Q&A: Secular People in Jewish Law
Secular People in Jewish Law
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi,
With your permission, I’d be happy if you could answer two questions:
1. Is it permissible to invite a secular person for the Sabbath when I know he will drive to me by car? Do I need to offer him a place to sleep at my home, thereby reducing the chances that he will desecrate the Sabbath? (If that concept even applies to him at all.)
2. If a secular friend stayed with me, or I stayed with him, and he served food that was prepared on the Sabbath, is it permissible for me to eat it?
3. Regarding your article about secular people in Jewish law—how do I know that a certain person does not recognize any obligation at all to keep Jewish law? (You wrote in your article, if I remember correctly, that if he recognizes even a little of his obligation to keep Jewish law, but just disagrees with part of it, then the concepts of prohibition, punishment, etc. do apply to him.)
Thanks in advance!
Answer
Hello,
For some reason I only noticed the question now.
- In my opinion it is permissible, but it is advisable to offer him lodging with you (even if you know for certain that he will not accept). Once you offer that, it is his decision. As for reducing the chances that he will desecrate the Sabbath, I assume you saw my article.
- No. Desecration of the Sabbath done for your sake is forbidden. See Shulchan Arukh, beginning of section 318. True, one could discuss whether he is considered coerced rather than merely unwitting, in which case perhaps they did not prohibit it. But it is hard to permit it here based on reasoning alone. See here: https://mikyab.net/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%9B%D7%94-%D7%A9%D7%A0%D7%A2%D7%A9%D7%AA%D7%94-%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%91%D7%AA-%D7%A2%D7%9C-%D7%99%D7%93%D7%99-%D7%93%D7%90%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%98/
- If you do not know, ask. And if you do not ask and are in doubt, you should be stringent. But if it is clear implicitly (because you know him and the society in which he grew up and/or lives), then there is no reason to be uncertain.
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