What services can one’s non-Jewish help provide on Shabbat? Is she permitted to fold laundry, wash clothes, vacuum the floors and wash dishes? We addressed this question recently during a shiur at Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck.
Maran sets forth the rules in Shulhan Aruch Orah Haim (244:5) as follows: We may hire a non-Jew to do work for us if we do not expect the work to be done specifically on Shabbat or Yom Tov. For example, we may hire a tailor to make a suit for us and it is no concern to us if he does the work on Shabbat or Yom Tov. As far as we are concerned, the non-Jew could have performed the task during the week and therefore his choice to do the work on Shabbat is his own. We are forbidden, however, to either explicitly or implicitly instruct that the work be done on Shabbat. For example, it is not permitted to mail a Fedex package on Friday and mark it next-day delivery, since we are specifically directing the company to do the work on Shabbat. Similarly, it is forbidden to give our car to a non-Jewish mechanic immediately before Shabbat and pick up the car right after the conclusion of Shabbat, since one is implicitly instructing the non-Jew to repair one’s automobile on Shabbat. The issue is avoided if we deliver and/or pick up the car with enough time for the auto repairman to theoretically complete the work at a time that is not Shabbat.
Maran, however, presents one major caveat: the non-Jew may perform the work as long as it is not done in the Jew’s home. However, the non-Jew is not permitted to perform melacha (work) on Shabbat or Yom Tov in the Jew’s home, even if the non-Jew is doing the work on Shabbat to suit his own schedule. Thus, for example, it is not permitted for one’s hired workers to paint one’s house on Shabbat even if one is not home. The reason is that it appears that a Jew instructed the non-Jew to do the work on Shabbat.
Thus, one’s hired help can perform any task in one’s home that does not involve melacha. For example, they may make order and place items in their proper places on Shabbat. On the other hand, they may not perform tasks such as doing the laundry or cleaning floors with a vacuum. They may, however, wash dishes with hot water. Although we may not use hot water on Shabbat (due to the cold water that will be heated as a result), the non-Jew uses the hot water solely for her own convenience. She could have washed the dishes with cold water, but uses the hot water simply because it is a more efficient manner to accomplish the task.
Finally, one may ask that according to this line of reasoning, the hired help may vacuum the floors since she could have used a broom or carpet sweeper. A response is that the loud noise is not in keeping with the atmosphere of Shabbat, similar to a water mill which the Shulhan Aruch encourages us to avoid have running on Shabbat due to the noise it generates.
Hired help for many families is not a luxury but a means of coping with the challenge of both spouses holding down a job while properly attending to the needs of the children. Thus, non-Jews can perform tasks for us to help us on Shabbat, but we need to provide guidance as to what they may or not do on Shabbat. It is recommended that we provide advance notice to allow the hired individual to arrange her schedule so that she will not be pressured to do work in our homes on Shabbat or Yom Tov.
By Rabbi Haim Jachter
Rabbi Haim Jachter is spiritual leader of Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck.
