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...
Swimming During the Three Weeks
Situations When Listening to or Playing Music is Permissible During the Three Weeks
Avoiding Danger During the Three Weeks
Listening to Music During the Three Weeks
May One Allow a Contractor to Continue Building a Home During the Three Weeks?
Reciting Birkat Ha’gomel on Shiba Assar Be’Tammuz and Tisha B’Ab
Do the Restrictions of the Three Weeks Apply on the Night Before Shiba Asar Be’Tammuz?
Reciting “Tikun Rahel” Every Afternoon During the Three Weeks
Habdala When Tisha B’Ab Falls on Mosa’eh Shabbat
Purchasing and Mending Clothes During the Three Weeks and Nine Days
When Precisely Do the Prohibitions of the Nine Days Begin?
Washing a Stain Off One’s Clothes During the Week of Tisha B’Ab
The Custom of Syrian Jews Not to Make Weddings During the Three Weeks
Purchasing a Home or Furniture, or Painting One’s Home, During the Three Weeks
The Three Weeks – Restrictions on Hitting and Traveling
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found