Q&A: Working in a Non-Jew’s Bakery on Passover
Working in a Non-Jew’s Bakery on Passover
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Is it permitted to work as an employee in a non-Jew’s bakery on Passover? As part of the job, one has to prepare bread from flour owned by a non-Jew, and sell it to non-Jews. I thought that perhaps there is a problem here of deriving benefit from leavened food on Passover, since he is using the leavened food to earn his wages. Or perhaps there is a problem of commerce in forbidden foods (the question being whether an employee is considered a dealer in food).
In addition, is a non-Jew’s leavened food on a Jewish holiday of Passover considered muktzeh? (For example, if one is staying with a non-Jew on the holiday and the non-Jew asks him to pass him the bread.)
Best regards,
Answer
Seemingly, this is earning wages from items from which benefit is forbidden. See, for example, here:
http://din.org.il/2016/05/10/%D7%94%D7%90%D7%9D-%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%AA%D7%A8-%D7%9C%D7%A2%D7%91%D7%95%D7%93-%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%94%D7%AA%D7%A2%D7%A1%D7%A7-%D7%A2%D7%9D-%D7%97%D7%9E%D7%A5-%D7%A9%D7%9C-%D7%92%D7%95%D7%99-%D7%91%D7%A4%D7%A1/
As for muktzeh, I am uncertain about this. On the one hand, the owner determines the status of muktzeh, and a non-Jew is permitted to use and eat leavened food. But the non-Jew is also not subject to the laws of muktzeh, while the leavened food is forbidden to all Jews for benefit and for eating (though not for mere use).
On reconsideration, I saw in Beit Yosef, siman 446, citing the Rivash, that a non-Jew’s leavened food is muktzeh on the Sabbath and on a Jewish holiday.
Discussion on Answer
The source and force of this are not clear. From the words of several medieval authorities (Rishonim) it appears that this is actually forbidden by Torah law as part of the prohibition of deriving benefit, but I seem to recall that some wrote that it is only rabbinic. See, for example, a discussion here:
https://www.etzion.org.il/he/%D7%9B%D7%91-%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%90%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D
One should consider, regarding prohibitions of benefit that do not transfer their forbidden status to the money received for them (such as orlah), why it should not still be forbidden under the rule of earning wages from forbidden benefit. And in fact, Rashi in the first chapter of Hullin wrote that for the owner himself, the proceeds of orlah are forbidden (and the Ran in Kiddushin discusses, in light of this, one who betroths a woman with proceeds of orlah: the man gave nothing, while the woman received something worth a perutah). But not everyone agrees with this.
What you cited from Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah deals with his own forbidden-benefit items, which because of the prohibition he is feeding to a non-Jew. In your question, however, you were dealing with leavened food that itself belongs to a non-Jew. That is different.
In the above-mentioned article, Rabbi Bik comments that gratitude is considered benefit. I am not sure he is right, and this is not the place to go into it.
Regarding earning wages from forbidden benefit: is that a rabbinic decree? Or is it considered actual benefit from something from which benefit is forbidden?
As for the muktzeh issue, I saw that in Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah, chapter 20, note 33, it says that food items forbidden for eating even after the Sabbath, which one intends to feed to a non-Jew or to an animal, are not muktzeh.
The question is whether the very use of the bread (moving it) is considered as though I am deriving benefit from it (the non-Jew’s gratitude). And perhaps because this is benefit that does not involve consumption or depletion, it is not considered benefit at all.