If Melacha was done on Shabbat by a
non-Jew for his own benefit-
A
Jew may derive benefit from it, even on Shabbat.
If Melacha was done on Shabbat by a
non-Jew for a Jew, or for a non-Jew and a Jew-
A Jew may not
derive benefit from it on Shabbat, nor after Shabbat until adequate time passes
that it could have been done after Shabbat. This requirement ensures that there
will be no incentive to have a non-Jew perform Melacha for a Jew on Shabbat.
If Melacha was done on Shabbat by a
non-Jew on behalf of the general public (e.g. turning on street light on a
public road)-
We follow the
majority of the public – if they are not Jewish, one may derive benefit from it
on Shabbat. If they are Jewish, one must wait until after Shabbat and after
adequate time passes that the Melacha could have been done after Shabbat.
Items that were attached to the ground when Shabbat
began are prohibited on Shabbat even if they disconnected naturally. For
instance, fruit that falls off a tree on Shabbat may not be eaten until after
Shabbat. Fruit picked by a non-Jew is also subject to this rule, and thus it is
prohibited until after Shabbat even if the non-Jew picked it for his own use.
Similarly,
many authorities are of the opinion that if a non-Jew cooked food on Shabbat,
even for a non-Jew, it is prohibited to Jews until after Shabbat. They maintain
that we are stricter in this way with food, either because it is especially
tempting or because the raw ingredients are Muktze. It is proper to be strict
about this except in extenuating circumstances.
Benefiting is only prohibited when
the Melacha done enables the Jew to do some new activity that was not
previously possible. Lighting a light in a dark room, thus making reading
possible, would be a textbook example. In such a case, one may not read in the
room. One may, however, sit in the room and talk, as this was possible even
without the light. Similarly, if there was dim light, and reading was possible
but difficult, one may continue to read in the room even if a non-Jew has
turned on a light that made reading more comfortable.
An
important application of this is when something has been turned off that was
creating a disturbance. Assuming that sleep was possible but simply difficult
when the light or TV was on, one may sleep in a room even after a non-Jew
turned off the light or TV, and this does not constitute benefiting from the
Melacha. Additional reasons to permit this will be discussed below.
When
we speak of benefiting from Melacha, we are speaking of a case in which the
Melacha enabled the benefit in a substantive way. If the melacha was only
incidental to the benefit, there is no prohibition. Thus, if someone brings an
item from a place within an Eruv, but happens to bring it by car, one is
permitted to use it. The item could perfectly well have been brought on foot
without violating Shabbat, so there is no direct causality between the Melacha
of driving the car and the arrival of the item at the new location. (If there
were no Eruv, and the carrying of the item was itself a violation of Shabbat,
the item would be prohibited.)
If a Torah prohibition was done
deliberately on Shabbat by a Jew -
Other Jews may not
derive benefit until immediately after Shabbat, and the Jew who did it, or the
Jew on whose behalf it was done, may never derive benefit from it.
If a Torah prohibition was done
accidentally on Shabbat by a Jew –
Most
say that the one who did it and other Jews may not derive benefit until
immediately after Shabbat. Some say that he and other Jews may derive benefit
from it even on Shabbat. One may rely on this lenient view in pressing situations.
For instance, if one is invited to a home where the food was inadvertently
prepared in a manner that violates a Torah prohibition of Shabbat, one may eat
the food in order not to embarrass the hosts.
If a Jew violated a rabbinic
prohibition on Shabbat deliberately –
He
and any Jew on whose behalf he did it may not benefit from it on Shabbat, but
other Jews may. All may benefit from it after Shabbat.
If a Jew violated a rabbinic
prohibition on Shabbat accidentally –
He
and others may benefit from it, even on Shabbat.
In
order for the violation to be considered deliberate, the Jew must be aware of
the rules of Shabbat that pertain to his action, and aware that that day is
Shabbat, and be cognizant of what he is doing. Furthermore, this prohibition
only applies when the action was in clear violation of Shabbat according to all
opinions. If the action was permitted according to some opinion, even a
minority opinion, even one not know to the person who did the action, one may
derive benefit from it on Shabbat.
In all of the above
cases, it is desirable to educate the Jews who performed the melacha in order
that they not violate Shabbat in the future. However, this should be done with
the utmost tact and sensitivity, in order that it not have the opposite effect
of that intended.
Instructing a Jew
to violate Shabbat is always forbidden, even if one is only hinting, and even
if there is a pressing need, and even if the Jew is under Bar/Bat Mitzva age,
and even if the violation in question is only rabbinic. To the contrary, one
must tactfully encourage other Jews to observe Shabbat if they are receptive to
the idea.
Explicitly
instructing a non-Jew to do melacha on Shabbat is forbidden. This applies
whether the instructing is done on Shabbat or in advance of Shabbat. However,
one may say to a non-Jew after Shabbat “Why didn’t you do X yesterday?” in a
manner that will imply that he should do it on future Shabbatot. However, when
he does it on the future Shabbatot, one may only benefit from it in the scenarios
permitted in Section 1 above.
This prohibition
can apply even if there is no verbal instruction. For instance, one may not
give a non-Jewish cleaner a garment immediately before Shabbat and pick it up
immediately after. One may, however, leave the garment with the cleaner for
Shabbat and for more time either before or after, and the cleaner can choose to
launder it whenever he likes, even on Shabbat.
In a case where it is required for a
Mitzva, or a sick person, one may instruct a non-Jew to do a Rabbinic
prohibition. Activities such as Shabbat meals, sleeping at night, and learning
Torah all qualify as Mitzvot for this purpose. A sick person for this purpose
means anyone who cannot go about his daily routine due to illness, or a baby or
elderly person experiencing any discomfort. In a case of a public need, one may
explicitly instruct a non-Jew to perform Melacha. Some maintain that in all
these cases one may even instruct a non-Jew to perform Torah-level
prohibitions, and one may rely on this opinion in situations of great need,
preferably without being totally explicit about the instructions.
One
may instruct a non-Jew to perform a permissible action, even if it is likely
that he will decide to do it in a prohibited way. For example, one may invite a
non-Jew to retrieve an object from a dark room, even if it is likely that he
will decide to turn on the light when he enters.
In cases of Pikuach Nefesh or Safek Pikuach Nefesh, Shabbat
should be violated freely in order to save life. One should not seek out a
non-Jew to perform the necessary melacha in such situations, as this may result
in a dangerous delay. However, if a non-Jew is readily available just as easily
as a Jew, it is better to have the non-Jew violate Shabbat. Under no circumstances
should one request that a non-observant Jew perform the Melacha in place of an
observant Jew.
When in doubt about any matter of Pikuach Nefesh, one should
always err on the side of saving life and be lenient about Shabbat.
The definition of
what constitutes a Torah level violation of Shabbat and what is rabbinic is
beyond the scope of this document. However, a few important examples should be
known.
Most importantly,
turning electricity on or off is usually only a rabbinic prohibition.
Computers, TV’s, radios, burglar alarms, and fluorescent lights (the long tube
ones) are not a Torah level prohibition to turn on and off. The most common
exceptions are an electric heating element and an incandescent light bulb (the
round ones with filaments).
Carrying outside an
Eruv in a Karmelit is a rabbinic prohibition. Anyplace not traversed by 600,000
people is considered a Karmelit by Ashkenazim.
Cooking with
conventional methods is a Torah level prohibition. Cooking in a microwave is
assumed by many to be a rabbinic prohibition.