Q&A: The Prohibition of Commerce on Hol HaMoed
The Prohibition of Commerce on Hol HaMoed
Question
Hello Rabbi, and happy festival days,
In tractate Moed Katan it is stated: "Rava said: commerce of any kind is forbidden. Rav Yosef bar Avin said, but in a case of potential loss it is permitted."
As I understand it, when they say "commerce," they mean buying something in order to sell it at a profit. For example, if I see someone selling iPhone cases cheaply, and I think I can buy 100 of them and sell them at a profit after the festival, such a thing is forbidden. But buying an iPhone case for my own use would not be called commerce at all. Where did all the commerce prohibitions that exist today come from, for example regarding buying clothes? After all, someone who buys clothes, even not for the needs of the festival, is not buying them in order to resell them at a profit afterward, but for personal use, so it would not seem to fall under the category of commerce at all.
Answer
Indeed, I also wonder about this. It seems that in principle one is not supposed to engage in other matters except for the needs of the festival. It is like weekday-type activity.
Discussion on Answer
If that’s his holiday pastime, then it seems permitted.
Then again, I saw that Maimonides, based on the Mishnah, says:
Fruit sellers, clothing sellers, and utensil sellers may sell discreetly for the needs of the festival. How so? If the shop opened onto a corner or an alleyway, he opens it in the usual way. But if it opened onto the public domain, he opens one door and keeps one door closed. And on the eve of the last Festival day of Sukkot, he brings out fruit and decorates the marketplace with it in honor of the Festival. Spice sellers may sell in their usual manner, publicly.
It seems that selling clothing is permitted only for the needs of the festival. On the other hand, it seems that the Sages did not restrict the buyer to buy only for the needs of the festival, but only the seller’s side, that he should sell discreetly for the sake of those who need it for the festival.
But then you end up diminishing the joy of the festival, since for many people buying something new makes them happy.