1. It is permitted to lend or rent
one's vessels to a Gentile even though he will do work through them on
the Sabbath. The reason is that we were not commanded to have our
vessels also rest on the Sabbath. There are those who hold that
it is forbidden if one's vessels have work done
through them on the Sabbath; for example plowing. So it would be
prohibited to
rent vessels to
a Gentile on Friday. On Thursday
it would be permitted to
rent one's vessels to a Gentile only on the
condition that he does not take the wages of the Sabbath (work) but
loans them through a loan. For example, one rents it to the
Gentile for a
month or for a week. To
lend vessels, it is permitted even on
Friday. [We hold like the last opinion and it is permitted to
lend a vessel to a Gentile on
Friday. Even though the gentile
makes a deal to borrow and return the object we do not say that it is
like a renter.]
2. It is forbidden to lend any vessel to a Gentile on the
Sabbath. Even on Friday close to sunset it is forbidden to lend
any vessel that will be unable to be brought out of the home before
sunset. This is due to the fear that passers by who witness this
will think that the Jew
instructed the Gentile to bring the vessels out.
3. It is forbidden to lend or to rent out one's animal to a
Gentile in order that work would be done on the Sabbath since we were
commanded regarding the resting of our animals. [One may rent or
lend one's animal to a Gentile on the condition that it is returned
before Shabbat. It would not help if the Gentile made a
stipulation that the animals were to rest on Shabbat since he is not
trusted on this.] If one would rent or lend to a Gentile on the
condition that it be returned before the Sabbath and the Gentile kept
the animal on Shabbat he should make the animal
hefker [1] by himself before the onset of the Sabbath or he should say "my animal
becomes the property of the Gentile" in order to save himself from a
Biblical transgression. [If he wishes, he may make it
hefker before three people like other acts of
hefker. Even here, another
person is not able to take possession of his animal since his intention
was only to remove from himself the transgression. The above only
applies on Shabbat. However, with regard to Yom Tov (festivals)
one is not commanded to have his animals rest on these holidays.]
4. A Jew who rents oxen to a Gentile in order to plow a field or
to sow there are those who permit it in a special situation where the
Gentile accepted upon himself the seven Noahide laws including
kidnapping, murder, stealing, believing in G-d, immorality, eating from
a live animal, and civil laws. Others say that since the Gentile
is
unable to sell the animal at his will it is still considered the Jew's
animal.
[2] [See below in the next
paragraph]
5. If a Jew and a Gentile are partners in owning an animal then
it is permitted for the Gentile to work the animal on Shabbat if they
made an initial agreement when they purchased the animal that the
Gentile is to work the animal on Saturday and the Jew is to work the
animal on a weekday. If they did not make this initial agreement,
then it is prohibited even if they made the idential agreement at a
later date. If the Jew loans the animal to a Gentile with a
complete loan such that the Gentile has permission to do whatever he
wishes with the animal without obtaining permission from the Jew, and
charge the value to the Gentile such that the oxen are mortgaged
property to the Gentile, then it is permitted. There are those
who permit this even if the Gentile did not have permission to take out
the animal since he charges the value to the Gentile and later the
Gentile returns the animal. In effect a pledge is made [he means
to say that the Jew stated "you will only have to pay in the following
situation [3]"] to the Jew or
yehar'hanam [meaning collateral which is called
raan in Arabic]. This only applies if he did not tell him "from now"
[4]. There are those who permit the above case
only where he warned the Gentile to not do work on the Sabbath.
If he transgressed and did work on the Sabbath, then the responsibility
will be on the Gentile's, even from accidental transgressions if he
wrote down this agreement since now if he comes and does work on
Shabbat it is not a Jewish animal since the Gentile acquired it to be
liable for inadvertent transgressions. [All of these situations
described above as permissible, such is the law and one may do whatever
of them one wishes to do. Even if the animal completely belonged
to the Jew, the law is that it is as if it was a joint partnership with
the Gentile solely hat it becomes publicized that it becomes a
permissible way.]
[5] _________________________
[1] Ownerless
[2] The Mishna Brura offers the following
explanation: The Gentiles of that time period were not
trustworthy and would frequently steal from Jews. It was common
for the Gentiles to rent an animal from a Jew and then sell the animal
to
someone else. For this reason, when a Jew rented an animal to the
Gentile, he was worried about it being stolen so he did not give up any
of his ownership rights to the animal for the period of the
lease. So according to Jewish law the animal is still considered
the property of the Jew and in the Jew's possession, even if a Gentile
rented it and it is in the Gentile's possession. In the special
case where a Gentile fears G-d and accepts upon himself not to steal,
the Jew is not afraid that the Gentile will sell his animal and it
becomes like it is owned by the Gentile and in the Gentile's
property.
[3] This is a very confusing case. I think he is saying that the
Jew made a deal with the Gentile that the animal was given as a loan
with collateral given to the Jew that is returned when the animal is
returned.
[4] I am at a loss in explaining what he is trying to say.
[5] These last few sentences are confusing and I do not fully
understand them. They seem to contradict paragraph 3 and 4 which
state that one may not lend or rent one's animal to a Gentile to be
used on the Sabbath. But then again, it seems this is talking
about a case where he did a higher form of lending called "a complete
loan".
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ShulchanArach.com Translated by Jay Dinovitser DO 12/11
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