Siman ש״ד in one sentence.
The Jewish master is responsible for the rest of his non-Jewish slave on Shabbos — but the extent of that obligation follows the degree of mitzvos the slave has accepted. Two verses are its root: « לְמַעַן יָנוּחַ עַבְדְּךָ » (the circumcised-and-immersed slave rests entirely, like his master) and « וְיִנָּפֵשׁ בֶּן אֲמָתְךָ » (one who accepted only the 7 Noahide laws does not work for the master, but may for himself). The axiom: הכל לפי דרגת קבלת המצות — everything depends on the slave's status.
2. The key concepts condensed
Concept
Definition
Application in the siman
שביתת עבד
The slave's rest, imposed on the master
The very subject of the siman (seif 1)
עבד שמל וטבל
Slave circumcised + immersed, accepts the mitzvos
Total rest, even from his own work
גר תושב
Has accepted the 7 Noahide laws
Work for himself permitted; for the master forbidden (Torah)
אמירה לנכרי
Asking a melacha of a non-Jew
A mere shevus for an ordinary akum — but Torah law for the eved (seif 1, MB ס״ק ט)
פיקוח נפש
Mortal danger
The only ground that lifts the prohibition for the eved
חותם
Seal of servitude
Going out with it: permitted (clay/neck) or forbidden (metal/garment) — Rema
3. Hierarchy of statuses
1. Slave circumcised + immersed (has accepted the mitzvos) → total rest: the master must stop him even from his own work; no Jew may order him to do a melacha; no heter outside pikuach nefesh.
↓
2. Slave of the "7 mitzvos" (ger toshav) → work for himself permitted; work for the master or a Jew forbidden (by Torah law).
↓
3. Slave (kinyan haguf) with no mitzva at all → מחלוקת: the Mechaber treats him as the preceding case (forbidden); one is machmir (Eliyahu Rabbah).
↓
4. Non-Jewish hired worker (sachir) → not concerned: the employer is not bound to his rest (seif 3).
4. Decision tree
Q1 — An owned slave (kinyan haguf) or a mere hired worker? → Hired worker → outside this siman (see the laws of amira l'akum). Slave → continue.
↓
Q2 — Was he circumcised and immersed (accepted the mitzvos)? → YES → total rest, even from his personal work. NO → continue.
↓
Q3 — Did he accept the 7 Noahide laws? → YES (ger toshav) → work for himself permitted, for the master forbidden. NO → מחלוקת, be machmir.
↓
Q4 — Illness / emergency? → Only pikuach nefesh lifts the prohibition for the eved. At the least doubt → consult your Rav.
5. Mechaber, Rema and the psak of the Acharonim
Source(s)
Contribution to the siman
Mechaber (seifim 1-3)
The ladder of statuses; on the slave without the 7 mitzvos, he rules like the 1st opinion (forbidden)
Rema (gloss, seif 1)
The "yesh omrim" (a complete non-Jew → the master is not bound); and the file on the chosam (seal of servitude)
Eliyahu Rabbah (MB ס״ק טו)
Lema'aseh, machmir like the 1st opinion
Pri Megadim (ס״ק ב)
Louer l'esclave à un non-juif avec stipulation (≠ animal, siman 246)
Acharonim (ס״ק כו)
Nowadays one pays the karga (tax) for slaves → גופן קנוי, forbidden
6. Mnemonic
מל — מל וטבל: total rest, even from his own work.
ז׳ — ז' מצות (גר תושב): for himself yes, for the master no.
לא — לא קיבל כלום: מחלוקת — be machmir.
שׂ — שכיר: a non-Jewish hired worker — not concerned.
Four rungs of one ladder: the more mitzvos the slave has accepted, the heavier the obligation of rest that falls upon the master.
7. Pitfalls to avoid
Pitfall 1 — confusing slave and employee. Only the owned eved (kinyan haguf) is subject to שביתת עבד. A mere non-Jewish hired worker (sachir) is not concerned (seif 3) — his laws belong to amira l'akum (simanim 244, 252…).
Pitfall 2 — applying amira l'akum to one's slave. For an ordinary non-Jew, asking a melacha is a mere shevus (permitted for a sick person not in danger). For one's circumcised-and-immersed slave, it is forbidden by Torah law: no heter outside pikuach nefesh (MB ס״ק ט).
Pitfall 3 — the seal (chosam). Going out on Shabbos with a seal of servitude of metal, or fastened to the garment, or that the slave made himself — forbidden. Only the clay seal hung around the neck is permitted.
Pitfall 4 — thinking the siman "everyday". The kena'ani slave no longer exists: this siman is above all a source of principles (ger toshav, amira, hotza'ah), not a daily halacha on employing a non-Jew today.
8. Practical cases
Situation
Reference
Conduct
Non-Jewish employee (sachir)
Seif 3 (ס״ק כה)
Not subject to shevisas eved; see amira l'akum / kablanus
Non-Jewish caregiver, sick person not in danger
Seif 1 (ס״ק ט-י)
For an employee: amira permitted (siman 328); for an eved: forbidden outside pikuach nefesh
Hiring out one's non-Jewish worker
Seif 1 (ס״ק ב)
Permitted with the stipulation "no melacha on Shabbos"
A badge/medal worn on Shabbos
Rema's gloss (ס״ק יז-כ)
Around the neck and light: to be examined; fastened to the garment → masui
9. Final synthesis table
Element
Detail
Subject of the siman
The rest of the non-Jewish slave, imposed on the master on Shabbos