3,231
edits
Chol HaMoed: Difference between revisions
From Halachipedia
→Physical Needs
| Line 138: | Line 138: | ||
Hilchot Chol HaMoed Zichron Shlomo (pg 46) quotes Rav Moshe Feinstein saying that one should not have a routine checkup if it does not involve a Melacha such as drawing blood. Igrot Moshe 3:78 writes that the leniency of doing melacha for physical need on Chol HaMoed only applies if a person is in pain or is afraid that not going to the doctor will make the condition worse. However, a healthy person shouldn’t make a dentist appointment on Chol HaMoed since it involves melachot and can be done afterwards. Hilchot Chol HaMoed Zichron Shlomo (pg 62) follows the opinion of Rav Moshe and extends it to any routine medical checkup. Furthermore, Chol HaMoed Zichron Shlomo (pg. 46) quotes Rav Moshe as saying that in order not to degrade the sanctity of the holiday one shouldn’t go for a checkup even if no melacha is involved. | Hilchot Chol HaMoed Zichron Shlomo (pg 46) quotes Rav Moshe Feinstein saying that one should not have a routine checkup if it does not involve a Melacha such as drawing blood. Igrot Moshe 3:78 writes that the leniency of doing melacha for physical need on Chol HaMoed only applies if a person is in pain or is afraid that not going to the doctor will make the condition worse. However, a healthy person shouldn’t make a dentist appointment on Chol HaMoed since it involves melachot and can be done afterwards. Hilchot Chol HaMoed Zichron Shlomo (pg 62) follows the opinion of Rav Moshe and extends it to any routine medical checkup. Furthermore, Chol HaMoed Zichron Shlomo (pg. 46) quotes Rav Moshe as saying that in order not to degrade the sanctity of the holiday one shouldn’t go for a checkup even if no melacha is involved. | ||
</ref> | </ref> | ||
==Hiring Workers== | |||
# It is prohibited to hire workers to do melacha on Chol HaMoed. This prohibition applies even if the action one is hiring another to do would be permitted if one was doing this activity for oneself or for another free of charge. <ref> S.A. 542:1. M.B 542:2 explains that the prohibition is uvda dichol. The M.B notes that some poskim permit one to pay a worker to do work if 1) the person cannot perform the work himself, 2) the workers will not do the work unless they are paid, and 3) it is litzorech hamoed. </ref> However, if one does not give the worker a set salary and pays him with food that he eats with the owner, then paying a worker on Chol HaMoed would be allowed. <ref> S"A 542:1 </ref> | |||
# If the work is a pressing need to the point that it would cause a substantial loss if not performed (davar ha’aveid), then it would be permitted to hire a worker to perform the work, even if the work is not necessary for the holiday (litzorech hamoed) and involves skilled labor (maaseh uman). In such a case one may even pay the worker. <ref> Rama 542:1 and M.B 542:5. The Biur Halacha explains that is preferable for one to hire a non-Jew in this situation. M.B 540:2 states that if it would only be a minor loss, one may only do non-skilled labor (maaseh hedyot) to prevent the loss.</ref> | |||
# One may hire a worker who has nothing to eat in order that he will be able to sustain himself. <ref> S.A. 542:2. The M.B there cites the Magen Avraham as saying that if the poor person has bread and water, then it is prohibited to employ him. Magen Avraham 534:7 writes that ideally one should only employ such a person in a private setting because other people may not know that this poor person has a special exemption to do melacha on Chol HaMoed.</ref> | |||
# Someone who has no food at all, or one who has food but does not have his needs for the holiday (tzorchei hamoed), is considered someone who has no food and is allowed to work on Chol HaMoed. <ref> M.B. 542:7. See the Magen Avraham cited by the M.B who holds more stringently and says that if one has bread and water, one may not work on Chol HaMoed. </ref> | |||
# If one stipulates with a non-Jew that the non-Jew should do work for him after Chol HaMoed, but the non-Jew starts the work immediately during Chol HaMoed, one need not stop the non-Jew because he instructed the non-Jew that he should perform the work after the moed. <ref> Rama 543:3 as explained by M.B 543:11</ref> | |||
==Taking a Haircut== | ==Taking a Haircut== | ||
