Chapter 73 : The Conditions whereby it is Permitted to Give Work to a Non-Jew on Friday and to Lend or Rent Vessels to him on Friday

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§1

It is forbidden to allow a non-Jew to do work for you on Shabbos. They (the Sages) based this on the verse: "No manner of work should be done," which implies (not) even through a non-Jew. If you give the work to the non-Jew on Friday even though the non-Jew does it on Shabbos, it is permissible, but only on these conditions: a) the non-Jew must take the article from the house of the Jew before Shabbos and not on Shabbos.

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§2

b) The wages of the non-Jew should be set in advance so that he will be doing the work for his own sake in order to get paid. Therefore, if you have a non-Jewish servant for a pre-determined period of time, it is forbidden to allow him to do any work for you on Shabbos, because then the work is done solely for the benefit of the Jew. If a non-Jew travels to a certain place and a Jew gives him a letter to carry there, which he will carry on Shabbos, the Jew must give him some compensation so that the non-Jew does it for his compensation and not gratis.

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§3

c) The wage should be established for the entire job, and the non-Jew should not be hired by the day.

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§4

d) It is forbidden to stipulate with the non-Jew that he do the work on Shabbos. Even if you are not explicit about his doing it on Shabbos, but you set the time for the work to be completed shortly after Shabbos, and it is clearly impossible to complete the work by that time unless it is done on Shabbos; this too is prohibited. Similarly, if you give him a letter and tell him, "See to it that it is delivered there on such and such day," and it is clearly impossible, unless he travels on Shabbos; this too is prohibited. Likewise, if the market day is on Shabbos, it is forbidden to give a non-Jew money on Friday to buy something for you when you know that he can only buy it on Shabbos. Similarly, it is forbidden to give him something to sell for you under these conditions. However, the aforementioned instance in which you did not specify that he do the work on Shabbos is only prohibited if you give (the work) to him on Erev Shabbos, but before then you may give him something to make or some money with which to make purchases. It is best not to live in a city where the (only) market day is on Shabbos, for it is impossible to avoid violations. If the market is not in the Jewish neighborhood, there is no reason to worry.

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§5

e) The work should not be connected with the soil such as construction or farm work. Construction work is forbidden through a non-Jew on Shabbos even if you have stipulated his wage for the entire construction job. If the matter is very pressing you should consult a Rabbinical authority. And even to cut stones or prepare wooden beams for building purposes, if it is known that they belong to a Jew, and the non-Jew works on it in public, it is forbidden to be done on Shabbos. This rule applies also to farm work such as plowing, harvesting, etc; even if you hired the non-Jew to do the job for a set wage, (contractual basis) and he is not a salaried worker, it is forbidden. However, if the non-Jew receives a percentage of the crop, and it is customary in those areas, that the farm worker shares in the crops, it is permitted. If the field is far away, so that no Jew lives within techum Shabbos, it is permissible [for the non-Jew to work on it] even for a pre-set wage (without a share), provided he is not paid by the day.

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§6

If a non-Jew built a house for a Jew on Shabbos, in violation (of the aforementioned Halachos), it is proper to be scrupulous and not move into it. (This Halachah has many details.)

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§7

If you own a field or mill, you may lease them to a non-Jew even though the non-Jew will work there on Shabbos. But you may not lease a bathhouse to him. If the bathhouse is not yours, but you merely rented it from a non-Jew, you should consult a Rabbinical authority on how to act. Similarly, if you own a hotel, brick factory or glass factory, etc., you should consult a Rabbinical authority on how to act.

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§8

It is forbidden to allow a non-Jew to do a melachah under any circumstances in the house of a Jew. Even if a non-Jewish servant wants to do a melachah for himself [in your house], you must protest his doing so.

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§9

If a non-Jewish tailor made a garment for you, and brought it to you on Shabbos you may wear it. But if you know that he completed it on Shabbos you may not wear it unless it is of extreme necessity. You are not allowed to take vessels or clothing from the craftsman's house, not even from a Jewish craftsman, on Shabbos or Yom Tov. If the non-Jew is not a craftsman but owns a store that sells shoes etc., a Jew who knows him well is permitted to take shoes from him on Shabbos and wear them. (You may do this) provided the price of the merchandise was not established and (provided) the goods were not brought from outside the techum.

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§10

Tools that are used for a melachah, such as a plow or similar things, are forbidden to be rented to a non-Jew on Erev Shabbos. For though we are not commanded to let our utensils rest (on Shabbos), nevertheless, since you take a fee, and you rented it to him on Erev Shabbos, it appears as though the non-Jew is your agent. However, on Thursday, you may rent to a non-Jew. It is permitted to lend him [tools] even on Erev Shabbos, even tools normally used for a melachah, provided the non-Jew takes them from your house before the Shabbos sets in. Even if you make an agreement with the non-Jew that he lends you his tools, in return, on another occasion, it is permitted, and we do not consider this equivalent to renting. And so to rent him utensils not used for a melachah, is also permitted, even on Erev Shabbos; provided the non-Jew removes them before Shabbos.

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§11

It is permitted to rent vessels to a non-Jew, on the aforementioned conditions, only when you are not paid for Shabbos separately, but rather as a day among the other days. For example (it is permitted) to rent him (the vessels) for a month or a week, and tell him, "For the entire week or the entire month you must pay me this amount," or even [if you tell him] "For every two or three days (you must pay this amount)"; but specific payment for Shabbos, is forbidden. Even if you rent it to him for a year and you calculated individual days, [for example, if] you said, "I am leasing it to you for a year or a month, and for each day pay me so much"; even though afterwards the non-Jew pays you for all the days in one lump sum, it is forbidden to accept the compensation for Shabbos, since individual days were calculated. It is forbidden to accept compensation for Shabbos unless it is included as part of a time period, even for such utensils that are not used for a melachah, and not even for the rental of a room. The prohibition of taking compensation for Shabbos is from non-Jews and Jews alike.