The Prohibition of Trade with Gentiles - Rabbi Yisrael Meatuf shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to “Lema’an Yishme’u,” a podcast of Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 Okay, a very interesting class. We’ve touched on the subject of non-Jews from all kinds of angles, and now we’ll fill in the gaps. It really is a broad subject, with all kinds of details. Today we’ll learn when it is forbidden to do business with non-Jews. As we said in previous classes, in Eretz Yisroel we encounter this less often, but we do encounter it. For example, there are all kinds of Black Friday and year-end sales on websites. Is it permissible to take part? To buy?

00:52 Speaker 3 Of course, that also includes buying from abroad.

00:54 Speaker 2 Yes, you’re buying from abroad. Products that may not be sold to non-Jews—that’s also less common in Eretz Yisroel, but we need to know about it. Selling and renting houses, which certainly can come up, and the status of non-Jews nowadays. With regard to everything we’ve discussed, are non-Jews nowadays different from non-Jews in the past? Let’s recall what we learned in the class before the previous one. We discussed the whole subject of forbidden foods. That’s a subject in its own right. It’s also connected to non-Jews, but it’s a broader subject in its own right, so we’ll go over it and recall what we learned. First, there are things from which it is forbidden to derive benefit. That’s the strictest level. If something is forbidden to benefit from, whether the prohibition is rabbinic or from the Torah makes no difference: you may not benefit from it, and you may not sell it to a non-Jew or to a Jew. None of that changes anything; benefit from it is forbidden. Then there are foods forbidden by the Torah. Did the Torah only forbid eating them? Even so, there is also a prohibition against trading in them. It is forbidden to do business in things whose consumption is forbidden by the Torah. No, aside from things from which benefit is forbidden—orlah, meat and milk, things from which benefit is entirely forbidden. Beyond those, even things from which benefit is permitted may not be traded in. Take, for example, a treifah. You may benefit from it. You can, I don’t know, use it for other purposes. You may also sell it to a non-Jew. The Torah explicitly says you may sell it to a non-Jew, but you may not do business in it. In other words, you may not set out to profit from it. When is it permitted? What does the Torah mean when it says it’s permitted? You already have an animal; you slaughtered it and it turned out to be a treifah. Fine, sell it to a non-Jew. But to go and buy one in order to trade in it—that’s forbidden. So that’s the second level. There are things from which benefit is forbidden altogether. With foods forbidden by the Torah, it isn’t forbidden altogether: if one comes into your possession, you can sell it, but you may not deliberately do business in it from the outset. Okay? The third level is

03:16 Speaker 2 a rabbinic prohibition. In principle, you may do business with non-Jews in something prohibited by rabbinic law, right? Doing business with Jews is a problem, but with non-Jews it’s permitted. There is, though, a case of a rabbinic prohibition that isn’t apparent—you can’t tell by looking that the item is forbidden. If you can’t tell, you sell it to a non-Jew and all is well, but afterward he may sell it to a Jew. Orlah is something from which you’re not allowed to benefit at all. We’ll give examples of this—of a rabbinic prohibition that isn’t apparent. We’ll give the examples later. It’s not common today, because people buy packaged products and know what they’re buying. In the past it was very common. There’s an example given in halacha; let’s give some examples. The example we brought last time was wheat that got wet before Pesach. Even though it isn’t certain that it became chametz, it’s forbidden on Pesach by rabbinic law. When you sell it to a non-Jew, the non-Jew may sell it to a Jew. The Jew doesn’t know; all he sees is wheat. Or bread baked by a non-Jew. We discussed how some people who regularly buy bread from non-Jews are permitted to do so, because some authorities are lenient about buying from a baker even though it is pas akum. But if it’s your bread from home, baked by a non-Jew in your home, it’s forbidden in any case. You may not even sell that bread to a non-Jew, because he may inadvertently sell it to a Jew, who won’t know. In short, these are things that barely come up today. Nowadays you know what you’re buying. Say you buy a product without a hechsher. The Jew buying it knows it has no hechsher, so he knows exactly what he’s buying from the non-Jew. If it’s a rabbinic prohibition, he knows that. The last level is an ordinary rabbinic prohibition. With an ordinary rabbinic prohibition, it’s permitted

05:06 Speaker 2 to do business with non-Jews. Okay, that’s an introduction to what we learned then. Now... one second, here are the things for which there is no prohibition. For anyone who remembers, just as a reminder. We’ll skip that for now. What things is it forbidden to trade with non-Jews? Apart from what we just discussed, apart from forbidden foods. What other things does it explicitly say are forbidden to trade with non-Jews? First of all, near their holidays. It’s forbidden to do business close to their holiday. Now let’s read a little from the sources. In source number one, the Shulchan Aruch says: “For three days before the festival of idol worshippers, it is forbidden to buy from them or sell them something that lasts.” Three days—not just on the holiday itself. For the three days before it, you may neither buy from them nor sell to them. At the beginning, se’if 1, right at the beginning. Um, Mendel, go get a Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah. Look for it; ask someone there. Yoreh De’ah, siman 148, around there. 148, 149. So according to this, as soon as their holiday approaches, you can’t sell them anything. That’s how it comes out. The Shulchan Aruch says in se’if 12: “Some say that all these rules apply only to that time, but nowadays they are not well versed in the nature of idol worship. Therefore, it is permitted to do business with them on their holiday and to lend to them, as with all other matters.” In other words, the non-Jews of the past were actual idol worshippers, so it was forbidden. But with non-Jews today, the Shulchan Aruch says, some hold that you can do business with them freely because they aren’t well versed in the nature of idol worship. The Rema continues: “Furthermore, there is a concern of animosity if we separate ourselves from them on their holiday, when we live among them and need to do business with them throughout the year.” The Rema is saying: if a non-Jew walks into your store and you tell him, “Sorry, I’m not selling to you because it’s your holiday,” or if they suddenly notice that none of the Jews are coming into their stores, that could

07:28 Speaker 2 create animosity and hatred. So he says that’s another reason it’s permitted. This is the regular Shulchan Aruch, not the later one, right. Now, incidentally, the concern about animosity is very relevant today, because everything gets publicized so quickly. If you tell a non-Jew even once, “I’m not selling to you because it’s your holiday today,” the whole world will hear about it, and you can’t know where it will lead. So that reason certainly applies. Now the question is: what does it mean that they’re “not well versed in the nature of idols”? What does that mean? Everyone knows the distinction between the... There are basically three categories: Muslims, Christians, and actual idol worshippers. Muslims, in principle, aren’t idol worshippers because they believe in Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Christians believe in associating another power with Him. For Jews, that’s forbidden; it’s forbidden to hold that belief. For non-Jews, it’s permitted, so they themselves aren’t considered idol worshippers, because they’re doing something that’s permitted to them. We, though, may not take part in it or enter their place of worship. As for Ishmaelites—Muslims—visiting their place of worship abroad is ostensibly not prohibited for Jews either.

08:49 Speaker 4 Why is it recommended?

08:55 Speaker 2 He probably means for us.

08:57 Speaker 4 For us?

08:58 Speaker 2 Probably. We can look at the context in which it was written. What do they teach there at the end?

09:03 Speaker 4 No, it’s...

09:04 Speaker 2 Oh, the laws of idol worship.

09:09 Speaker 4 It’s forbidden to mention, uh, to mention the...

09:22 Speaker 2 Now what about the third category, which seemingly still exists today: people who actually practice idol worship? In India and in many other places, there are people who continue to do so. Yes, someone here told me he had spent a long time in India. He said, “You get into a taxi, and in almost every taxi there’s an idol.” So they got into the habit of taking their hat and putting it on the... They get into the taxi and immediately put the hat over the idol so they won’t have to look at it for the whole ride. But these are people who practice idol worship in the literal sense. So let’s see. Here we have Rabbi Abdullah Somekh, one of the great halachic authorities of the Sephardic communities. Notice what he writes about the Indians. This is number two. “And if you say: Since we see that these Indians are devoted to idol worship nowadays, then it should be forbidden even nowadays...” In other words, perhaps you’ll say it’s forbidden to sell to them even today, during their festival. So he says: “That is not so. Rabbi Beis David z”l has already written that, according to the view of Maran z”l, even though they are devoted to idol worship, since they do not understand its nature, it is permitted; see there.” In other words, even those who practice idol worship today are not like people in the past. They don’t understand its nature the way people once did. That’s how he defines it. “And nevertheless, nowadays everything is permitted.” Then he continues: “Even so, one who is stringent and does not accept a gift from them, even nowadays, is worthy of blessing. But I think he should accept it to avoid ill will, and [unclear].” So from his ruling, there is room to be stringent—one who is stringent is worthy of blessing—when it comes to Indians and others who actually practice idol worship. But according to the basic law, it is permitted as well. Okay, as we said, this doesn’t come up for us very often. Now, regarding sales during

11:13 Speaker 2 their festivals.

11:15 Speaker 4 Sales?

11:16 Speaker 2 Sales. There’s an interesting halachah in the Shulchan Aruch. It says as follows—this is section 149, paragraph 3: “One may go to a fair held by idol worshippers and buy from them animals, male and female servants, houses, fields, and vineyards, and draw up and register the deeds in their courts.” And the Gemara uses the expression, “because it is like rescuing them from their hands.” In other words, even though they’re holding a fair, with all kinds of special offers and everything, and you benefit by buying from them, it says that it’s permitted. But there’s one condition: “When does this apply? When buying from a private owner who does not pay a tax. But buying from a merchant is forbidden, because he pays a tax, and the tax goes to the idols.” In other words, back then, when there was an established shop and you bought something, a tax had to be paid. Who did they pay the tax to? Their idols. So you couldn’t buy there, even if there was a sale or anything like that, because they paid a tax to their idols. But buying from a private individual was permitted. What follows for today? As far as I know, there’s no such thing today as a tax paid to idol worship. Perhaps there are countries where there is; I don’t know. But generally... First of all, regarding Christians and the like, it says that their holidays aren’t actually festivals of idol worship itself; they’re something surrounding it. There’s another passage here. One second. I can’t find it right now. Here it is: “A festival day is forbidden only with regard to those who worship on it. But idol worshippers who celebrate it, eat and drink, and observe it because of custom or out of respect for the king, but who do not acknowledge it, may be engaged in commerce.” Now, many non-Jews—not all, but many—are like that. They celebrate because that’s the custom and that’s what people do in the country. So that’s one basis for permitting it. But apart from that, as we said, it is like rescuing the goods from their hands.

13:41 Speaker 2 So if there’s no tax of some kind that goes to idol worship, then according to this it should be permitted. Of course, there’s also a matter of personal feeling. Sometimes a person feels, “Why should I benefit from something connected with their holiday?” And of course—and unfortunately many people slip up on this—don’t use their terminology. Sometimes people advertise, uh, I don’t know, “Black Friday” or all kinds of other things, using non-Jewish terminology. They run a sale. If someone who owns a store runs a sale, you can find other words to use, not their words. Or, for example, their holiday arrives, and someone in a store—soon we’ll see—is selling them products for it, for their holiday. We’ll talk about that in a moment. Let’s say that’s permitted. But to set out a table and play music, or whatever—that certainly... Even if it isn’t idol worship, that’s not something permitted. All right, last time we left off with five points. So now we’ll go through them one by one: around their holidays, which we’ve just learned about; ritual items; and a few other things. We’ll go through them one by one. One second.

14:59 Speaker 5 So tell us what to do. Is it permitted or forbidden?

15:02 Speaker 2 Regarding what?

15:03 Speaker 5 Buying, say, uh, an item when you know it’s for Black Friday.

15:09 Speaker 2 Yes. That’s permitted. Permitted.

15:13 Speaker 6 Taking advantage of sales. And the same with a holiday-related item in December?

15:19 Speaker 2 Yes, the same idea. In principle, it’s permitted. So let’s summarize what we learned about the period around their holidays. Regarding selling, the Shulchan Aruch says... Huh? You can’t see?

15:34 Speaker 5 No, tell us.

15:34 Speaker 2 It’s sort of the... the holiday that—look, people do use it, but it isn’t appropriate. It’s here only because... When I was looking for pictures for the presentation, you have to be careful not to take one from an idol-worship page and so on. You can’t see a picture of... So this is sort of something neutral. Selling is forbidden. In Western countries, where people aren’t actually practicing idol worship, it’s permitted. And in India and places like that, where people are really devoted to idol worship, it’s proper to be stringent and not sell to them during their festival. But of course, be stringent in a way that won’t cause ill will. If it could cause ill will, then it’s certainly permitted.

16:20 Speaker 6 Ill will between Jews and the...

16:22 Speaker 2 Yes. If you can somehow avoid the sale, you may do that. But if you see that telling him, “It’s forbidden; I won’t sell to you,” will cause trouble, then you may sell to him. During COVID, how was it with them, with all the non-Jewish holidays? As far as selling and buying went, did people avoid it at all, or did everything continue as usual?

16:47 Speaker 6 We saw that there... We had a store for many years, and never...

16:53 Speaker 2 No, nothing changed at all.

16:55 Speaker 6 Wait, wait, wait, wait, I asked you. Never... A lot of foreigners asked the rabbi, but I never heard that there was a problem. Only [unclear].

17:07 Speaker 2 No, in principle it’s forbidden. The Shulchan Aruch says it’s forbidden to sell to them. But today—

17:13 Speaker 6 Some are lenient.

17:14 Speaker 2 It’s permitted, permitted in a place of idol worship, or [unclear]. Buying from them.

17:20 Speaker 6 That too, that too, that too.

17:22 Speaker 2 What?

17:23 Speaker 6 We encountered it. During that period, there are lots of painters.

17:27 Speaker 2 Yes, not necessarily connected to the holidays.

17:30 Speaker 6 No.

17:30 Speaker 2 Oh.

17:30 Speaker 6 They, they, they do it at—at—and I’ve never heard... That isn’t proof, but I’ve never heard of Jews... There are millions of Jews, after all, and you see them in Bnei Brak, so I never—

17:43 Speaker 2 You never saw people avoiding it at all.

17:44 Speaker 6 If someone says they’re going to the hospital or to a photographer, that doesn’t work. I’ve never heard of it.

17:50 Speaker 2 Okay, so buying is certainly easier. The Shulchan Aruch explicitly says that one may go to a fair held by idol worshippers, and so on. If there’s a tax that goes to idol worship, it would be forbidden. That’s important to know. I don’t know whether there are countries like that today; I doubt it.

18:05 Speaker 6 Where in the north?

18:07 Speaker 2 Yes. Okay, now the concept—

18:10 Speaker 6 A person who has a store, for example, selling electrical appliances—can he actually advertise in honor of Christmas?

18:18 Speaker 2 Uh.

18:19 Speaker 6 To attract customers, with a discount.

18:23 Speaker 2 That’s a question. Where there’s a potential loss, it’s a question. I don’t know. It doesn’t sound right.

18:27 Speaker 6 It doesn’t sound right at all.

18:28 Speaker 2 But—

18:29 Speaker 6 It’s business, it’s... I’ll tell you, there are a lot of advertisements for the holidays, but I haven’t seen a store owned by a Jewish merchant actually name the holiday.

18:41 Speaker 2 He can write “for the holiday.” Yes, it’s Chanukah.

18:44 Speaker 6 Holidays. Chanukah often falls close to Christmas. It falls close to...

18:55 Speaker 2 Okay, let’s move on to the second of the five points: ritual items. That means things they use for idol worship. So let’s read paragraph three: “Things that are designated for a particular type of idol in that place may not be sold to those who worship those idols in that place.” If, let’s say, in India—

19:15 Speaker 6 A Christmas tree.

19:17 Speaker 2 Right, there are many discussions among the poskim about the fir tree. There are even discussions about the cross—what counts as idol worship and what counts as something that... We’ll soon see some of the wording here. Yes, it appears here. We’ll read it shortly, about this form of worship, or what we read earlier. Now, in principle, it is forbidden to sell something they use for idol worship. For example, I don’t know, cows in India: they worship the cow. If you sell them a cow and you know they’re going to worship it, that would be forbidden. Now let’s continue in the Shulchan Aruch: “Things that are not designated for it may be sold to them without specifying a purpose.” If it’s something that can be used for idol worship but can also be used for other things, you can sell it to them without specifying a purpose. “But if the idol worshiper states that he is buying them for idols, it is forbidden to sell them to him.” If he tells you explicitly, “I’m buying this for idol worship,” then it would be forbidden to sell it to him. Now, regarding your question about fir trees and things like that, look at number four. Again, he asks about the Indians—the same Rabbi Abdallah Somekh. The Indians practice idol worship in our time, and their custom is to borrow objects from Jewish homes before their festival to decorate their houses and courtyard gates. Here we’re not talking about buying and selling; we’re talking about—well, we see the same idea. May I lend my neighbor flowers, objects, or potted plants that he’ll use to decorate for his festival, when he actually practices idol worship? Rabbi Abdallah Somekh answers in his responsum: “This, too, is permitted.” Lending them items. The answer is in number four, in the second passage: lending them items to decorate their homes and courtyards, as the Rema wrote in section 10, and I quote: “Although the non-Jew intends to bring praise and honor to idol worship, nevertheless, since it is not an adornment of the idol itself

21:05 Speaker 2 or an accessory used in its worship, and there is no prescribed practice of worshiping it in this way, but it merely adds a little beauty and honor to the idol worship, we have no objection. And whenever the non-Jew does not intend to make the Jew transgress his religion, but acts for his own benefit, it is permitted.” In other words—

21:22 Speaker 7 It’s permitted.

21:23 Speaker 2 Yes. Anything that isn’t itself idol worship—he doesn’t worship with it, it isn’t an adornment of the idol, and it isn’t an accessory used in its worship; it’s just decoration around it. He calls that the non-Jew’s own benefit. He wants things to look nice for his festival, so he decorates and puts up all sorts of decorations.

21:36 Speaker 7 All sorts.

21:38 Speaker 2 Based on this, these things—again, I’m speaking now about the basic law. If someone comes along and starts a business selling fir trees, you could call that “a scoundrel within the bounds of the Torah.” It’s not something appropriate. What?

21:56 Speaker 7 Trees.

21:56 Speaker 2 Right. Now, flowers are also different. A tree, something that’s really distinctive to their festival, might even—

22:01 Speaker 7 A particular festival.

22:02 Speaker 2 Yes. You come and make a business out of it. You’re certainly enhancing their celebration. But flowers, for example—that was a question that came up in the past. Someone grows flowers, and when their festivals come around, he exports a much larger quantity abroad. He knows why he’s exporting more, but it would seemingly be permitted based on what’s written here. So what emerges is this: if something is designated for idol worship itself, it’s forbidden. If it’s intended only for decoration, it’s permitted. And if it can be used either for idol worship or for something else, it’s permitted—unless he tells you explicitly, “I’m buying this for idol worship.” Then it’s forbidden to sell it to him.

22:48 Speaker 7 One of the issues that came up in the area of [unclear]: there were several Jews there who had gold-jewelry stores. They would buy gold—buy the gold jewelry from non-Jews—and sell it. A non-Jew sold his gold jewelry and his gold cross, and now the Jew makes a profit selling the gold. How does that work? How do we define it?

23:12 Speaker 2 Does he melt it down afterward?

23:13 Speaker 7 No.

23:14 Speaker 2 Look, melting it down—as I told you, I really don’t want to get into a ruling on melting it down. It’s a major issue among the poskim. Was it intended for idol worship or not? Now, on to the next category: weapons and destructive implements. A baraisa states explicitly that it is forbidden to sell them to non-Jews. Not only actual weapons; it even mentions chains. And the Ritva goes further and includes metals—selling them metals from which they’ll make weapons. All of this is forbidden to sell to non-Jews; that’s what it says.

23:53 Speaker 7 They get them for free, completely free.

23:56 Speaker 2 Yes, they get weapons for free, unfortunately.

24:00 Speaker 7 Free.

24:00 Speaker 2 Now, this can have practical implications. A little less so today, though you could say it’s starting to become more common. In the past, people even did business with people from Gaza, right? They sold them cars and all that. They don’t do that today. Today they do it, but with whom? With people from here, with Israeli Arabs, supposedly. Slowly, today, even Israeli Arabs are no longer... There’s no longer such a big difference between them and the Palestinians, and you have to pay attention. You sell a car for scrap, and its parts could later end up in various missiles they make, or other weapons. So let’s say the prohibition is, in principle, against selling to a hostile non-Jew. Right? We’ll soon see that there is a permission when it’s a non-Jew on friendly terms and so on, but we need to be more careful about metals. Let’s look at the wording of the Shulchan Aruch in number three, section five: “We do not sell to them, nor to a Jew suspected of selling to them, nor to a Jewish bandit.” Pay attention: someone comes in whom you know causes harm—or trades with non-Jews, or is involved in some kind of mafia, something that makes you know he’ll use it for bad purposes. Say, for example, you sell self-defense items in a store, like pepper spray and things like that. If someone seems suspicious to you and you think he’ll use them to cause harm, it says here that selling to him is forbidden. “Anything that can harm the public, such as bears and lions.” Right? So from now on, you can’t sell bears and lions. “Nor any weapons, nor an anvil, nor shackles or collars.” See, an iron band around the neck. In other words, handcuffs and all kinds of things like that, which a non-Jew or a suspect Jew might use to cause harm. Not necessarily to kill— even to harm the public. So there is a prohibition against selling them. The Shulchan Aruch continues:

26:03 Speaker 2 “If Jews live among idol worshipers and have made a covenant with them, it is permitted to sell weapons to the king’s servants and the like, because they fight alongside them against the enemies of the country to save it, and thus they protect the Jews, who live within it.” The prohibition is against selling to people who might use the weapons against you. But if they protect you, it’s permitted. And here it branches out into questions about different countries. Today this is a question. There’s the discussion about Saudi Arabia: should we make peace with them and then allow weapons to be sold to them? Allow them to develop nuclear capabilities, and so on? Here we’re talking about people who actually protect us. Friendly countries are somewhere in the middle; it takes a great deal of judgment to decide when it would be permitted—whether it’s to our benefit or might later work against us. So, to sum up: it’s forbidden to sell to hostile non-Jews, even handcuffs or metals and things like that, not just actual weapons. It’s permitted to sell to non-Jews who protect us. Cases in between require separate consideration, each on its own merits. Now let’s move to the fourth of five cases. We mentioned it briefly at the beginning, and now we’ll go into a little more detail: a prohibition that isn’t apparent. Selling something that is forbidden, when you can’t tell by looking at it that it’s forbidden. And here it’s important to emphasize: there’s a book—I won’t name it—that’s very well known today, that many, many people open and consult, and it discusses this prohibition. It writes, citing the Shach, that it’s permitted to sell a small quantity to a non-Jew. Why? Because you’re selling him a little; he has his own personal use for it. What’s the problem? But selling a large quantity to a non-Jew would be forbidden. Now we’ll see what the Alter Rebbe says about this. Let’s study it together for a moment. And, by the way, it isn’t only the Alter Rebbe; many poskim say this. We’ll soon see that even the Shach himself, the one who wrote

28:14 Speaker 2 the permission—his son writes about it and objects, asking why he permitted it.

28:20 Speaker 8 Something he drinks?

28:22 Speaker 2 I don’t know. I don’t know. In Nekudos Hakesef, that’s what he writes. So let’s look at number five. What we discussed earlier, those wheat kernels that got wet. “Likewise, any grain on which water fell, even a small amount, and even if there was only a little rain, if it then sat until it became chametz, a Jew may not use it on Pesach.” Right? The Alter Rebbe continues: “But he should not sell a large amount of it to one non-Jew.” Notice that here it does say “a large amount.” We’ll soon see why. “He should not sell a large amount of it to one non-Jew, lest the non-Jew then sell it or give it to another Jew who does not know that water fell on it, and that Jew will eat it on Pesach.” That’s why you can’t sell a large amount to a non-Jew. A little wheat is permitted. Why is a little permitted? Let’s see. Huh? Let’s see. “But when he sells it in small amounts,” the Alter Rebbe says, there are two grounds for leniency. There are two considerations that combine to allow it. First, perhaps the non-Jew will eat it himself and won’t sell it or give any of it to a Jew. To begin with, maybe he won’t sell it at all; he’ll eat it himself. Second, “Even if the non-Jew does then sell this small amount to another Jew, we can assume that the Jew will eat the entire small amount before Pesach.” He’s saying, first, maybe the non-Jew will eat it himself. Second, even if he sells it or gives it to another Jew, maybe that Jew will finish eating it before Pesach. That’s why it’s permitted. What follows from this? It’s specifically with wheat before Pesach, when there’s time for the Jew to finish it, that the Alter Rebbe permits selling a little to a non-Jew. But if we’re talking about another prohibition, such as bread baked by a non-Jew, which, as we mentioned earlier, remains forbidden even if it comes from a non-Jew: if you sell it to a non-Jew now, even a little, you don’t have two grounds for leniency. Either he’ll eat it or

30:32 Speaker 2 he’ll give it to another Jew. If he gives it to another Jew, there aren’t two grounds for leniency; it’s something that’s forbidden. So in that case, he would prohibit it. Let’s look at what’s written in number six. The Be’er Heitev, citing the Shach, who permits selling a little, writes about him: “The Shach’s son, in the book Nekudos Hakesef, objects to the Shach’s ruling permitting sales to a non-Jew in small amounts, saying that it does not accord with halachah at all.” In other words, it just doesn’t fit with halachah. And it’s not only his son; there are several others here—the Pri Chadash, the Levush, I think, and several other halachic authorities who wrote about it. “Rather, the essential way to permit this is to make it into bread, break it in two, and then sell it to a non-Jew.” Don’t give him the [unclear]. This way there’s a distinguishing sign, so a Jew will always know not to buy it. He won’t buy bread—uh, pieces of bread—from the non-Jew. That’s different. So according to the Alter Rebbe, if something forbidden doesn’t visibly appear forbidden, it’s prohibited to sell it to a non-Jew, even a little. As I told you, one contemporary printed book simply says that you may sell a little to a non-Jew, with a footnote citing the Shach. And I’m emphasizing that many halachic authorities prohibit it. Now let’s move on... Yes, here’s the summary: a large amount is forbidden; for a small amount, some permit it, but the Alter Rebbe prohibits it, and we said that many other authorities do too. Let’s move on to the last case. It’s a very broad subject, but I’ll address it for as long as time allows.

32:04 Speaker 8 Wine used for idolatrous worship, for example, is included in the—

32:07 Speaker 2 Wine used for idolatrous worship is, in principle, forbidden to benefit from. With ordinary non-Jewish wine, there’s a dispute—yes, a dispute between the Mechaber and the Rema. In principle, the Rema permits it, but he writes that... If you want me to put it in his own terms, he goes back and forth a bit. Basically, it’s permitted, but it’s better not to, and so on. Now, regarding a house or land: selling a house or land in Eretz Yisroel is certainly forbidden. You may not sell it to a non-Jew. There’s the prohibition of lo sechonem: you may not give them a foothold in the land. Some authorities wanted to say that this applies only to the seven nations, or only to idol worshippers, but in practice, most authorities hold that it’s quite clear that selling in Eretz Yisroel is generally forbidden. On the question of the heter mechirah for Shemittah, they bring various leniencies from here and there: it’s only temporary, only for this purpose. But generally speaking, it’s forbidden. Now, outside Eretz Yisroel, suppose I want to sell a house to a non-Jew. In principle, yes; we won’t get into the details. In principle it’s permitted, because there’s no prohibition against giving them a foothold outside Eretz Yisroel. In principle it’s permitted. Now, regarding renting: renting is discussed in the Shulchan Aruch. Just a moment, here it is on the page. In Yoreh De’ah, siman 151, section 8: “We do not sell them houses or fields in Eretz Yisroel, but we may rent them houses, though not fields.” Renting—you may rent them a house. When you rent them a house, there’s no issue of giving them a foothold; it’s only temporary, so renting is permitted. Now, in section 9, it says: “One may neither sell nor rent to three idol worshippers together in a Jewish neighborhood.” One may not sell—outside Eretz Yisroel.

34:26 Speaker 9 Outside Eretz Yisroel.

34:27 Speaker 2 In Eretz Yisroel, selling is forbidden altogether. So first of all, this is outside Eretz Yisroel. But “one may not rent” applies regardless of where it is. Whether outside Eretz Yisroel or in Eretz Yisroel, one may not rent to three idol worshippers together. Now, the wording here is a little unclear. What does “three idol worshippers” mean? If you look at the original passage in the Gemara, it uses the term “neighborhood.” A neighborhood, as it consistently appears in several places in the Gemara, means three houses. So the concern here is really that the non-Jews will establish a neighborhood. So that’s—therefore, the halachic authorities say, and the Maharshal says, that even when the Rambam and the Shulchan Aruch state it without qualification—he doesn’t say this about the Shulchan Aruch; he says it about the Rambam—they mean three houses. In other words, if one Jew owns several houses, he may rent one or two of them to non-Jews, but renting three would already be forbidden. I don’t know. Now, on this basis, this does come up today. People even around here have various neglected apartments like that. They rent one to several foreign work—foreign workers living in that apartment. So according to most authorities, that’s clearly permitted, because it’s not three houses. It’s several non-Jews, not three houses. Now there’s another prohibition, also mentioned here in section 10: “Even in places where renting was permitted, it was permitted only for storage and the like, but not as a residence, because he will bring idols into it on a permanent basis.” If you rent him a place where he’ll live, he’ll bring his idols in there. You may not cause your house to become a place for idols, so renting to a non-Jew would be forbidden. But the Rema continues—it makes no difference whether it’s in Eretz Yisroel or outside it: you rent to a non-Jew, and he brings his idols inside. The Rema continues and says: “Nowadays, however, the custom is to rent even as a residence,

36:20 Speaker 2 since they do not customarily bring idols into their homes.” So according to this, it depends on their practice. If we’re talking about India, where they would bring an idol into the home, you may not rent to them. Now, the Beis Yosef says that selling them a house is permitted, because once you sell it, it’s no longer yours. So they can bring as much idol worship in there as they want. Renting to them would be forbidden. You know—now, if you know they’re going to use it for idol worship? Yes, that’s how it comes out, because you’re selling it to them; it isn’t a house in Eretz Yisroel. Now there’s a third consideration, and it’s very important: a non-Jew who might harm the public. I don’t know exactly how to define that. Today there are—I don’t know, around here, for example, people are also afraid of foreign workers walking around in the street. I don’t want to lay down firm rules here about who is considered harmful and who isn’t. But generally, this appears in Choshen Mishpat in the laws of a neighbor’s right of first refusal. If a Jew sold a house to a non-Jew in a Jewish neighborhood, it says he is placed under a ban until he accepts responsibility in advance for any damage that non-Jew... This appears in the Gemara. Any damage he causes to those around him. In other words, everything we’ve discussed until now about selling or renting to a non-Jew applies only when there’s no concern about harm. If there is a concern about harm, then it would be forbidden regardless. Selling or renting makes no difference in a Jewish area, in a Jewish neighborhood. But if you buy properties in China and sell to a non-Jew and so on, there’s no problem at all—go ahead and do business. This issue arises only in a Jewish neighborhood. So let’s sum up regarding a house or land. In Eretz Yisroel it’s forbidden because of lo sechonem. Outside Eretz Yisroel, selling is permitted if it isn’t in a Jewish neighborhood, or if there’s no concern about harm. As for renting, then

38:18 Speaker 2 You may rent to one or two non-Jews, but to three it is forbidden. There is a disagreement about exactly why three is a problem, but the basic point is that three is... that’s it. So, most halachic authorities use the wording “three houses.” The Rema and the Shulchan Aruch simply say “three non-Jews,” and the Maharsha explains that they, too, mean three houses. Understandably, if he sells to three people, that means three houses. The Gemara’s wording also indicates that a neighborhood means three houses. Now, it is forbidden to rent to idol worshippers so that they will not bring idols into your house. Selling to them is different: even if they bring in idols, there is no problem, because it is no longer yours. But if the non-Jew is someone who causes harm, then both selling and renting are forbidden. Whether in Eretz Yisroel or outside it, if it is in a Jewish neighborhood, it is forbidden—as in the uproar when people tried to sell houses in Crown Heights to non-Jews, and so on. That’s it, then. Those are the five things. Maybe just... very briefly, let’s review the five together. We have the period close to their festivals. We said that, in principle, it is forbidden, but if it’s... and today, in Western countries, it is permitted. Items used in worship: we said that, in principle, they are forbidden, but if they are only for decoration, or it is not certain they will be used for worship, it is permitted. Weapons and destructive implements are also forbidden in principle, but if the non-Jews are protecting us, it is permitted. A prohibition that is not apparent: we said that it is forbidden even in a small quantity, not just a large one. And a house or land, as we read earlier, is forbidden to rent out.