Chapter 73:5
Employing Gentiles on the Sabbath
5. [A Gentile, who is employed by a Jew, may work for the Jew on Shabbos,
only if the following conditions (among others which we have covered, or
will cover over the next few days) are met (it should be noted that there
are many details and exceptions to these rules which will not cover here)]
The work performed by the Gentile may not involve objects that are
connected to the ground, like a building or crops (1). It is forbidden for
a Gentile to work on a construction project for a Jew on Shabbos even when
the price of the entire project was already agreed on beforehand (i.e the
Gentile is being hired as a contractor, an arrangement that would be
permissible if the work wasn't being done in public - see yesterday's
footnotes). If this presents an extreme difficulty, a Rabbinic authority
should be consulted.
It is even forbidden for a Gentile to chisel stones or prepare boards on
Shabbos, if he performs these tasks in a public place, and it is known that
they belong to a Jew.
Similarly, regarding working in the fields, for example, plowing or
harvesting, and the like, even if the Jew contracts a Gentile to perform an
entire task for a specific price (which we saw yesterday was a permissible
arrangement), rather than paying him on a daily basis, it is nevertheless
prohibited. However, if the Gentile receives a percentage of the crop, and
that is the local custom in the area, it is permissible.
There is, however, a leniency if the field is far removed - at least beyond
the distance a Jew is allowed to walk on Shabbos (2000 cubits) - from all
Jewish homes. In such an instance, it is permitted if the Gentile is
contracted to perform the work for a specific fee, and is not paid for each
day's work.
FOOTNOTES:
(1) There is a principle in Jewish Law called "Mar'is Ayin" (lit: visual
appearance), which forbids the performance of a permissible act, if a
theoretical witness (who knows Jewish law) might mistake it for a forbidden
one. In other words, one is not allowed to do something that might lead to
someone suspecting one of wrongdoing. In above Halacha, since construction
works and farming are open to the public eye, and people are generally
aware that the property is owned by a Jew, they might mistakenly assume
that the Jew instructed the Gentile to work for him on Shabbos (rather than
arranging it in a permissible manner, which is what actually happened).
