"Techumim" The Borders of Shabbos King Solomon and his Rabbinical court prohibited a person from walking 2000 cubits (3,287 feet = 1 km) in any direction from a city or town. The area is measured from the last house on each of the four directions and drawn as a rectangle. The area can be extended up to another 2000 cubits with an "Eruv Techumim". These laws are very complicated and whenever such a question should arise a competent Rabbi should be consulted.
Animals Must Also Rest on Shabbos It is a Biblical commandment that any animal or bird that is in your possesion including those you rented, may not do any of the 39 forbidden Biblical work for anyone, nor may they carry from a private domain into a public domain or vice versa. His animal is permitted to carry what is needed to guard the animal. Some examples of this are: A) A horses bridle that is used to hold the animal if he tries to run away. B) A blanket to protect the animal from cold weather when necessary. C) A non-Jewish worker may ride the Jewish owner's animal, because he can walk by himself and is not considered a load or burden to the animal. A Jew is forbidden to ride an animal on Shabbos as explained before. D) It is forbidden to do with the animal weekly mundane jobs even though they are not Biblically prohibited. Some examples of this prohibition are: 1. To have the animal transport things within a private domain that are not truly needed for the Sabbath. 2. To have your animal walk in front of you in order to trip the electric eye of an automatic door to open it so that you may enter. Even if the animal or bird does not belong to you it is forbidden to cause an animal to do a Biblical work either directly or indirectly through a positive act, such as through noise or the like.
One is supposed to honor Shabbos by refraining from performing weekly mundane acts. Some examples of this prohibition are: A) Not to enter his store or factory on Shabbos to see what is needed to be done after Shabbos. B) Not to pay workers on Shabbos. C) Not to weigh things on scales or in measuring cups. It is permitted to weigh things or measure them in measuring cups for a mitzvah, such as for food to be eaten on the Shabbos. D) Not to loan or repay things on the Shabbos unless its for a mitzvah. E) Not to assess properties or valuables. F) Not to discuss on Shabbos plans for after Shabbos G) Not to hire workers verbally. H) Not to make business calculations.
The Prohibition To Tell a Non-Jew To Transgress the Sabbath It is Rabbinically forbidden to tell a non-Jew to do an action with the property of a Jew, that he himself is Biblically or Rabbinically forbidden to do on Shabbos, even if he is telling the non-Jew to do the action for himself and not for the Jew. This prohibition is related to the prohibition of benefitting from an act of a non-Jew who transgressed the Sabbath for a Jew, that, although the Jew did not command the non-Jew to do the act, either by just hinting to him that he needs it done without a positive tone of voice that it should be done, or that he did not say anything to him, and he did it by himself, it is in any case forbidden to benefit from that act. In both cases these are exception to the rules that permit it. In some cases he may benefit from the act but he may not tell the non-Jew to do the act. For example, it is forbidden to tell or hint in a direct manner to a non-Jew, to tear open a sealed letter, but he may hint to him, in an indirect manner, and say, "I cant read this letters" in order that he understands that he wants it opened. In this case the hint to open the letter was not a positive assertion to open it. It is also permitted to read the letter since his body did not derive any physical pleasure from the act of opening the letter. It would also be permitted to say " the house lighting is dim" so that he would open the lights when there is enough light to see by without this extra light. Where he is in danger of incurring a financial loss due to an unexpected occurrence, such as a fire or flood, it is permitted to hint in an indirect manner, to a non-Jew and say "anyone saving my property will not lose thereby", thus hinting that he would be rewarded, and then he may do Biblical works to save the property of the Jew. Where the potential financial loss is not due to an unexpected occurrence but it is a substantial potential loss, or for the need of someone who is not feeling well or in pain, or for the purpose of performing a mitzvah, it is permitted to tell the non-Jew to violate a Rabbinical prohibition but not a Biblical Prohibition to remedy the situation. However, in these cases it is permitted to hint to him, in an indirect manner, to do something that may violate a Biblical prohibition providing that his body does not benefit from the violation of the Biblical prohibition. In a case where it is necessary to violate a Biblical prohibition in order that the public may perform a mitzvah, or to prevent an illness, such as to heat a cold house, and of course to treat someone who is seriously ill, it is permitted to tell a non-Jew to violate even a Biblical prohibition. If a non-Jew does an action for himself that is forbidden to a Jew, such as a servant who opens the lights to wash the Jews dishes, or heats the room that a Jew is also occupying, the Jew may benefit from this action because the non-Jew will not add light or heat for the Jew since it is enough. If he did it for a mixed group of Jews and non- Jews, it is forbidden to benefit from the deed. If a non- Jew cooked food for himself and offers some of it to his Jewish acquaintance, the Jew is not allowed to eat or drink it for fear that the next time the non-Jew will cook more than usual for his Jewish acquaintance. It is forbidden on Shabbos to take clothing from the manufacturer to wear on Shabbos. If a non-Jew performed an act for a Jew that is a Biblical prohibition, even if done without his knowledge, and this act is not one of the exceptions that are permitted, all Jews are prohibited to eat or use it until Shabbos is over in addition to the time it takes to make the food or the object. If the non-Jew violated a Rabbinical prohibition, some Sages are of the opinion that it is forbidden for all Jews to eat or use it until immediately after Shabbos, however, the Jew for whom the act was done including his immediate household and guests are forbidden to use it until after Shabbos plus the time it takes to make the food or the object. The exception to this rule is if the non-Jew carried it from a distance further than 2000 cubits (3,278 ft = 1km) or from out of the area within which it is permitted to move on Shabbos. The non-Jew's violation of the Sabbatical boundaries does not forbid Jews to eat or use the object that was carried out of these boundaries, however, the Jew who was to benefit from this act and his immediate household and his guests are forbidden to eat or use it until after the Shabbos in addition to the time it took to bring it to him. Other Sages are of the opinion that if a non-Jew violates any Rabbinical prohibition for a Jew, only that Jew and his immediate household and guests are forbidden to eat or use it until immediately after Shabbos. It is important to note that in times of need, when one is coerced to violate the Shabbos because he was drafted into the armed forces or because he is experiencing much discomfort, or he is ill, it is possible to perform a work that appears as a work prohibited by the Bible but is halachikly a Rabbinical prohibition .Furthermore one can perform the work in a way that is a double Rabbinical prohibition (a Rabbinical prohibition of a Rabbinical prohibition, תרי דרבנן) and then it would be permitted for a Jew to do the work for the purpose of alleviating the pain of someone ill. I will now explain the Rabbinical prohibition of the thirty nine works of Shabbos.
Rules of the Rabbinical Thirty Nine Works In order for the thirty nine works of the Shabbos to be Biblically prohibited they must be performed according to their specific rules. If not, then they can be either permitted or prohibited Rabbinically. I will now list and explain these rules. 1. The work must be done the standard way it is usually done. Therefore, if he turned on the heater using his elbow it is a Rabbinical prohibition. 2. The work must be done by the minimum amount of persons needed to do the work. Therefore, if two people simultaneously open the switch that ignites the heater it is a Rabbinical prohibition. If they both hold a stick and together they open the switch of the heater, it is a double Rabbinical prohibition because two are doing a work that one can do, and both are doing it in an unusual manner. 3. He must do the work the way he intended to do the work. Therefore, if his intentions were to turn on one heater but he did not see so well and he turned on a different heater, he transgressed a Rabbinical prohibition. 4. He must have intention to do the work, but if he had intention to do a permissible work with the possibility that as a result of this he may also be performing a forbidden work, it is permitted. An example of this is dragging a bed on non-paved ground where there is a possibility that he may create a groove in the earth which is the work of plowing. 5. If however it is definite that he will create a grove in the earth by dragging the bed but it is not being dragged on his property and he does not care one way or the other about the groove, then it is a Rabbinical prohibition. 6. If the groove will be made on his property and it is an improvement of his property because it is loosening the earth the same as done with plowing, then he violated the Biblical work of plowing, because it is then considered that he intended both to drag the bed and to plow. 7. If his intention to do the work was not for the work itself but for a different purpose,it is a Rabbinical prohibition according to the majority of the Rabbinical authorities. An example of this is where he intends to make a groove in ground that is public property, for the purpose of using the earth obtained from the groove to cover the blood of an animal after slaughtering it, but not for the purpose of plowing (since it is not his property he has no interest to plow it).
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