Is it permissible for a man to wear a ring while walking in a public domain on Shabbat?
The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat (62) distinguishes in this regard between regular rings, and rings bearing a signet (a stamp used for endorsing official documents). Since it is very common for men to wear signet-rings, the Gemara establishes, such rings are considered a garment and may be worn in a public domain on Shabbat. Other rings, however, are not normally worn by men, and they thus cannot be considered a garment. Wearing such rings thus constitutes carrying, rather than wearing, and is forbidden in a public domain on Shabbat. This Halacha is codified by the Shulhan Aruch (301:9).
The question arises as to whether or not this ruling obtains even today, when many men customarily wear rings without a signet. (It must be emphasized that we do not discuss here the propriety of men wearing rings; we merely observe that many men do have such a practice.) Would this allow us to classify rings as a garment, such that wearing a ring should be permissible on Shabbat?
Indeed, the Ritva (Rabbi Yom Tov Ashbili, Spain, 1250-1330), in his commentary to Masechet Shabbat, writes (listen to audio for precise citation) that the Gemara's ruling applied only in Talmudic times, when men generally did not wear rings without a signet. In societies where men did wear such rings, the Ritva rules, Halacha would allow wearing rings in a public domain on Shabbat. Hacham Ben Sion Abba Shaul (Jerusalem, 1924-1998), in his work Or L'sion (vol. 2, 23:11), follows this ruling and permits men to wear rings in a public domain on Shabbat.
Still, one might argue that we should perhaps forbid men from wearing rings in a public domain on Shabbat out of concern that they might remove the ring to show it to their peers. Even if we classify rings as garments, such that wearing a ring is not deemed carrying, we should perhaps nevertheless forbid wearing a ring in a public domain due to the possibility that one might remove it and thus be in violation of carrying on Shabbat.
The authorities dismiss this argument, noting that although the Gemara does forbid women from wearing certain ornaments due to this concern, it does not apply to men, who do not normally display their jewelry. Furthermore, the Aruch Ha'shulhan (commentary to the Shulhan Aruch by Rabbi Yechiel Epstein, Byelorussia, 1829-1908), in Siman 303; S’K 22, claimed (listen to audio for precise citation) that this concern applied only in Talmudic times, when women were generally confined to their homes. Since they met with other women very infrequently, it was likely that when such meetings did take place the women would remove their jewelry to show it to their friends. Nowadays, however, when women frequently leave the home, to visit each other or to go to Synagogue, we have no reason to suspect that specifically on Shabbat they would be inclined to show their jewelry to their friends in the street. They could show their jewelry in places where they would meet, like in their homes or the Synagogue. Certainly, then, this concern would not apply with regard to men's rings nowadays.
Summary: Men who wear rings may do so even in a public domain on Shabbat, and even if there is no Eruv.
