DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 470 KB)
May One Allow a Plumber to Perform Repairs on Shabbat?

The Mishna Berura (252:17) cites the Hayeh Adam (Rav Abraham Danzig of Vilna, 1748-1820) who rules that one may not allow a technician to remain in his house on Shabbat to complete repairs. Even though the technician is working on the basis of "Kablanut," a fixed fee per task, it is prohibited, because of "Marit Ayin." Outside observers may misconstrue the circumstances of the employment.

There is one exception to this principle. In cases where there is an issue of "Kavod Habriyot" (Human Dignity), e.g. a plumbing emergency, one may allow the technician to complete the repair. The Halachic weight of Kavod Habriyot overrides the concern of "Marit Ayin," which is a Rabbinic enactment.

SUMMARY
One may allow a technician to complete repairs in his home on Shabbat under circumstances compromising "Kavod Habriyot."

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Must a Pilot Recite Birkat Ha’gomel Every Day?
“Kol Yisrael Arebim Zeh La’zeh” – Reciting Berachot on Behalf of Others (Gomel, Shehakol, etc)
Do People Who Travel by Ferry Every Day Recite Birkat Ha’gomel?
The Custom of Hatarat Nedarim on Ereb Shabbat
Is It Permissible to Share Digital Music Files?
Touching One’s Clothing Before Washing Netilat Yadayim in the Morning
Touching Food Before Washing One’s Hands in the Morning
The Importance of Forgiveness, and the Dangers of Anger
The Name of the Month “Marheshvan”
Purifying Oneself by Washing Hands 40 Times
The Status of a Kohen Whose Profession Requires Him to Become Tameh
May a Kohen Attend His Wife’s Funeral if They Were in the Process of Divorcing?
Laws Pertaining to a Kohen’s Wife During Pregnancy
Tum’at Kohanim - The Prohibition for a Kohen to be Under the Same Roof as a Dead Body
Fulfilling the Misva of Kiddush on Shabbat Morning Without Eating; Using the Cup of Wine at a Berit for Kiddush
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found