If a Jew sells merchandise over the internet, may he allow the site to continue running and take orders on Shabbat, and he will then process the orders and make the deliveries after Shabbat?
Rav Shemuel Pinchasi (contemporary) addresses this question in his new book (listen to audio for precise citation) and rules that it is forbidden to allow the site to run on Shabbat. Even if the majority of those accessing the site are not Jewish, and even though the site owner will process the orders only after Shabbat, he must have the site shut down during Shabbat. Rav Pinchasi cites a number of leading Halachic authorities who hold this view, including Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, Rav Chayim Kanievsky, and Rav Yonah Metzger.
Is it permissible for a Jew lodging in a hotel over Shabbat to request from the gentile concierge before Shabbat to receive a wakeup call on Shabbat morning?
Rav Pinchasi rules that one may request a wakeup call for Shabbat morning, for two reasons. Firstly, when one asks to be woken up, he does not ask specifically for a phone call; he would be perfectly content having somebody come and knock on his door in the morning. The hotel staff chooses to make a phone call for their own convenience, and not because the Jew specifically requested it. Secondly, most hotels nowadays operate an automated wakeup system, such that nobody actually makes the phone call in the morning, and therefore no Melacha (forbidden activity) is performed.
Summary: A Jew who sells merchandise over the internet must have the site shut down over Shabbat, even if most of the people who access the site are gentiles, and even though he processes the orders only after Shabbat. It is permissible for a Jew staying in a hotel to request before Shabbat that he receive a wakeup call on Shabbat.
