Shulchan Aruch Chapter 242:  To Be Careful with the Honor of Shabbat (1 Paragraph)
Note:  REMA is in brackets [ ]
1.  Even in the case of a destitute individual who is reliant on others, whatever little he does possess he must arouse himself in using them in order to honor the Shabbat.  And we do not say, "make your Sabbath like a regular day and do not bother to make something new".  Rather, one who is very pressed for time must restrict oneself on the other days of the week in order to honor the Sabbath.  Ezra the Scribe decreed that one should launder garments on Thursday in order to honor the Shabbat.  [It is our custom to kneed dough in the house of sufficient quantity to take Chalah [1], in order to bake loafs to slice on the Shabbat and Yom Tov.  This is "honoring" the Shabbat and Yom Tov.  One should not change from this custom.  There are those who write that in a few places the custom is to eat a stuffing called "Pashteedah" on the Eve of Shabbat which is a remembrance for the Manna; as the Manna was covered from above and below [2] {Meharil and I didn't see a reference}.]

Footnotes:
1.  "Chalah" pronounced Khal'ah refers to the Biblical requirement to set aside a small quantity of dough for the Priests which nowadays is thrown away or burnt since the Priests are not ritually clean.
2.  M.B: With dew.
 
Shulchan Aruch Chapter 243:  The Law of One Who Rents His Field and Bath House to Gentiles (2 Paragraphs)

1.  One should not rent his bath house to Gentiles (to use on Shabbat) because they are recognized by his name and through this, work is being done in it on the Shabbat.  For a regular bath house is not considered a tenancy.  [Meaning the Gentile is a tenant (or partner) who works in order to earn a portion when the owner is resting.  We say that all rooms owned by Jews and rented to Gentiles are usually done so on a day by day basis.  Therefore, through this arrangement, work is being done by a messenger of the Jew.  However, a field is permitted to rent because the normal way is for those to accept fields on the condition of tenancy.  Furthermore, even though that people recognize the field belongs to a Jew, they will say that the Gentile purchased the field through the process of tenancy and is working for himself.  An oven has the same law as a bath house.  Mills have the same laws as a field [even though they only purchase it for three of four days and the Jew derives benefit from the Gentile's work on Shabbat, it is allowed since he is working for himself ] [1]

2.  Even a bath house or an oven, if he rents them out year after year and the matter is known that the way is to not hire the workers but the rent to them, then it is permitted.  Similarly is the custom of most people in that area is to rent to them or to hire them through tenancy it is permitted to rent property to Gentiles or to give it to them through tenancy.  [Even in a forbidden area, if the oven or bath house did not belong to a Jew but rather the Jew rented it from Gentiles and he in turn re-rented it to Gentiles, it is permitted since the name of the Jew is not attached to it.  Similarly, if there was a bath house located in a house of lodging and they do not wash in a bath house but just the one in his house; and they know that it is rented out to Gentiles, then it is permitted.  Suppose that one transgressed and rented in a forbidden area.  There are those who say that after the fact his renting is permitted and there are those who say that it is forbidden, and so is the law.]

Footnotes:
1.  It is a rabbinical decree to forbid a Jew from hiring a Gentile to do work for him on the Shabbat.  In the case of the rented bath house through tenancy, this rabbinical prohibition does not apply since the Gentile is not a messenger of the Jew.  It is forbidden due to a different reason.  Even though the Gentile is not hired by the Jew to do work for him, it is forbidden due to the rule of "the bad eye" (Marat Ayin) since passers by think that the Gentile is doing work for the Jew since they recognize the field belonging to the Jew. 

Shulchan Aruch Chapter 244:  The Types of Work a Gentile is Able to Do for a Jew (6 Paragraphs)

1.  If one made a deal with a Gentile to do a specific job for a fixed sum of payment and the Gentile went and did the job, even if he did so on the Shabbat it is permitted [1].  This only applies in private where the public is not aware that this job is being done on Shabbat is being done of a Jew.  However, if the matter is known and publicized then it is prohibited.  For they merely see the Gentile working unaware aware that he was previously hired at a fixed rate.  So they will say that the Jew hired the Gentile to do work for him on Shabbat.  Therefore, if one made the above deal with a Gentile to cut his field, if the work took place in the county or within the Sabbath boundary it is prohibited due to passers by who would not know that he fixed a price with the Gentile.  [Even if one lives among Gentiles, we fear that guests may come there and we fear members of his own household may suspect this.]  But if the work was done outside the Sabbath boundary and there is also no other city within the boundary then it is permitted.
 
2.  To sculpt stones or to fix beams are prohibited even if this is being done in the home of a Gentile since they must be attached to the Jew's home in order to be complete.  If one did so, they should not be set in the building.  [Others say that if it not known that they belong to the Jew then it is permitted.]

3.  If a Gentile built a home for a Jew on the Sabbath in a prohibited manor, it is proper to be stringent and to never enter the home.  [However, if the Jew made a deal with the Gentile that he may not work on the Sabbath and the Gentile worked on the Sabbath anyways in order to complete the job sooner, then it is permitted.]

4.  Work that is done the public eye, even on portable items such as a boat, if known to be owned by a Jew have the same laws as land based goods.

5.  Suppose a Jew hired a Gentile for one or two years to write for him or to weave a garment.  The writing and weaving that was done on the Sabbath is considered like he hired the Gentile at a fixed sum to write a book or weave a garment; where he may do so at any time he wishes.  This is true as long as he does not meet daily with the Gentile to monitor his progress and the work is not done in the home of a Jew.  There are those who prohibit hiring a Gentile for a length of time.  [This is true only when one hires the Gentile for a single job like a garment to weave or a book to write.  However, to hire a Gentile to do all the jobs one needs to be done within a specific length of time, according to every opinion this is prohibited.]

6. A Jew who buys something that collects fees [2], it is permitted to hire a Gentile to accept the fees on the Sabbath.  This applies so long as the Gentile is acting under contract labor which means that he tells him "when a hundred Dinars accumulates, take for yourself a certain amount".  [ Similarly, one is able to hire the Gentile to collect fees on all Sabbaths provided that the Gentile collects a portion [3] of the sum collected on the Sabbaths for himself.  We are not worried that passers by will claim that he is doing work for a Jew.  For it is a case of monitary loss and in a case of  monetary loss we are not concerned (of Marat Ayin).  A Jew who collects "for the coin of the king" [4], the same law applies as one collecting fees even though that  it causes a voice to go out on the Shabbat when the currency is collected.  However one must be cautious to ensure that the Jew does not stand next to the Gentile on the Sabbath when he performs his duty either in the case of  the coin of thie King or the case of fee collection.]

Footnotes:
1.  Hiring a Gentile to work for you on the Sabbath is Rabinically prohibited.  This case is talking about where one hired a Gentile before Shabbat to do work for a certain sum, without time constraints.  The Gentile is free to complete the job at any time but it is at his benefit to work sooner so he can finish it.  If the Gentile in this case works on the Sabbath, he is doing so out of his own benefit so it is permitted.
2.  Lit. "taxes" or "a bridge".  Unsure of meaning in this context.  I think he means something that collects a fee like a bridge or like taxes.
3.  I do not know the exact translation of this word, הריוח .
4.  Translated literally.  I do not know what this refers to. 
____________________
Translated by Dr. Jay Dinovitser D.O.   09/2010 *
ShulchanArach.com
Free For Personal Use Only.