✦ ❖ ✦

DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INITIATION

Siman ש״ד · 3 Seifim

The rest of the servant and of the slave on Shabbos — to discover and understand

סימן ש״ד

דין שביתת עבד

🌱 Initiation Level · מתחילים

✦ ❖ ✦

A first approach to Siman ש״ד: the complete Hebrew text of the Mechaber, a fluent English translation, plain explanations of the halachic concepts, modern practical cases and a synthesis.

Subject: The rest of the servant and of the slave on Shabbos
Source(s): שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן ש״ד (3 seifim)

Compiled by: הרב יוסף חיים סממה
DAAT · daattorah.com

📑 Study plan

1. The Shulchan Aruch text — the 3 seifim of the Mechaber

2. The general context: why this siman, and what is the question?

3. The key halachic concepts of this siman

4. The seifim in detail — one by one

5. The Mishnah Berurah — first entries

6. The position of the Rema — Ashkenazi vs Sephardi differences

7. Modern practical cases

8. Practical synthesis and rules to remember

9. Comprehension questions

1. The Shulchan Aruch text

Siman ש״ד contains 3 seifim of the Mechaber (Rabbi Yosef Karo). Subject of the siman: the rest of the servant and of the slave on Shabbos.

Seif א

Translation: A person is bound to the rest (shevisa) of his slave who was circumcised and immersed for the sake of servitude and accepted the mitzvos incumbent on the kena'ani slave. But if he was neither circumcised nor immersed, and accepted only the seven Noahide laws, he has the status of a גר תושב (ger toshav): he is permitted to do a melacha on Shabbos for himself, but not for his master; and it is forbidden for any Jew to tell him to do a melacha for the needs of a Jew, even a Jew who is not his master. If he accepted no mitzva at all and remains a complete idolater, his status is the same as one who accepted the seven laws. Consequently, for the needs of a sick person not in mortal danger (חולה שאין בו סכנה) — where the rule is "one tells a non-Jew and he does it" — or for a deceased person on the first day of Yom Tov, it is forbidden to ask this of a Jew's slave, since the slave's melacha is forbidden by Torah law and was not permitted where there is no pikuach nefesh. Some permit it nonetheless. In any case, if the slave was doing his master's melacha without his knowledge, and it is evident that he acts on his own initiative, it is permitted and the master need not stop him. For another Jew who is not his master, it is permitted so long as there is no amira (instruction) and the Jew derives no benefit on Shabbos from that melacha. Gloss of the Rema: see section 6 below (going out with a seal of servitude).

What this seif says:

One is bound by his servant’s rest — one circumcised and immersed for servitude who accepted upon himself the mitzvot incumbent on a servant.
But if neither circumcised nor immersed, having accepted only the seven Noahide commandments: he is as a ger toshav — permitted to work on Shabbat for himself, not for his master.
And it is forbidden for any Jew to tell him to work on Shabbat for a Jew’s need — even one who is not his master.

Seif ב

Translation: Where the slave is permitted to do a melacha for himself: if the master told him to work for himself and to provide his own sustenance on Shabbos — since he made that stipulation before Shabbos (מבעוד יום, mibe'od yom) — he may act for the needs of his food, provided it is done discreetly (betzin'a), so that there be no suspicion on the part of onlookers (חשש רואים).

What this seif says:

Where the servant may work for himself: if the master told him to work for his own account and feed himself on Shabbat,
having stipulated with him while it was still day — he works for his needs. But discreetly, that there be no concern of onlookers.

Seif ג

Translation: A complete idolater (עכו״ם גמור) who is a hired worker (sachir) — his employer is not bound to his rest. (A mere non-Jewish employee does not fall under the obligation of shevisas eved: only the owned kena'ani slave, who has accepted the mitzvos, is subject to it.)

2. The general context

What is this siman about?

Our siman deals with the rest of the servant and of the slave on Shabbos. It belongs to the great corpus of הלכות שבת (the laws of Shabbos) in the Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim.

Place within Hilchos Shabbos

Siman ש״ד is one of simanim 242-365 which cover Hilchos Shabbos. It has its own conceptual scope, but it works together with the neighbouring simanim.

3. The key halachic concepts

To understand this siman one must master a few structuring halachic concepts — which appear across the 3 seifim and the commentary of the Mishnah Berurah:

Recurring concepts in Hilchos Shabbos (worth knowing):

מלאכה (melacha) — the act of work forbidden on Shabbos
דאורייתא / דרבנן — forbidden by the Torah or by the Sages
פסיק רישא — an unavoidable consequence
דבר שאינו מתכוון — an unintended act
שבות — a secondary rabbinic prohibition
פיקוח נפש — mortal danger, which suspends the prohibition

Siman ש״ד deploys some of these concepts in the context of the rest of the servant and of the slave on Shabbos.

4. The seifim in detail — one by one

Let us take each seif of the Mechaber in turn and set out its practical import. For the in-depth pilpul (Talmudic sources, מחלוקות of the Rishonim, נפקא מינות), see Level 2 — Lamdan.

Seif א — who is bound by the obligation of rest?

The Mechaber distinguishes three statuses of a non-Jew in the service of a Jew, following the verse למען ינוח עבדך ואמתך ("so that your servant and your maidservant may rest", Devarim 5:14):

Statut	Définition	Travail le Chabbat
Kena'ani slave	Circumcised, immersed, having accepted the mitzvos of a slave	Forbidden — the master is metzuveh al shevisaso (bound to his rest), even for work the slave does for himself
Ger toshav	Has accepted the 7 Noahide laws, without conversion into servitude	Permitted for himself; forbidden for his master; and no Jew may instruct him to work for a Jew
Complete idolater	Has accepted no mitzva	Disputed: per the Mechaber, the same as a ger toshav; per the yesh omrim, the master is not bound to his rest

נפקא מינה (the practical consequence): may one ask such a slave to do a melacha for a sick person not in mortal danger, or for a deceased person on Yom Tov (where amira l'akum is normally permitted)? For the slave subject to the obligation of rest, the Mechaber forbids it (his melacha is d'oraisa); the yesh cholkin permit it.

Seif ב — the slave who works for his own sustenance

Where the slave has the right to work for himself, the master may — by stipulating before Shabbos — let him provide his own food on Shabbos, provided it is discreet, so as to avoid maris ayin (the appearance that he is working for the master).

Seif ג — the non-Jewish hired worker

A non-Jew who is merely employed (sachir), and is not the Jew's property, does not fall under the obligation of shevisas eved at all. The employer is not bound to his rest.

5. The Mishnah Berurah — first entries

The Mishnah Berurah of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (Chafetz Chaim) has 26 entries on this siman. Here are the first ones — to better understand the meaning of the seifim:

משנה ברורה (א) — (א) אדם וכו' - וכדי להקל על המעיין לידע טעם חלוקי הדינים המבוארים בסימן זה אקדים הקדמה קטנה וכפי מה שמבואר בגמרא ופוסקים. דהנה תרי קראי כתיבי חד למען ינוח עבדך ואמתך כמוך זה קאי על עבד שמל וטבל לשם עבדות וקבל עליו כל מצות עבדים דהיינו כל מה שאשה חייבת וא״כ גם מצות שבת בכלל ואסור לעשות מלאכה בשבת ואתי האי קרא לאורויי דשביתת העבד מוטל גם על רבו שהוא מצווה עליו למנעו מעשות מלאכה אפילו לצורך עצמו של ה…

משנה ברורה (ב) — (ב) על שביתת עבדו - דמצוה על רבו לשמרו ולמנעו מעשות מלאכה אפילו לצורך עצמו וכנ״ל. ומותר להשכיר עבדו לא״י בימי החול אם מתנה עמו שלא יעשה בו מלאכה בשבת ולא דמי לבהמתו דמבואר לעיל בסימן רמ״ו ס״ג דאסור להשכירה לא״י בכי האי גוונא דאין הא״י נאמן על כך דהכא הא״י לא יעשה מלאכה בע״כ של עבד ויש לעבד נאמנות ע״ז [פמ״ג]:

6. The position of the Rema

The Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) adds here a הגהה (gloss) on a concrete point: going out on Shabbos with the seal of servitude (חותם, chosam) which the master affixed to mark that this man is his slave.

The gloss of the Rema — the seal (chosam):

A seal made by the master, of clay: one may go out with it if it is hung around the neck — but not if fastened to the garment.
A seal of metal: forbidden in every case (Tur).
A seal the slave made for himself: forbidden in every case, even of clay (HaMaggid, ch. 19).

The logic: a sign worn around the neck is akin to an ornament or identifier; fastened to the garment, or made of metal, it counts as masui (a carried burden) — hence the prohibition of hotza'ah on Shabbos.

Sephardi / Ashkenazi marker: Mechaber → Sephardim (Beis Yosef); Rema → Ashkenazim (Magen Avraham, Mishnah Berurah). This siman has no Level 4 Daat HaRav: the Alter Rebbe did not write it (the subject of the slave had become rare in his day).

7. Modern practical cases

The institution of the kena'ani slave no longer exists today, so this siman is largely historical. Its principles nonetheless shed light on several present-day questions:

8. Practical synthesis of the siman

Situation	Analysis
Non-Jewish employee (sachir)	A mere hired worker is not subject to shevisas eved (seif ג). The rules on what he may do on Shabbos belong to amira l'akum and to contract work (kablanus) — see simanim 244, 247, 252.
Non-Jewish caregiver	For a sick person not in mortal danger, the Mechaber forbids asking the melacha of a slave subject to the obligation of rest; for an ordinary non-Jewish employee, amira l'akum is permitted in this setting (siman 328).
The notion of ger toshav	The siman is one of the classic sources on the status of the ger toshav (a non-Jew who has accepted the 7 Noahide laws) and its implications.
A sign of belonging worn on Shabbos	The Rema's gloss on the chosam feeds the broader discussion on badges, medals and objects worn around the neck versus fastened to the garment (hotza'ah / tachshit).

What Siman ש״ד teaches, in 3 seifim:

The Mechaber codifies 3 cases around the subject: the rest of the servant and of the slave on Shabbos
The Mishnah Berurah adds 26 entries of clarification and sources
The Rema, where applicable, states the Ashkenazi nuances
Practical application requires staying attentive to the underlying halachic concepts
For halacha lema'aseh, consult your local Rav

9. Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:

What is the general subject of Siman ש״ד?
How many seifim does this siman contain? What is the theme of each?
What is the difference between the Mechaber and the Rema (where there is one)?
Which structuring halachic concepts appear in this siman?
What is the practice to remember for daily life?
In which borderline cases must one consult a Rav?

Going further

If you want to go deeper into this siman:

📚 Level 2 — Lamdan: for the pilpul, the שיטות ראשונים, the חקירות יסודיות, and the Acharonim's nuances
✨ Level 3 — Synthesis: for review and quick memorisation with mnemonics
📜 Daat HaRav: the Alter Rebbe did not write this siman in his Shulchan Aruch — Level 4 is therefore not offered for siman ש״ד