Q&A: Building with Utensils
Building with Utensils
Question
Hello Rabbi,
According to many medieval authorities (Rishonim), such as Rashi and Maimonides, there is no Torah-level prohibition of building with utensils at all, as opposed to the view of the Ran and the Rosh. According to those medieval authorities, is building with utensils permitted from the outset in any case where there is no intention to make a new utensil (in which case it would be the final hammer blow)? Or do they all agree with Rashi's view that there is a rabbinic decree lest one come to make a utensil, and therefore building with a utensil that is not very flimsy is rabbinically prohibited?
Answer
I’m not currently familiar with the details of the topic. There is evidence that in certain cases there is a prohibition (which is what leads the other medieval authorities to distinguish between situations in which there is building with utensils and situations in which there is not).