- You are not allowed to invite a gentile to eat at your house on Yom Tov – you might cook more for him. On Shabbos, however, it is mutar to invite. (ShA 1 – MB 1)
- To feed a gentile on Shabbos is not an issue of tircha since Darkay Shalom states to give food even to wealthy gentiles. (MB 2 – ShaH 3)
- You may put food out in your courtyard for a gentile to eat .. If he decides to carry it out to the reshus horabbim you do not need to stop him. However, you may not allow him to stand outside and reach in to take the food. (ShA 1)
- If you do not give him permission to eat in your domain, the gentile will need to carry it out with him. This is forbidden because of marris ayin. People will suspect you of sending a parcel on Shabbos which is ossur since the goy is your messenger to do Hotza’a. (MB 4)
- If you give the gentile too much food, he will not be able to eat it all on your property. The gentile will carry it off your property which looks like he is your shaliach to carry. Giving the goy an item which is normally taken away is also under this prohibition. (ShA 1 – MB 4)
- The above is true even when you merely put the item down in your domain and the gentile picks it up – thereby performing the Hotza’a himself from beginning to end. You are not a partner in the melacha but there is still marris ayin that he is your shaliach for Hotza’a. (MB 5)
- What is the din if the item actually belongs to the goy? There is a disagreement if the goy can come into your domain and pick it up. You can rely on the lenient opinion at night when no-one is looking. (MB 7 – ShaH 7 – BeH Siman 252:1 “mib’ode yom”)
- These are 3 cases where this marris ayin is pushed aside:
- Darkay Shalom – a gentile has come to collect some kosher food for another gentile who is sick.
- A violent goy wants his stuff.
- Mitzva needs – a gentile has come to collect his chometz on Erev Pesach.
In all of these cases you must be careful not to assist the gentile in the Hotza’a. I.e. Do not pass the item into his hands. (ShA 2 – MB 9, 10, 11, 12)
- If a non-Jew catches fish or harvests fruit for himself on Shabbos, they are ossur for a Jew. First of all they are mutktza machmas issur, and second of all you will be tempted to pluck some yourself. (ShA 5 – MB 22)
- Even if you have a doubt – they might have been picked before Shabbos – the product is ossur. (ShA 5)
- After Shabbos, the fish and the fruit are mutar right away. (ShA 5)
- If a non-Jew does any melacha for a Jew, no Jew is allowed to benefit from it until after Shabbos – plus the time it takes for the melacha to be done. (ShA 6 – MB 28)
- If you know how long it took the non-Jew to go pick the fruit and return, wait that amount of time after Shabbos before eating the fruit. Travel time counts. (MB 29)
- If it is unknown how long it took the non-Jew to go pick the fruit, we estimate only the time it takes to bring the fruit from just outside the techoom. (MB 29)
- What if you do not know when the goy picked the fruit.? Maybe he picked it before Shabbos? Be machmir not to move it on Shabbos because the rule is sofek muktza is ossur. Even after Shabbos you should wait for the time to go pick the fruit before eating it – unless you need the fruit for an immediate mitzva. (ShA 7 – MB 33)
- If the goy did an issur d’rabbonon for you, you should wait for Shabbos until the time it took to do it. However, other Jews are allowed to benefit from the goy’s action even on Shabbos. (MB 41, 42)
- These halachos apply similarly when a Jewish child (or a deaf-mute or an imbecile) does a melacha for a Jew. No one is allowed to benefit from it just as if a non-Jew did it. (BeH “aino yehudi”)
- Are you allowed to instruct a gentile to carry a food item (e.g.) to your house without an eruv? It’s a case of shvus d’shvus (see Siman 307:5) There are 3 categories of need:
- Kiddush Wine or hot food for the seuda is deemed as a bona fide mitzva and is allowed l’chatchila – shvus d’shvus bimkom mitzva.
- Beer is an item that you could do without but it won’t be nice. You should be machmir for yourself but do not reprimand those who are maykil.
- Fruit is nice for oneg Shabbos but is not necessary and does not justify transgressing a shvus d’shvus.
In any case be sure not to receive the item directly from the gentile since that would be finishing off the melacha. (Rama 10 – MB 60, 61, 62)
- If you see a non-Jew doing a melacha for himself you are allowed to benefit from it. For example: He lit a candle to read by or made a rampart to disembark the ship. (ShA 11)
- However, if there is any suspicion that the non-Jew had you in mind and therefore increased the melacha, do not benefit from it until (immediately) after Shabbos. For example: He picked grass for his animal but knows you need some as well. Do not allow your animal to feed from what the non-Jew leftover. (ShA 11 – MB 67)
- Muktza is mutar b’hanaa. (MB 65)
- If a non-Jew lights a candle in a Jew’s house and does not leave right away – the assumption is that he will soon use the candle for his own needs. Therefore a Jew may use the candle light immediately. (MB 70)
- If a non-Jew is doing a melacha to benefit a Jew and the Jew is completely passive, the Jew does not need to protest. We assume that the non-Jew is hoping to get paid and therefore is doing the melacha for his **own** benefit. For example: The non-Jew comes to put out a fire or he picks grass and feeds your animal. (ShA 13 – MB 71)
- Do not allow a non-Jew to make a habit out of giving you such benefit. (ShA 13)
- There are cases that a non-Jew did a melacha for a Jew on Shabbos and the result is forbidden to use forever. It’s when the melacha was done out in the open public. For example he made a coffin or dug a grave in a public cemetery, or he carried an item through a busy thoroughfare. It’s a disgrace to make use of them. Some Rishonim hold that this extra prohibition does not apply to anything but a coffin and a grave. You can rely on them if you need to. (ShA 14 – MB 73, 76)