What do Elvis Presley, Barack Obama, Al Gore, Harry Truman, Mario Cuomo, and Thurgood Marshall all have in common? TB Shabbat 122

What do Elvis Presley, Barack Obama, Al Gore, Harry Truman, Mario Cuomo, and Thurgood Marshall have in common? They all claimed that they were a Shabbos goy for observant Jews at one time or another. (https://www.timesofisrael.com/obama-elvis-and-5-other-famous-shabbos-goys/)

A Mishna on Saturday’s daf, TB Shabbat 120, begins the discussion what is permissible and forbidden to say to a Gentile on Shabbat (איסור אמירה לגוי). “If a gentile comes to extinguish a Jew’s fire on Shabbat, one may not say to him: Extinguish, and: Do not extinguish, because responsibility for his rest is not incumbent upon the Jew. However, if a Jewish child comes to extinguish a fire on Shabbat, they do not listen to him and allow him to extinguish it, even though he is not yet obligated in mitzva observance, because responsibility for his rest is incumbent upon the Jew.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Our daf today TB Shabbat 122 continues the discussion of the Shabbos goy. “MISHNA: If a gentile kindled a lamp on Shabbat for his own purposes, a Jew also uses its light; and if the gentile kindled it for a Jew, the Sages prohibited to utilize its light. Similarly, if a gentile drew water from a well in the public domain to give his animal to drink, a Jew gives his own animal to drink after him from the same water; and if he drew the water initially for the benefit of a Jew, it is prohibited for a Jew to give his animal to drink from that water. Similarly, if a gentile made a ramp on Shabbat to disembark from a ship, a Jew disembarks after him; and if he made the ramp for a Jew, it is prohibited. There was an incident in which Rabban Gamliel and the Elders were traveling on a ship and a gentile made a ramp on Shabbat in order to disembark from the ship on it; and Rabban Gamliel and the Elders disembarked on it as well.” (Sefaria.org translation)

The Mishna on TB Shabbat 120 focuses on giving directions to the Gentile on Shabbat and today’s daf focuses on deriving benefit from work done by a Gentile on Shabbat. Rambam explains why we are forbidden to give directions to the Gentile on Shabbat saying that if we get use to telling a Gentile to circumvent the Sabbath, the Sabbath will become less important in our eyes. Rashi gives two different explanations why this is forbidden. He says that our speech has to be different on Shabbat than on the weekday i.e. not giving instructions to a Gentile. (See TB Avodah Zarah 16a) Secondly, by telling a non-Jew to do something for me, he becomes my agent and an agent is no different from the person who has engaged him.

Tosefot makes a very fine, but difficult in my eyes, distinction between the first Mishna and the second Mishna. At first glance the Jew drives benefit from the Gentile who puts out the fire. Why wouldn’t that be prohibited even when he said nothing?! Tosefot writes that in the first case the Jew does not get any direct benefit from the Gentile’s action and in the second case he gets direct personal benefit.

We are probably way too lenient when it comes to the laws of the Shabbos goy. Rabbi Isaac Klein in his book A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice writes:

The law states explicitly as a general principle that we may not ask a non-Jew to do something on the Sabbath that we may not to ourselves (Maimonides, Hil. Shabbat 24:4) because of the exceptions to this rule, the institution of the “Shabbes-goy” came into being. The exceptions are in the following cases:

1.       Illness or other emergencies

2.       Lighting a fire in cold weather

3.       To relieve an animal in pain

4.       Where the act is done by a non-Jew for his own purpose even though it you may benefit(B Shab. 122b (today’s daf-gg)

These exceptions have been stretched to the point that some Sabbath observers have non-Jews do every manner of work around the house that is usually forbidden. The general idea of a Shabbes goy is repugnant, however, in most cases it has become unnecessary because a modern automatic devices.

However, the problem still remains relevant in the field of business and industry. May a Jew use a suit made for him by a non-Jewish tailor on the Sabbath? May a non-Jewish partner of the business or industrial establishment work on the Sabbath? May a non-Jewish contractor to a construction job for Jew in the Sabbath?

The rabbis lay down the general principle that if the non-Jew is independent, is paid for the job as a whole, and is not told specifically to work on the Sabbath, he may do his work (O.H. 244:5, 252:2). One may give his clothes to a laundry, ask a non-Jewish tailor to fix his garments, or ask a non-Jew to do any other similar type of work, even if he knows that will be done on the Sabbath, as long as the non-Jew is free to decide when the work should be done. An employee of the house or synagogue who is assigned specific duties on the Sabbath as part of his total responsibilities would also be under this category. Such a person is not called a Shabbes goy.

The only exception to this rule is when the work is done in the open and is obviously being done for a Jew (O.H. 244:1, 252:3). This includes the case of a non-Jewish contractor who has been engaged to build the synagogue. Theoretically, since he has the option to work whenever he wants, he should be permitted to work on the Sabbath, but because it will be obvious that the work is being done for Jews, it is not permitted. The same applies to work done on the premises of a synagogue. (O.H. 244:5) (Page 90-91)

If you’re interested in more details about the evolution of this institution of a Shabbos goy, I turn your attention to Jacob Katz’s book The Shabbes Goy: A Study in Halakhic Flexibility.