As indicated above, the Torah states that various labors are permissible on festivals for food preparation. The Sages explained that this allowance is not limited only to food preparation. Rather, since these labors are permitted for food preparation, they are also permitted for any festival need.

Here are some examples:

Since it is permitted to light a fire from an existing flame for the purpose of cooking, it is similarly permissible to do so for illumination or in order to light the festival or Shabbat candles. Additionally, just as cooking itself is permissible, it is similarly permissible to heat up water on a festival for one’s other needs. Consequently, it is permissible to open the hot water tap in a home that has an electric or gas boiler, despite the fact that cold water will then enter the boiler and become hot. However, it is prohibited to heat water by activating an electrical appliance.

With regard to washing one’s entire body in hot water, Sephardic and Ashkenazic halakhic authorities disagree. Sephardim permit bathing the entire body in warm water that has been heated in a permitted manner, whereas most Ashkenazic authorities prohibit bathing the whole body in hot water all at once, and permit bathing only parts of the body, one after the other.

Similarly, with regard to objects that are not defined as muktze, the above rule applies to carrying from the private to the public domain and vice versa: Since it is permitted to carry food products and accessories that are required for the preparation of food on a festival, it is also permitted to carry other objects, which are not needed for food preparation, from one domain to another, even when there is no eiruv.

It is important to qualify this halakha: This permission applies only to carrying items that fulfill some need for the festival. For example, it is permitted to walk on a festival with a baby in a carriage even in a place where there is no eiruv. It is also permitted to carry a lulav or a Torah scroll from one place to another. In contrast, it is prohibited to carry an object from one domain to another on behalf of a gentile, as, since the gentile can do it himself, the Jew’s action is defined as not for the purpose of the festival.