat, or does the prohibition of writing only apply to letters?

The Rambam taught that someone who writes two letters on Shabbat is liable, but is exempt for writing only one letter. Today he explains that editing a single letter so that it becomes two letters makes a person liable, as well. But what does the Rambam say about editing a single letter so that it becomes a different letter rather than two letters? The answer is not obvious.

If a person writes one letter on one page of a notebook, and another letter on a separate page of that notebook where the two letters cannot be read together, he is exempt. On the other hand, if he writes a letter in one scroll, and then writes a second letter in a different scroll in a completely different location, he is liable. Why is this so?!

In today's Maimonides Minute podcast, we'll begin to explore the prohibitions of writing and erasing on Shabbat.

If, on Shabbat, a person cuts something without regard to the resulting shape, is he liable? What about cutting the top of a feather? Does the prohibition of cutting apply to animal fodder?

What are the various melachot involved in the processing of leather? How does this relate to applying creams on Shabbat? And how is it relevant to the making of parchment for tefillin?

According to scientific belief at the time of Chazal, lice are a product of human sweat - and therefore the prohibition of killing on Shabbat does not apply to them. What is the law today, when we reject the scientific basis on which that leniency was founded?