DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

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

      
(File size: 550 KB)
May One Leave a PayPal Account Active on Shabbat?

The Halacha prohibits conducting business transactions, "Mekach U’Memkar," on Shabbat. In the era of e-commerce, many new questions arise. For example, the Poskim discuss whether it is permissible to leave a PayPal account active on Shabbat. The issue is whether any money deposited on Shabbat or Yom Tob constitutes a prohibited transaction.

The consensus is to be lenient, provided the Jew did not instruct that the money be deposited specifically on Shabbat. The precedent for this ruling is found in Shulhan Aruch (Siman 246), where Maran permits giving money to a non-Jew to make a purchase, without specifically indicating to do so on Shabbat. The fact that the non-Jew actually bought the items for the Jew on Shabbat is inconsequential. Maran also rules (Siman 243) that the only reason it is prohibited to hire a non-Jew to manage a bathhouse is "Marit Ayin," people may misconstrue the arrangement. He does not cite the problem of the non-Jew receiving the money on the Jew’s behalf. From these precedents, it is derived that one may leave his PayPal account active on Shabbat, and any money deposited on Shabbat is permitted for use immediately after Shabbat.

SUMMARY
It is permitted to leave a Pay Pal account active on Shabbat.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Nidda – The Status of Stains Found on Colored Garments
Immersing in a Mikveh With Long Nails and Nail Polish (Part 2)
Immersing in a Mikveh With Long Nails and Nail Polish (Part 1)
If a Woman Did Not Immerse In The Mikveh on the Night After the Seventh Day
May a Woman Immerse in the Mikveh Before Sundown on the Seventh Day?
When May a Woman Begin Counting the Seven “Clean Days”?
If No Wine is Available Under the Hupa; The Recitation of Birkat Erusin
The Custom to Refrain From Eating Meat On the Day of Immersion In A Mikveh
Weddings in Synagogues
Laws and Customs of the Meal at a Wedding
Does the Officiating Rabbi Drink the Wine Under the Hupa?
Who Has the Right to Choose the Officiating Rabbi at a Wedding?
If the Sheba Berachot Were Recited Out of Order
The Great Rewards of Hachnasat Kalla – Helping a Couple Marry and Build a Home
Must the Hatan’s Family Lineage Appear in the Ketuba?
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found