Discover what others are learning
Curated Torah sources across every topic, from classical texts to contemporary responsa.
Amirah L'Akum: Instructing Non-Jews on Shabbat
Sources explore the rabbinic prohibition against asking a non-Jew to perform work on Shabbat, including early tannaitic foundations and later discussions of exceptions for cases involving illness, medical need, or matters of mitzvah. The sources address both Torah-level melachot and rabbinic prohibitions, with particular attention to leniencies that may apply when there is significant need.
אָסוּר לוֹמַר לְנָכְרִי לַעֲשׂוֹת לָנוּ מְלָאכָה בְּשַׁבָּת
Serving Fully Cooked Food from a Slow Cooker on Shabbat
These sources address the halakhic permissibility of removing and handling fully cooked food from a heat source on Shabbat, including the conditions under which cooked food at yad soldet bo (a temperature the hand recoils from) may be served and whether a vessel may be returned to the heat source after removal.
כׇּל שֶׁבָּא בְּחַמִּין מִלִּפְנֵי הַשַּׁבָּת — שׁוֹרִין אוֹתוֹ בְּחַמִּין בְּשַׁבָּת
Bishul on Shabbat: Cooking, Reheating, and Retention
Sources explore the melacha of bishul (cooking) on Shabbat, including the foundational prohibition of fire-kindling for food preparation, the laws of shehiyah (leaving food on heat before Shabbat), and chazarah (returning food to heat on Shabbat). The sources trace halakhic development from Talmudic principles through codified rulings on practical implementation and permitted conditions.
מלאכת אוכל נפש
The Prohibition of Cooking and Heat on Shabbat
These sources establish the foundational halakhic framework for Shabbat labor prohibitions, particularly the thirty-nine categories of creative work prohibited on the seventh day. They explain how cooking and heat-related activities are classified as forbidden melachot, providing the conceptual basis for later rabbinic discussions about electrical appliances and modern devices.
כשם שאסור לבשל באור כך אסור לבשל בתולדות האור
Amirah Le-Nokhri: Instructing Non-Jews on Shabbat
These sources address the rabbinic prohibition against instructing a non-Jew to perform work on Shabbat, including when such instruction is forbidden or permitted, the distinction between direct commands and indirect hints, and exceptions for cases of need or religious obligation.
אסור לומר לנכרי לעשות לנו מלאכה בשבת