Siman שפ״ג · 1 seif of the Shulchan Aruch
First approach to Siman שפ״ג: complete Hebrew text of the Mechaber, English translation, pedagogical explanations of the halachic concepts, practical cases and synthesis.
Topic: a non-Jew who lives with two Jews — when he is away from his house he does not forbid (the seif refers to siman 371), and they make the eruv; if he came on Shabbos, he forbids, and the eruv is void: they may rent from him on Shabbos, then one renounces his domain in favor of the other; and all the more so if he died on Shabbos
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן שפ״ג (a single seif in the Shulchan Aruch, without a gloss of the Rema; 3 seifim in the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, studied at Level 4)
Compiled by: רב יוסף חיים סממה
DAAT · daattorah.com
📑 Study Plan
1. The Shulchan Aruch text
Siman שפ״ג contains a single seif of the Mechaber (Rabbi Yosef Karo), without a gloss of the Rema. Topic of the siman, according to its title: when the non-Jew is not in the house, he does not hold [it] back. The Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe has 3 seifim for this siman: its numbering is that of Level 4, not that of this page.
Seif א
כשאין העכו״ם בבית אינו מעכב. ובו סעיף אחד:
עכו״ם הדר עם שני ישראלים ואין העכו״ם בביתו אינו אוסר (ע״ל סימן שע״א) ויערבו ויהיו מותרים בא עכו״ם בשבת אוסר והעירוב בטל ומיהו יכולים לשכור ממנו בשבת ואח״כ יבטל הא' לחבירו ויהי' היחיד מותר וכ״ש אם מת העכו״ם בשבת שיבטל א' לחבירו ויהי' היחיד מותר:
- When the non-Jew is away from his house, he does not forbid, and they make the eruv: עכו״ם הדר עם שני ישראלים ואין העכו״ם בביתו אינו אוסר … ויערבו ויהיו מותרים. According to the Mishnah Berurah, he left before Shabbos, he and all his household, for another city (ס״ק ב); and the reference to siman 371 is to what is explained there: according to the first view, only if he went further than one day's journey, from where he cannot come on Shabbos; according to the second view, even within a day's journey he does not forbid (ס״ק ג).
- If he came on Shabbos, he forbids, and the eruv is void: בא עכו״ם בשבת אוסר והעירוב בטל. We do not say that since [carrying] was permitted at the beginning of Shabbos, it is permitted for all of Shabbos: even if he went further than a day's journey, since he came on Shabbos, it is revealed retroactively that he left from there on a weekday, that at the onset of Shabbos he was within a day's journey, and that he was going to come on Shabbos (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ד). The eruv is void as soon as the non-Jew comes to his house: even if they rent from him, they may not carry as long as one has not renounced in favor of the other (ס״ק ה).
- However, they rent from him on Shabbos, then one renounces in favor of the other: ומיהו יכולים לשכור ממנו בשבת ואח״כ יבטל הא׳ לחבירו ויהי׳ היחיד מותר. Renting on Shabbos is not like buying and selling: it is only a sign (היכר) to permit carrying (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ו; Taz, ס״ק א). The one who is permitted is the one in whose favor the domain was renounced; the one who renounced is certainly forbidden, unless the second one renounces back in favor of the first (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ז, which refers to the end of siman 381).
- All the more so if he died on Shabbos: וכ״ש אם מת העכו״ם בשבת שיבטל א׳ לחבירו ויהי׳ היחיד מותר. On the case this “all the more so” refers to, and on what is needed when they had rented from him before Shabbos, the commentators diverge: see section 5 (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ח) and Level 2.
2. General context
What does this siman discuss?
The Beit Yosef traces this seif to the chapter Ha-dar of tractate Eruvin, and brings the story of the Gemara: « איקלעו לההוא פונדק ואתא כותי מארי דפונדק ושכרו ממנו בשבת ואמר להם רבי יוחנן יפה עשיתם ששכרתם ושמואל פליג עליה » (בית יוסף או״ח שפ״ג) — they came to an inn; the non-Jew, the owner of the inn, came, and they rented from him on Shabbos; Rabbi Yochanan told them: you did well to rent; and Shmuel disagrees with him. The Beit Yosef then reports that the Rishonim are divided on the halachah between them (Level 2); the Mechaber's seif writes that one may rent from him on Shabbos.
The Beit Yosef also reports that Rashi explains: after renting from him, one renounces in favor of the other; and that Tosafos, the Rosh and the Mordechai write that he is right. He continues: « וכן מוכח כל הסוגיא דבעינן תרתי שכירות וביטול דאע״פ שעירבו לא משתרי בשכירות לחודיה דמיד כשבא הכותי בטל ליה העירוב וכי הדר שכר לא יחזיר העירוב לקדמותו » (בית יוסף או״ח שפ״ג) — so the whole discussion shows: both are needed, rental and renunciation; although they had made the eruv, rental alone does not permit, for as soon as the non-Jew came, the eruv became void, and when one rents again, the eruv does not return to its former state. The Tur writes it after the renunciation: « ולא אמרינן שיחזור העירוב לקדמותו אחר ששכרו להיות שניהן מותרין » (טור או״ח שפ״ג) — we do not say that the eruv returns to its former state after the rental, so that both would be permitted; the Mechaber's seif does not include this sentence.
Place in Hilchos Eruvin
In Sefaria's index, the section הלכות עירובין of the Shulchan Aruch begins at siman 345. The seif refers to siman 371, seif 1, where the cases in which a non-Jew who went elsewhere does not forbid are explained (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ג); and a parenthesis at the end of that seif, in small print in the text Sefaria serves, refers to siman 383: « ואם בא העכו״ם בשבת ע״ל סי׳ שפ״ג » (שו״ע או״ח שע״א:א). Renunciation of domain (bitul reshus) is set out, among other places, in simanim 380 and 381; the Mishnah Berurah refers to the end of siman 381 (ס״ק ז).
3. Key halachic concepts
A few notions structure this siman, in the order of the seif:
- עכו״ם הדר עם שני ישראלים — the non-Jew who lives with two Jews: « בחצר אחד » (משנה ברורה שפ״ג ס״ק א) — in one courtyard. When he is not in his house, the Mishnah Berurah explains: « שהלך קודם השבת הוא וכל בני ביתו לעיר אחרת » (משנה ברורה שפ״ג ס״ק ב) — he left before Shabbos, he and all his household, for another city; and the distance is set out in siman 371 (ס״ק ג).
- והעירוב בטל — the eruv is void. The Mishnah Berurah: « ולא אמרינן דכיון שהותר תחלת השבת הותר לכל השבת » (משנה ברורה שפ״ג ס״ק ד) — we do not say: since [carrying] was permitted at the beginning of Shabbos, it is permitted for all of Shabbos. The Magen Avraham: « ולא שייך לו׳ כאן שבת הואיל והותרה הותרה ולא יתבטל כשיבא העכו״ם דהא בין השמשות עמד לאיסור » (מגן אברהם שפ״ג ס״ק א) — one cannot say here: Shabbos, once permitted, remains permitted, and [the eruv] will not become void when the non-Jew comes; for at twilight it stood to be forbidden.
- לשכור ממנו בשבת — renting on Shabbos: « ואין זה דומה למקח וממכר משום דאין זה אלא משום היכר להתיר טלטול » (משנה ברורה שפ״ג ס״ק ו) — this is not like buying and selling, for it is only a sign to permit carrying.
- יבטל הא׳ לחבירו — renouncing the domain in favor of the other: « ר״ל האיש שביטלו לו הרשות משא״כ המבטל בודאי אסור אם לא שחזר השני וביטל להראשון דאז מותר » (משנה ברורה שפ״ג ס״ק ז) — that is, the man in whose favor the domain was renounced; the one who renounces, however, is certainly forbidden, unless the second one renounced back in favor of the first: then he is permitted.
- אם מת העכו״ם בשבת — the death of the non-Jew on Shabbos: the seif writes that all the more so, one renounces in favor of the other. On the case the seif's “all the more so” refers to, the commentators diverge (Level 2).
4. Detail of the seifim — one by one
| Seif | Content |
|---|---|
| א | A non-Jew who lives with two Jews, and is not in his house, does not forbid (see siman 371): they make the eruv and are permitted. If he came on Shabbos, he forbids, and the eruv is void. However, they may rent from him on Shabbos, then one renounces in favor of the other, and only the one in whose favor he renounced is permitted. And all the more so if he died on Shabbos: one renounces in favor of the other, and only the one in whose favor he renounced is permitted. |
5. The Mishnah Berurah — first entries
The Mishnah Berurah of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (Chafetz Chaim) has 8 entries on this siman. Here they all are, in order — to better understand the meaning of the seif:
For the text on Sefaria: Mishnah Berurah 383.
6. Position of the Rema
In the text Sefaria serves (Maginei Eretz edition), the Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) adds no gloss (הגה) to this seif. The parenthesis in small print (ע״ל סימן שע״א) is not introduced by “הגה”: it is a reference to siman 371.
- Seif א — no gloss of the Rema; the commentators explain the seif: see sections 1 and 3, and Level 2.
- Chabad → the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, siman שפ״ג, in 3 seifim, with its own numbering (see Level 4 — Daat HaRav).
7. Modern practical cases
The situations below are applications by the site: the seif does not name them, and each is tied to the part of the seif it involves.
| Situation | Quick analysis |
|---|---|
| The non-Jewish neighbor in the courtyard left before Shabbos and is not at home | Application by the site, seif א: he does not forbid, and the Jews of the courtyard make the eruv — according to the Mishnah Berurah, when he left before Shabbos, he and all his household (ס״ק ב), and in the cases set out in siman 371 (ס״ק ג). Consult your Rav. |
| He comes back on Shabbos | Application by the site, seif א: he forbids, and the eruv is void; they may rent from him on Shabbos, then one renounces his domain in favor of the other, and only the one in whose favor he renounced is permitted; the one who renounced remains forbidden, unless the second one renounces back in his favor (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ז). Consult your Rav. |
| He dies on Shabbos | Application by the site, seif א: all the more so one renounces in favor of the other, and only the one in whose favor he renounced is permitted; on the case this “all the more so” refers to, and on a rental made before Shabbos, the commentators diverge (Level 2). Consult your Rav. |
8. Practical synthesis of the Siman
- The non-Jew away from his house does not forbid, and the two Jews make the eruv (seif א), in the cases set out in siman 371 (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ג).
- If he came on Shabbos, he forbids, and the eruv is void (seif א); rental alone does not restore it (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ה).
- They rent from him on Shabbos, then one renounces in favor of the other, and only the one in whose favor he renounced is permitted (seif א); the one who renounced remains forbidden, unless the second one renounces back (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ז).
- If he died on Shabbos: all the more so one renounces in favor of the other (seif א); the commentators diverge on the case it refers to (Level 2).
- For halachah lema'aseh, consult your Rav.
9. Comprehension questions
- When does a non-Jew away from his house not forbid, according to the two views the Mishnah Berurah brings from siman 371 (ס״ק ג)?
- Why do we not say that the eruv, permitted at the beginning of Shabbos, remains so for all of Shabbos (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ד; Magen Avraham, ס״ק א)?
- Why is rental alone not enough, so that renunciation is also needed (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ה; Beit Yosef)?
- Why may one rent on Shabbos (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ו; Taz, ס״ק א)?
- Who is “the one who remains alone”, who is permitted, and how can the one who renounced be permitted too (Mishnah Berurah, ס״ק ז)?
To go further
- 📚 Level 2 — Lamdan: for pilpul, the שיטות ראשונים, the חקירות יסודיות, and the nuances of the Acharonim
- ✨ Level 3 — Synthesis: for review and rapid memorization with mnemonics
- 📜 Level 4 — Daat HaRav: the Shitah of the Alter Rebbe (Shulchan Aruch HaRav siman שפ״ג)