It is forbidden to allow (or instruct) a non-Jew 1
to perform an activity for a Jew on Shabbat. 2
This is based on the verse, 3
''All 'Melacha' will not be performed''.
This implies even when it is carried out by a non-Jew.
If the task was given to the non-Jew on Friday,
even though the non-Jew performs the task on Shabbat, it is allowed,
but only with the following conditions:
a) The non-Jew should remove the article
from the Jew's home before Shabbat, and not on the Shabbat.1) Non-Jews are not obligated to refrain from Melacha (the 39 categories of creative activity) on Shabbat.
2) There are three different reasons given by the Rishonim (early Talmudic authorities) as to why the Sages created this prohibition:
a) So that Jews will not take the prohibitions of Shabbat lightly, and end up violating the Shabbat themselves (Rambam, Laws of Shabbat, 6:1)
b) There is a Rabbinic restriction, based on a verse in Isaiah (58:13), which forbids the discussion, on Shabbat itself, of one's business affairs, weekday concerns, or any of the 39 categories of prohibited activity. Instructing a non-Jew on Shabbat itself to perform a Melacha would be a violation of that Rabbinical prohibition.
c) In Jewish law, one's agent is the equivalent of oneself (except when the agent is committing a crime). The Sages extended this concept to include a case of a Jew enlisting a non-Jew to perform Melacha for him on Shabbat, making it tantamount to the Jew doing the Melacha himself.
All three reasons have been accepted by Halachic authorities and must be applied to each case. Therefore, one may not ask a non-Jew on Shabbat, or even during the week to perform a Melacha for him on Shabbat. Applying reason (b), one may not even ask a non-Jew on Shabbat to perform a Melacha for him after Shabbat.}
3) Exodus 12:16.
אסור להניח לאינו יהודי
שיעשה מלאכת ישראל בשבת
וסמכוהו על הפסוק
כל מלאכה לא יעשה
דמשמע אפילו על ידי אינו יהודי
ואם מוסר לאינו יהודי את המלאכה בערב שבת
אף על פי שהאינו יהודי עושה בשבת מותר
אבל רק באלו האופנים
א) שהאינו יהודי יקח את החפץ
מביתו של ישראל קודם השבת ולא בשבת b) That one sets for the non-Jew his remuneration.
Thus, the non-Jew is doing the work for himself, to earn his wage.
Therefore, one who has a non-Jewish servant for a set amount of time
is forbidden to allow him to work on Shabbat,
because the work is performed for the benefit of the Jew alone.
If a non-Jew is travelling to certain place,
and a Jew gives him a letter to deliver there,
if he (the non-Jew) also travels on Shabbat,
the Jew must pay him a fee,
so that the non-Jew will do it for the fee and not as a favor. 11) One is allowed to put mail into a public mailbox on Friday, even though it may be collected, processed and delivered on Shabbat by a non-Jew.
ב) שיקצוץ לאינו יהודי שכרו
שאז הוא עושה את המלאכה בשביל עצמו שיקבל שכרו
ולכן מי שיש לו משרת אינו יהודי לזמן ידוע
אסור להניח לו לעשות מלאכה בשבת
מפני שהמלאכה היא רק לתועלת הישראל
ואינו יהודי הנוסע לאיזה מקום
וישראל נותן איגרת שישאנה שמה
וישאנה גם בשבת
צריך הישראל לתת לו איזה שכר
כדי שהאינו יהודי יעשה בשביל שכרו ולא בחנם c) The payment is set for the whole work,
and not paid for each day individually. 11) A non-Jew can be employed as a contractor (kablan), a person hired to complete a specific job, or as a ''hired for the day'' (sechar yom), a person hired for a specific amount of time to perform various tasks, who's wage is time-related and not tied to the completion of a specific job.
A non-Jew contractor hired by a Jew before Shabbat is allowed to choose to work on the job on Shabbat, because his intention is to complete the job in order to get paid, and he is therefore seen as working for his own benefit. A non-Jew ''hired for the day'', on the other hand, is being paid to do whatever the Jew needs, without a specific task to complete, and therefore, looks much more like an agent of the Jew. The Sages therefore prohibited the work of a ''hired for the day'' on Shabbat.
ג) השכר יהא קצוב לכל המלאכה
ולא יהא האינו יהודי שכיר יום d) It is forbidden to require the non-Jew to do the work on Shabbat.
Even if one does not explicitly require him to work on Shabbat,
but sets the deadline for completing the work for just after Shabbat,
and it is clear that it is impossible to finish the work
up to this day if no work is done also on Shabbat,
this is also forbidden.
Similarly, if one sent by him a letter and told him
''see that it is delivered there by such-and-such date,''
and it is clear that it is impossible to get there
unless he travels also on Shabbat, this also is forbidden.
Also, if the (local) market day is on Shabbat,
it is forbidden to give a non-Jew money on Friday
to buy an article
that one knows is only offered for sale on Shabbat.
Similarly, it is forbidden to give him an article to sell (on Shabbat) the same way.
However, in these cases where one did not tell him
specifically to do it on Shabbat,
it is not forbidden unless one gives him (the money or the article) on Friday.
However, before this (Friday) it is permitted 1 to give him
the article to be worked on or the money to buy.
It is preferable not to live at all in a city whose market day is Shabbat,
because it would be impossible to not sin.
If the market place is not in the Jewish neighborhood, there is no reason for concern.1) The Mishnah Berurah (307:15) disagrees with the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch in this case, and rules that if it is not possible to accomplish the job without working on Shabbat, then it is as if he explicitly instructed the non-Jew to work on Shabbat, and is therefore forbidden even if the job was assigned before Friday.
ד) אסור לקבוע להאינו יהודי שיעשה המלאכה בשבת
ואפילו אם אינו קובע לו בפירוש שיעשה בשבת
אלא שהוא קובע לו זמן שיגמר המלאכה סמוך לאחר השבת
וידוע כי אי אפשר שיגמור את המלאכה
עד יום זה אם לא יעשה גם בשבת
גם כן אסור
וכן אם שולח בידו אגרת ואומר לו
ראה שתביאנה שמה ביום פלוני
וידוע כי אי אפשר להגיע שמה
אלא אם כן ילך גם בשבת גם כן אסור
וכן אם יום השוק הוא ביום השבת
אסור לתת לנכרי מעות בערב שבת
שיקנה לו איזה דבר
שידוע שאינו מוצא לקנותו כי אם בשבת
וכן אסור ליתן לו איזה דבר למכרו בענין זה
ואולם אופן זה שאינו קובע לו
בפירוש שיעשה בשבת
אינו אסור אלא בנותן לו בערב שבת
אבל קודם לכן מותר לתת לו
החפץ לעשות או מעות לקנות
וטוב שלא לדור כלל בעיר שיום השוק הוא בשבת
כי אי אפשר שלא יחטא
ואם השוק אינו בשכונת היהודים אין לחוש e) The work may not involve (objects) that are connected to the ground,
like a building or crops. 1
However, construction work is forbidden to be done by a non-Jew on Shabbat,
even though that the Jew agreed with him
the price of the entire project beforehand. 2
If this presents an extreme difficulty, a Rabbinic authority should be consulted.
Even to chisel stones or prepare boards for the building,
if it is known that they belong to a Jew,
and the non-Jew does the work in the street in a public place,
it is forbidden that he will do this on Shabbat.
Similarly, working in the fields,
for example, plowing or harvesting, and the like,
even if one hired the non-Jew to do all the work
for a specific price and he is not ''hired for the day'', it is (still) forbidden.
However, if the non-Jew receives a percentage of the crop,
and that is the local custom in this area,
that one who works the fields take a percentage of the crop, it is allowed.
If the field is in a remote area,
that no Jews live within the Shabbat boundary from it, 3
it is allowed, also as a hired worker for a specific fee,
provided the non-Jew is not ''hired for the day''.1) There is a principle in Jewish Law called ''Mar'it Ayin'' (lit: visual appearance), which forbids the performance of a permissible act, if a theoretical witness (who knows Jewish law) might mistake it for a forbidden one. In other words, one is not allowed to do something that might lead to someone suspecting one of wrongdoing. In this Halacha, since construction works and farming are open to the public eye, and people are generally aware that the property is owned by a Jew, they might mistakenly assume that the Jew instructed the non-Jew to work for him on Shabbat (rather than arranging it in a permissible manner, which is what actually happened).
2) i.e the non-Jew is being hired as a contractor, an arrangement that would be allowed according to the Halacha if the work wasn't being done in public.
3) The distance a Jew is allowed to walk on Shabbat (2000 cubits) - from all Jewish homes.
ה) המלאכה לא תהא במחובר לקרקע
כגון בנין או עבודת השדה
אבל עבודת הבנין אסור שיעשה אינו יהודי בשבת
אף על פי שהישראל קצץ עמו
כל שכר הבנין לגמרי
ובשעת דחק גדול יעשה שאלת חכם
ואפילו לסתת אבנים ולתקן קורות לצורך בנין
אם ידוע שהמה של ישראל
והנכרי עושה ברחוב במקום פרהסיא
אסור שיעשה בשבת
וכן עבודת השדה
כגון לחרוש ולקצור וכדומה
אפילו אם שכר את האינו יהודי שיעשה כל המלאכה
בעד סכום ידוע ואינו שכיר יום אסור
אבל אם האינו יהודי נוטל חלק מן התבואה
והמנהג הוא כן באותן המקומות
שהעובד את האדמה נוטל חלק בתבואה מותר
ואם השדה הוא במקום רחוק
שאין ישראל דר בתוך תחום שבת ממנו
מותר גם בשכירות בסכום ידוע
ובלבד שלא יהא האינו יהודי שכיר יום If a non-Jew built for a Jew, a building on Shabbat in violation,
it is proper to be stringent and not enter the building. 1
(and regarding this, there are various conflicting laws). 21) In order to remove the incentive to violate the prohibition of using a non-Jew on Shabbat, the Sages prohibited benefit from an act performed (in one of the ways prohibited by the Sages) by a non-Jew for a Jew . Of the several degrees of benefit, only the highest level, that is, direct and new benefit is prohibited. For example, if a non-Jew turned on the light for a Jew in a dark room, the Jew would not be able to do anything in that room which would have been impossible to do without the light. However, if the non-Jew turned off the light in a bedroom, so that the Jew would be able to sleep, it would be permissible for the Jew to sleep in that room, because the removal of light does not directly enable a person to fall asleep; in other words, ability to sleep is not a direct benefit of the act of turning off a light. Furthermore, if the non-Jew merely turned on extra lights in an already lit room, a Jew may read in that room because he could have read there before, only with greater difficulty; in other words, any benefit that was already available to the Jew to a lesser extent before the non-Jew acted, may be made use of by the Jew, even after the non-Jew acts.
2) There is much disagreement among Halachic authorities as to what the practical application of the law is in this issue (see Mishna Berurah OH 244:19-22).There are certain cases in which the Jew employing the non-Jew would never be able to move into the building, whereas others could move in after waiting the amount of time after Shabbat that the non-Jew worked on Shabbat. There are cases in which nobody at all would be able to move in; there are cases in which even the Jew employing the non-Jew is allowed to make use of the building. In all cases, the owner of the property is allowed to sell it to a non-Jew.
אם בנה אינו יהודי לישראל בית בשבת באיסור
נכון להחמיר שלא יכנס בו
ויש בזה כמה חילוקין דינים One who has a field or a mill
may rent it to a non-Jew
even though the non-Jew works there on Shabbat.
However, it is forbidden to rent a bathhouse to him. 1
If the bathhouse does not belong to the Jew,
but is rented from a non-Jew,
a Rabbinic authority should be consulted about what can be done with it. 2
Anyone who collects (at the border customs) taxes,
or has a brick factory, or a glass factory or the like, 3
a Rabbinic authority should be consulted about what can be done with it. 41) In terms of the prohibition of a non-Jew performing prohibited activity for a Jew on Shabbat (''Amira Le'Akum''), there is nothing wrong with renting out one's property to a non-Jew, because all the profits are going to the non-Jew and therefore he is working for himself, not for the Jew. The reason that the Sages prohibited renting one's premises to a non-Jew in certain cases, like a bathhouse, is due to the prohibition of ''Marit Ayin'' (lit: visual appearance), which forbids the performance of a permissible act, if a theoretical witness (who knows Jewish law) might mistake it for a forbidden one.
Fields and mills were usually either rented fully to the non-Jew (where the non-Jew receives all the profits) or the non-Jew was hired and worked for a share in the profits. Therefore, those who saw a non-Jew working on Shabbat in a Jewish-owned field or mill, would have no reason to suspect that the Jew has violated the prohibition of employing a non-Jew on Shabbat by hiring him as a laborer who doesn't receive any share in the profits. Bathhouses, on the other hand, were not usually rented out fully, nor were workers usually paid with a share in the profits; therefore, the Sages prohibited renting out a bathhouse to a non-Jew, because those who see a non-Jew working on Shabbat in a Jewish-owned bathhouse, would likely assume that he is a hired worker who doesn't receive a share in the profits, and that the Jew has violated a prohibition by allowing a non-Jew to work for him on Shabbat.}
2) If the Jew is only renting the premises, the property would not be regarded by the public as Jewish-owned (i.e the Jew's name would not be associated with the property), and therefore a non-Jew working there on Shabbat, would not be viewed as an employee of a Jew (See Rema 243:2 and Mishna Berurah).
3) Some texts add different kinds of guest houses/hotels to the list.
4) This prohibition of renting one's business premises to a non-Jew who will be working there on Shabbat, is entirely dependent on local custom. If the local custom is to hire out the particular premises under a rental agreement, there is no prohibition.
מי שיש לו שדה או ריחים
מותר להשכירן לאינו יהודי
ואף על פי שאינו יהודי עושה בהם מלאכה בשבת
אבל מרחץ אסור להשכיר לו
ואם המרחץ אינו של ישראל
אלא בשכירות מאינו יהודי
יעשה שאלת חכם איך ינהוג בו
וכל מי שהוא גובה מכס ''מלונאי''
מפעל ללבנים מפעל לזכוכית וכדומה
צריך לעשות שאלת חכם איך ינהוג בהם In a Jew's home, 1 it is forbidden to allow a non-Jew
to carry out a Melacha 2 under any circumstances. 3
Even a non-Jewish servant who wants to do the work
for himself must be reproved for doing so. 41) The reason for not allowing a non-Jew to perform Melacha in a Jewish home on Shabbat, is based on the principle of ''Marit Ayin'' (lit: visual appearance), which forbids the performance of a permissible act, if a theoretical witness (who knows Jewish law) might mistake it for a forbidden one. In this case, people might think either that the Jew, on Shabbat, instructed the non-Jew to perform the work for him, or that the Jew has hired the non-Jew for the day, both of which are prohibited.
Even in cases where ''Marit Ayin'' would not apply (e.g. where the non-Jew is obviously a contractor, not ''hired for the day'', and it is clear that the Jew didn't give the instructions on Shabbat itself), there is still the issue of "Zilzul Shabbat" (Contempt of Shabbat), whereby the sense of the holiness of the day might be reduced, if certain activities are being performed by a non-Jew in a Jewish house (See Igrot Moshe O.H 3:35). Any Melacha that attracts attention because of its noise, like a vacuum cleaner, constitutes "Zilzul Shabbat." (See Rema 252:5)
2) One of the 39 types of forbidden activities on Shabbat.
3) Other authorities permit it under certain circumstances (See Mishna Berurah O.H 244:30, and next footnote).
4) There are those who permit it if the servant is obviously doing the Melacha for his own benefit and none of the other problems apply. (See Mishna Berurah 244:30)
בביתו של ישראל אסור להניח לאינו יהודי
שיעשה מלאכה בשום אופן
ואפילו משרת אינו יהודי שרוצה לעשות מלאכה
בשביל עצמו צריכין למחות בו A non-Jewish tailor that made a garment for a Jew
and brought it to him on Shabbat, one may wear it.
If one knows that it was completed on Shabbat, 1
one should not wear it 2 except in a case of extreme necessity. 3
However it is forbidden to take utensils or clothes from a craftsman's workshop
- even a Jewish craftsman - on the Shabbat or festivals.
With a non-Jewish (storekeeper who) is not a craftsman
but has a shop and sells from it shoes and the like,
a Jew who knows him is permitted
to take (goods) from him on the Shabbat and leave, 4
provided one does not set with him the sale price, 5
and also nothing was brought from outside the (Shabbat) boundary. 61) If only the finishing touches were made on Shabbat, but it was wearable already on Friday, one is permitted to wear it on Shabbat (Mishna Berurah 252:30).
2) On the Shabbat, rather one must wait the amount of time after Shabbat that is equivalent to the time the non-Jew spent working on it on Shabbat. If the goods were needed for a mitzvah, one may use them immediately after Shabbat.
3) Other authorities (Shulchan Aruch 252:4) rule that it is permitted to wear the garment on Shabbat, because the non-Jew was working on Shabbat for his own sake, that is, to finish the job faster, and get paid. Nowadays, we follow the more stringent view.
4) This is permitted because no one would suspect that this non-craftsman was instructed to make shoes on Shabbat for the Jew. The Rema (252:4) permits it even if one was taking from non-Jewish craftsmen, as long as this craftsman would make shoes in bulk to sell to the public, and no one would suspect that he had made the pair specifically for the Jew on Shabbat.
5) If one did mention the price, one will have violated the prohibition of buying and selling on Shabbat, even though no money was transferred as of yet.
6) Shabbat boundary - see Chapter 95.
אומן אינו יהודי שעשה מלבוש בשביל ישראל
והביאו לו בשבת מותר ללבשו
ואם ידוע שגמרו בשבת
אין ללבשו כי אם לצורך גדול
אבל אסור ליקח כלים ומלבושים מבית האומן
אפילו מאומן ישראל בשבת ויום טוב
ואינו יהודי שאינו אומן
אלא שיש לו חנות שמוכר מנעלים וכדומה
מותר לישראל המכירו
ליקח ממנו בשבת ולנעלם
ובלבד שלא יקצוץ עמו דמי המקח
וגם לא יהיו דברים שהובאו מחוץ לתחום Utensils 1 that are used to perform (forbidden Shabbat) work,
e.g., a plow or the like,
are forbidden to rent to a non-Jew on Friday,
even though we are not required to stop the use of our utensils,
nevertheless, since the Jew receives (for the use of the article) payment,
and it was rented on Friday,
it appears that the non-Jew is (acting) as (the Jew's) agent.
On Thursday it is permitted for one to rent to him.
Lending to him is permitted, even on Friday, 2
and even utensils that can be used to perform (forbidden Shabbat) work, 3
provided that the non-Jew takes them from the Jew's premises
before the start of Shabbat. 4
Even if one made a condition with the non-Jew
that he will loan one in return for this his utensils
at another time, this is allowed,
and this is not termed renting.
Similarly, to rent him utensils that are not used to perform (forbidden Shabbat) work,
is permitted even on Friday,
provided the non-Jew takes them (from the Jew's premises) before the start of Shabbat.1) The Hebrew word ''kalim'' can mean both utensils, such as pots and pans, and also tools.
2) Since the Jew in this case will not profit from the work performed with his property on Shabbat, people will not think that the non-Jew is acting as the Jew's agent.
3) There is an opinion among the Talmudic Sages (Beit Shammai) that it is forbidden for us to allow our utensils to be used in the performance of forbidden work on Shabbat. However, that is not the accepted ruling.
4) A Jew may not allow a non-Jew to carry an article out of his (the Jew's) house on Shabbat (into an area where carrying on Shabbat is forbidden), because people may think that the Jew instructed him to do so.
כלים שעושין בהן מלאכה
כגון מחרישה וכיוצא בה
אסור להשכיר לאינו יהודי בערב שבת
ואף על פי שאין אנו מצווים על שביתת כלים
מכל מקום כיון שהוא נוטל שכר
והשכירו ערב שבת
מחזי כאלו האינו יהודי הוא שלוחו
וביום ה' מותר לו להשכירו
ולהשאיל לו מותר אפילו בערב שבת
ואפילו כלים שעושין בהם מלאכה
ובלבד שיקחם האינו יהודי מביתו של ישראל
קודם הכנסת שבת
אפילו אם מתנה עם האינו יהודי
שהוא ישאל לו עבור זאת כליו
בפעם אחרת מותר
ולא אמרינן כהאי גונא דהוי כשכירות
וכן להשכיר לו כלים שאין עושין בהם מלאכה
מותר אפילו בערב שבת
כשאינו יהודי מוציאם קודם שבת Since it is allowed to rent utensils to a non-Jew in the ways described,
provided one does not take rent for Shabbat itself
but rather included this in the rest of the days,
for example, one rented for a month or for a week, and one says to him,
for each week or for each month,
''give me such and such (an amount)'' or even
for every two days or for every three days,
but to take rent for Shabbat itself is forbidden,
even if one rented to him for a year but reckoned each day separately,
that one says,
''I am renting to you for a year or a month
and for each day you will give me such and such'',
even though that afterwards the non-Jew pays
for all the days in one payment,
it is forbidden to take the payment for the Shabbatot,
because one reckoned the days separately
and it is forbidden to take payment for Shabbat if it is not in a package deal.
Even for utensils which are not used for (forbidden Shabbat) work,
and even for rental on a room to live in,
the prohibition on (receiving any) Shabbat payment
applies between a non-Jew and a Jew. הא דמותר להשכיר כלים לאינו יהודי באופנים הנזכרים
דוקא כשאינו נוטל שכר שבת בפני עצמו
אלא בהבלעה תוך שאר ימים
כגון שמשכיר לחדש או לשבוע ואומר לו
בעד כל שבוע או בעד כל חדש
תתן לי כך וכך או אפילו
בעד כל שני ימים או כל שלשה ימים
אבל שכר שבת בפני עצמו אסור ליטול
אפילו השכיר לו לשנה וחושבין ימים נפרדים
שאומר
אני משכיר לך לשנה או לחדש
ובעד כל יום ויום תתן לי כך וכך
אף על פי שאחר כך משלם האינו יהודי
בעד כל הימים בבת אחת
אסור ליטל שכר המגיע לשבתות
כיון שמחשבין ימים נפרדים
ואסור ליטול שכר שבת שלא בהבלעה
אפילו בעד כלים שאין עושין בהן מלאכה
ואפילו בעד חדר לדור בו
ואיסור שכר שבת
הוא בין מאינו יהודי בין מישראל