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...
Must One Wear A Head Covering Even While Stationary
Does A Synagogue Lose Its Sanctity If A Serious Transgression Took Place There
Purchasing or Selling Toy Dolls
Is It Permissible To Follow A Rabbi's Direction After The Rabbi Strayed From The Right Path ?
Halachot that Reflect the Required Balance Between Joy and Fear
Must The Synagogue Chose Someone Who Is Married To Be Chazan
Moving Ovens or Stoves, Sealing Windows or Doors, and Blowing out Candles
Is It Required To Situate The Bimah In The Center of The Synagogue
May The Congregation Return An UnKosher Torah To The Hechal
May One Take a Pebble from the Western Wall as a Souvenir?
Some Laws Regarding A Tzedaka Box In One's House
Is It Permissible To Hang a Bag of Bread on a Hook
Calling a Child to Check a Sefer Torah with a Questionable Letter
Magic and Hypnotism in Halacha
Accepting A Job Even If It Is Beneath One's Dignity
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found