✦ ❖ ✦

DAAT · LEVEL 4 — HALAKHA LEMA'ASSE

שולחן ערוך · יורה דעה

Siman 148 — The laws of the festivals of the idols — Psak lema'asse

סימן קמ״ח · הלכה למעשה

דיני חגי האלילים

פסק המחבר · הכרעת נושאי הכלים · הסקת ההלכה למקרים בני זמננו

⚖️ פסק הלכה ולמעשה ⚖️

✦ ❖ ✦

Halakha lema'asse — the practical psak

From the Mechaber’s ruling to the arbitration of the Shach, the Taz, the Baer Hetev,
the Pitchei Teshuva and the Nekudot HaKesef, down to today’s cases

Subject:
שולחן ערוך יורה דעה סימן קמ״ח (י״ב סעיפים)
עם נושאי הכלים: ש״ך, ט״ז, נקודות הכסף, באר היטב, פתחי תשובה, בית יוסף, טור, רמב״ם

⚠ Level notice:
This level is not “Daat HaRav”: the Shulchan Arukh HaRav
(Admur HaZaken) does not cover Yoreh De'ah, and so not Siman 148.
It is a level of practical psak: what one does, and whom to ask.

Written and studied by:
הרב יוסף חיים סממה · DAAT

How to read this level. Every statement is anchored either in the text of the Shulchan Arukh and its nosei kelim, or in a named and verifiable posek (Tur, Beit Yosef, Rambam, gemara in Avodah Zarah, Gittin, Berakhot and Chullin). On Yoreh De'ah there is no Mishna Berura (which comments only on Orach Chaim) and no Shulchan Arukh HaRav (the Admur HaZaken did not write YD). The Arukh HaShulchan is not cited: its text on this siman is not accessible to us, and one does not cite what one cannot verify. There remain, and they suffice: the Shach (13 sk), the Taz (8 sk), the Baer Hetev (9 sk), the Pitchei Teshuva (1 sk) and the Nekudot HaKesef (3 entries). Where the question exceeds the siman, this level says so and stops: halakha lema'asse goes through your Rav.

📑 Contents

שורש הפסק — the three measures and what they decide
פסק המחבר — the map of the twelve seifim
משא ומתן — trade, and what remains forbidden
הלוואה וגבייה — the loan, the pledge, and today’s courts
דורון — the gift sent, the gift received
יום החג — which day, which community, which man
שלום וכניסה — the greeting, the visit, and the Shach’s boundary
הליכה וחזרה — the road to the festival
בזמן הזה — the permission of seif 12, its boundaries, and today’s cases
סיכום מעשי — a table, and lema’asse consult your Rav

1. שורש הפסק — the three measures and what they decide

First measure — the echo. It is not the transaction that is forbidden but what the non-Jew will say of it to his idol.

« משום דאזיל ומודה לפני אליל ביום חגו » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק א)

« כולהו משום דאזיל ומודה לעבודת כוכבים ביום אידו » (ט״ז יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק א)

Second measure — what remains in hand. The criterion is neither value nor the nature of the bargain, but duration: what he will still have on his festival day, object or money.

« עד יום חגו דחזי ליה קמיה ביום חגו ואזיל ומודי » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק ב)

What this gives in practice. Before a case, the question is never “is it their festival?” but: does something pass, will anything of it remain on that day, and what would happen if I refused? That is why one may sell them a cooked dish and not a garment, collect a lost debt and not a secure one, accept a gift one cannot return — but without benefiting from it.

2. פסק המחבר — the map of the twelve seifim

3. משא ומתן — trade, and what remains forbidden

Seif	The Mechaber’s ruling	What the nosei kelim make of it
א	3 days before: neither buy nor sell durables; perishables may be sold	Taz sk 2: the joy of the gain on one side, the money in hand on the other
א	Lending and borrowing articles, interest-free loans: forbidden	Taz sk 3: שאלה for an article, הלואה for money that is spent
א	Collecting: oral permitted, by deed or pledge forbidden; permitted if their hand is strong, and for an interest loan	Shach sk 3 against the Beit Yosef on the reason; Pitchei Teshuva reverses where the court enforces
ב	The day itself: forbidden for benefit; three days before: permitted	Halakha like Resh Lakish for the three days
ג	A long festival = one day, plus three before	Rambam ch. 9 halakha 3, copied unchanged
ד	Outside Eretz Israel: the festival day alone	Shach sk 4: and even then, only if it is annual
ה	Neither send nor receive a gift; accepted for fear, to be lost כלאחר יד	Shach sk 5: without benefit when one cannot destroy it; Taz sk 5 permits benefit, Nekudot HaKesef and Baer Hetev refuse
ו	Installation of a dignitary with an offering: a festival day	Beit Yosef: this is the יום גינוסיא of the mishna
ז	A private festival: that day, that man	Shach sk 6: it is not a day fixed for all
ח	Those who do not adhere to it: trade permitted	Ran: they do it only from fear of the king
ט	Do not enter his house to greet him; outside, briefly	Shach sk 12: this seif remains forbidden today
י	Never double the greeting; greet him first	Shach sk 7: the word shalom, which is a Name, with a doubt; Taz sk 6 finds it in the Semak
י״א	Outward forbidden / return permitted for the non-Jew; the reverse for the Jew	Taz sk 7–8; Shach sk 9–11
י״ב	Nowadays: trade, lending and the rest permitted	Shach sk 12: except seif 9; Rama: בעל נפש; Shach sk 13: the gift, on the eve

Psak. The Mechaber follows the Rambam: the durable is forbidden both ways, the perishable may be sold and not bought. The reason, given by the Beit Yosef, is the one thing to remember — what counts is what he will have in hand on his festival day, object or money.

« אבל כשלוקח מהם בין דבר המתקיים בין דבר שאינו מתקיים הרי המעות בידו ביום חגו ומודה עליהם אע״פ שאין בידו החפץ » (בית יוסף יו״ד קמ״ח)

What seif 2 adds. If the transaction was made despite the prohibition, the gain of the festival day is forbidden for benefit; that of the three days before is not. It is the only sanction the siman pronounces, and it marks the difference in gravity between the day itself and its fence.

« עבר ונשא ונתן ביום חגם אסור בהנאה ואם נשא ונתן בשלשה ימים שלפני החג מותר בהנאה » (שו״ע יו״ד קמ״ח:ב)

4. הלוואה וגבייה — the loan, the pledge, and today’s courts

The reason, and why it matters. The Beit Yosef attributes Tosafot’s permission to the interest; the Shach attaches it to the weakness of our position. This is no quarrel over words: for the first, the permission follows the form of the loan; for the second, the state of the world.

« ולי נראה שטעמא מפני דהאידנא ידם תקיפה עלינו ובקל יכול העובד כוכבים להעליל ולכפור סך ההלואה » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק ג)

« לשון הש״ך והתוס׳ כתבו סתמא דבמלוה במשכון נמי הוי כמציל מידם שכמה פעמים אובדות אפילו במשכון » (באר היטב יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק ג)

Where the court enforces payment. The Pitchei Teshuva draws the consequence the Shach’s logic requires: where the law compels payment, even on a mere handwritten note, there is nothing left to rescue, and collecting becomes an ordinary benefit again. It is the one place in the siman where an Acharon is stringent rather than lenient, and the one that speaks most directly to a country of law.

« שכתב דבזמן שעושים משפט חרוץ לכוף לשלם אפילו כתב יד. נשתנה הדין וכל העומד לגבות כגבוי דמי » (פתחי תשובה יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק א)

5. דורון — the gift sent, the gift received

Psak — the gift sent. Forbidden on the day of their festival, unless it is established that the recipient does not serve idols. The permission is not a general presumption but personal knowledge: the Beit Yosef grounds it on the case of Rav Yehuda, who said he knew his man.

« רב יהודה שדר ליה קורבנא לאבידרנא ביום אידו אמר ידענא ביה דלא פלח אליל » (בית יוסף יו״ד קמ״ח)

Psak — the gift received, and the machloket. When one can dispose of it before his eyes without creating enmity, one does so כלאחר יד. When one cannot — the ordinary case — three authorities say one takes it without deriving any benefit, and one alone permits benefiting.

« דהיכא דלא מציל אשתמוטי דלא להוי ליה איבה שקיל ליה » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק ה)

« אבל נראה דאם א״א לעשות בפני העובד כוכבים שיאבדנו מותר לקבלו וליהנות ממנו » (ט״ז יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק ה)

« רחוקי׳ בישוב דברי הטור והרמב״ם והנכון כמ״ש בש״ך ס״ק ה » (נקודות הכסף יו״ד קמ״ח)

« והט״ז פסק דאם א״א לאשתמוטי יקבל ממנו ומותר להנות ממנו ודבריו תמוהים וכן בנה״כ חולק עליו » (באר היטב יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק ה)

What to retain. The Shach, the Nekudot HaKesef and the Baer Hetev on one side, the Taz on the other. The Baer Hetev, which is the practical digest, writes plainly that the Taz is astonishing. In a real case — a business gift received, a present that cannot be returned — that is where one must ask a Rav, and the question to put is precise: may I use it, or only keep it unused?

6. יום החג — which day, which community, which man

Three filters before applying the siman. (a) Is the festival annual? If it does not recur every year, the Shach permits even on the day it falls.

« ואם הוא יום חג שאינו קבוע שאינם עושים אותו בכל שנה אפילו ביום חגם מותר » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק ד)

(b) Does the whole community keep it? One man’s festival — a birthday, a banquet, release from prison — forbids only that day and that man, and not those dependent on him.

« כיון שאינו יום קבוע לכל » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק ו)

(c) Do those who keep it adhere to it? Those who follow it by custom or honour, without believing, fall outside the siman — that is seif 8, and it is the filter that operates most often today.

« אין יום החג אסור אלא לעובדיה בו בלבד » (שו״ע יו״ד קמ״ח:ח)

7. שלום וכניסה — the greeting, the visit, and the Shach’s boundary

Psak — and here the siman remains live. Seif 9 does not forbid greeting: it forbids going to his house on his festival day to greet him. Met outside, one answers briefly. And this rule, the Shach writes, was not lifted by seif 12.

« ומ״מ מה שנזכר בסעיף ט׳ אסור גם האידנא » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק י״ב)

« ומה שנזכר בסעיף ט׳ איך דינא האידנא עיין ב״ח » (באר היטב יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק ט)

Seif 10 does not depend on the festival. The Shach says it in four words, and the Rambam confirms it by his arrangement: he filed it not among the festivals, but among the duties of peace, whose limit it marks.

« כלומר אפי׳ שלא ביום חגו » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק ח)

« וְשׁוֹאֲלִים בִּשְׁלוֹמָם וַאֲפִלּוּ בְּיוֹם חַגָּם מִפְּנֵי דַּרְכֵי שָׁלוֹם. וְאֵין כּוֹפְלִין לָהֶן שָׁלוֹם לְעוֹלָם » רמב״ם הלכות עבודה זרה וחוקות הגויים פרק י׳ הלכה ה׳

As for the word intended, the Shach reports in the Maharam’s name that it is shalom, which is a Name — but he leaves the question open, and the Taz finds the same distinction in the Semak. Lema’asse one does not lean on a doubt its author leaves open.

« ומכל מקום צ״ע קצת דבש״ס גבי מקדים ויהיב שלמא וגבי שלמא למר לא משמע לכאורה הכי ושמא שלמא הוי בכלל שלום » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק ז)

8. הליכה וחזרה — the road to the festival

Psak. For the non-Jew: the outward journey is forbidden, the return permitted — unless the group travels bound together, which signals an intention to return. For the Jew: the reverse, because on the way out he may still change his mind and on the return he is attached to it. The apostate is forbidden both ways. The Taz sums up both asymmetries in one line.

« דמאי דהוה הוה אבל בישראל כיון דאביק ביה גרע טפי ואסור בחזרה אבל בהליכה אפשר שיחזור אא״כ הוא מומר » (ט״ז יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק ח)

« דכיון שהורגל עמהם ודאי דעתו לחזור » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק י״א)

A point of reading. “Far away” is not a condition: the Taz writes that it is an emphasis — if even for a long journey the outward way is forbidden, all the more so for a short one.

« נראה דלרבותא קאמר למרחוק דאפילו בהליכה אסור » (ט״ז יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק ז)

9. בזמן הזה — the permission of seif 12, its boundaries, and today’s cases

What seif 12 permits. Trade on the day of their festival, lending, and all the rest of what is listed in seif 1. The basis is an observation, not a lenience: they follow their fathers’ custom and are not expert in the nature of idols.

« גּוֹיִם שֶׁבְּחוּצָה לְאָרֶץ לָאו עוֹבְדֵי עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה הֵן, אֶלָּא מִנְהַג אֲבוֹתֵיהֶן בִּידֵיהֶן » (חולין י״ג ע״ב)

« והאידנא כתב הרשב״ם בשם רש״י שהכל מותר דלאו עובדי אליל הם ולא אזלי ומודי » (טור יו״ד קמ״ח)

What seif 12 does not permit — three boundaries. (a) Seif 9: entering his house on his festival day to greet him remains forbidden. (b) The בעל נפש: where abstention would create no enmity, the Rama asks one to abstain. (c) The gift: the end of the gloss does not simply permit sending, it orders advancing it to the eve.

« ומ״מ מה שנזכר בסעיף ט׳ אסור גם האידנא » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק י״ב)

« ומיהו כתב הר״ן ואעפ״כ בעל נפש ימעט וכן כתב הרמב״ן ז״ל והביא ראיה מהירושלמי » (בית יוסף יו״ד קמ״ח)

« דאי יאחר תהוי ליה איבה הואיל והורגל כבר דמאי דהוה הוה וכ״ש בזמן הזה דלא שכיחא כולי האי דאזלי ומודי » (ש״ך יו״ד קמ״ח ס״ק י״ג)

The cases below are given for study. They show where the siman’s reasoning applies — not what must be done.

10. סיכום מעשי — a table, and lema’asse consult your Rav

Situation	Seif	What to ask first of all
Settling an invoice, collecting a payment, delivering an order on a festival of another faith	1, 12	Seif 12 permits trade. The question of seif 9 remains for what is not trade.
Collecting a secure debt, enforceable in court	1 + Pitchei Teshuva	Here the reasoning reverses: there is nothing left to “rescue”, and the Pitchei Teshuva says so expressly.
A business gift sent on a fixed date	5, Rama on 12	The Rama asks that it be advanced to the eve; the day itself is tolerated only failing that.
A gift received that cannot be returned	5	Three authorities out of four: take it without deriving benefit. This is where one asks a Rav.
Calling on a colleague on his festival day to greet him	9	The Shach writes that this seif was not lifted. Meeting him outside and answering briefly is another question.
Returning a greeting with a doubled greeting	10	Does not depend on the festival. The Maharam’s distinction about the word remains a doubt the Shach leaves open.
Attending a company event held for a religious festival	8, 12, Rama	If those who keep it do not adhere to it, seif 8 puts it outside the siman. The Rama permits rejoicing because of enmity, and closes with the בעל נפש.
An official ceremony containing a religious rite	6	The seif is not about the installation but about the offering and praise that accompany it.
A birthday, a wedding, a private celebration	7	That day and that man only, and not those dependent on him.
A festival that does not recur every year	4 + Shach sk 4	The Shach permits even on the day it falls.

Question	Practical answer	Where it is written
May I trade with them on their festival day?	Yes nowadays	Seif 12; Chullin 13b
May I collect a debt that day?	Yes if it was fragile; no if the law enforces it	Seif 1; Pitchei Teshuva sk 1
May I send a gift?	On the eve; the day itself only failing that	Rama on seif 12; Shach sk 13
May I keep a gift received that day?	Take it yes, benefit no — three authorities against one	Seif 5; Shach sk 5, Nekudot HaKesef, Baer Hetev sk 5
May I go to his house to greet him that day?	No — this is the express boundary	Seif 9; Shach sk 12
May I double a greeting?	No, and never	Seif 10; Shach sk 8
A festival that is not annual?	Outside the siman	Shach sk 4
People who celebrate without believing?	Outside the siman	Seif 8
May I rejoice with them if I enter the city?	Yes because of enmity; otherwise, keep away	Rama on seif 12; Beit Yosef in the name of the Ran

Lema’asse. Three questions from this siman still arise every year, and none is decided alone: the gift received that cannot be returned (the Taz against three), the visit or the greeting on a festival day (seif 9, which the Shach maintains), and the collection of an enforceable debt (the Pitchei Teshuva against the letter of the seif). For each, the question to put to your Rav is already written above; put it as it stands.