Q&A: Mental Work on the Sabbath
Mental Work on the Sabbath
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I work as an algorithmician-mathematician, and I generally have algorithmic problems to solve. At certain stages I spend a large part of my work time walking around and taking walks; that’s how I concentrate best. Sometimes we walk in pairs and talk.
There are two questions I have about this:
- Am I allowed to work on the Sabbath? My work is simply to think about an algorithmic solution to well-defined problems. Of course I don’t write or type. If necessary, I can even avoid looking at written professional material. My position is global. If I work 6 hours on the Sabbath, then on Sunday I would start later, for example. From what I understood, in terms of Sabbath wages this counts as being included as part of a larger arrangement. And what about a verbal discussion with someone else? My father-in-law is a very talented and very busy mathematician, and when we are at their house on the Sabbath I would be very, very happy for the chance to consult with him at length about the problems I’m working on. If this is permitted, it really would be Sabbath enjoyment for me (I do quite enjoy this kind of thing, though obviously the actual problems I have aren’t always the ones I would most want to be dealing with in the world).
- If I thought of a professional idea on the Sabbath, is there any problem with using it on Sunday? (Sometimes it just suddenly appears, or my thoughts drift there without my really noticing. For example, I suddenly think that the problem I’m dealing with can be manipulated slightly, and then there will be a reduction to some other problem for which ready-made algorithms already exist. The idea is simply to think of the appropriate reduction, and sometimes that comes suddenly, and then all that remains is to tie up the loose ends and define things precisely—but work that is sometimes only technical.) I heard an answer that I need to wait for the amount of time I invested in thinking about it. Is that correct? Is there a problem in that even if I thought about something for fifteen minutes and then an idea came to me, that doesn’t mean that if I sat on Sunday for fifteen minutes and thought, the idea would come. It doesn’t really work like that.
Many thanks.
Answer
There is a prohibition against engaging in speech about weekday matters: “and speaking of such matters.” Of course, this does not refer to all weekday matters, but work-related matters are certainly included. If you are not speaking but only thinking, there is room to discuss forbidding it on the grounds that thought is like speech.
However, here we are dealing with solving puzzles, which contains an element of Sabbath enjoyment. It seems to me that if you would do this even if it were not your job, and you would earn money for it, it is hard to prohibit. Of course, regarding Sabbath wages, this is permitted only when included as part of a larger arrangement.
B. It does not seem to me that the rule of “the amount of time needed to do it” applies here. Certainly if it was done only in thought. The Sages decreed that rule only regarding benefit from the labor of a non-Jew.
Discussion on Answer
I answered that above.
Reading may perhaps also involve the prohibition of ordinary documents.
Is it permitted to think about solutions to university mathematics homework on the Sabbath?
Is it permitted to read court rulings for the sake of one’s studies?
Is it permitted to read a literary book that is required reading material for one of the courses?