Shabbat 150: The Eiruv and Discussion of Boudaries/Permitted Acts on Shabbat

A new Mishan teaches us that a person may not hire workers on Shabbat to work after Shabbat.  We cannot tell agents to do this for us.  We cannot wait for sunset at the edge of the Shabbat boundary to do this or to bring produce in from the field.  Abba Shaul stated a general principle: regarding anything that I am permitted to discuss on Shabbat, I am permitted to wait for nightfall at the edge of the Shabbat boundary for its sake. 

 

The Gemara describes specific ways of asking things that might not transgress Shabbat prohibitions. The rabbis specify that we cannot say the Shema in front of a naked Gentile.  We know that we cannot do this in front of a naked Jew; why ask again?  In case we look to Ezikiel’s comparison of a Gentile’s skin to that of a donkey and on thinks that means that we can exempt Gentiles from this requirement.  The rabbis mention that Noah nakedness was not seen by his sons, and Noah was a Gentile. 

 

We are permitted to make calculations regarding a mitzva on Shabbat.  We may count out charity for the poor and attend to requirements – saving a life, communal needs, community affairs – on Shabbat.  We may go to theatres, circus performances and courthouses to attend to these affairs on Shabbat.  We can make a shittach, arranged marriage, on Shabbat; we may find teachers for our children.  In other words, we are told that we are permitted to speak about the “business of Heaven” on Shabbat.

 

The rabbis address waiting at the edge of the Shabbat boundary.  They note that if there are small guardhouses, we are permitted to walk to another city over Shabbat.  This is because an entire area can be included in one eiruv if these guardhouses mark the way from one town to another.  Even without the guardhouses, it is permitted to speak about such a journey simply because the journey would be permitted if the guardhouses were there.

 

In further discussion about distinguishing between the sacred and the profane at the end of Shabbat, Abba Shaul’s states a general principle: regarding anything that I am permitted to discuss on Shabbat, I am permitted to fair for nightfall at the edge of the eiruv for its sake.