[Avodah] goy vs chiloni

[Arie Folger]

On Wed, Jun 3, 2009 at 6:14 AM,  <avodah-request at lists.aishdas.org> wrote:
> The tricky thing to explain is not really that, but why is it assur when
> done by a goy, for whom the act is mutar, and that is why, inter alia, the
> Taz and the Magen Avraham both feel the need to explain, that this is a
> specific gezera of chazal because of concern that a person is likely to
> consider amira l'akum as something rather trivial and be tempted to do it
> either next time or in order to get even the slight benefit of having the
> item available immediately after shabbas.

The difference between asking a NJ and asking another Jew is that when
asking another Jew, we are not commanded (except through lifnei iver
and arvus) regarding the other Jew's shemiras Shabbos; every Jew has
his own mitzvah. However, one source for the prohibition of amira
le'aku"m is in the verse, kol melacha lo ye'aseh (see, for example,
the Kitzur Shulchan 'Arukh 73:1,
http://www.shofar.net/Content/Kitzur_Shulchan.htm ), which prohibits
causing creative work through others not commanded in keeping Shabbat.

By the way, (a) I disagree that by operating an electric door, the
building becomes changed, according to Chazon Ish. Only the circuit
changed, and even the circuit, was broken before and after the door's
opening; it was only open (changed) while the door was in the process
of opening. Hence, I find it very unconvincing to claim that the
building should become assur on account of the door's opening.

(b) The real thing to compare the question of a Chul Jew asking an EY
Jew in EY to do a melakha on YT sheni is whether one Jew who began
Shabbat early may ask another Jew who begins Shabbat with the zman, to
do a melakha for the former.

-- 
Arie Folger
http://ariefolger.wordpress.com/
http://www.ariefolger.googlepages.com