Hilchos Shabbos - Crossing Streets

QUESTION: I have to cross a busy street on Shabbos to get to shul. If I stand by the crosswalk, the drivers are expected to stop and let me cross. Is this permitted or is this viewed as though I am asking them to stop?

ANSWER: Assuming the drivers are not Jewish, the issue with asking them to stop their cars is that of “amira l’akum.” Chazal, based on the pasuk “vedaber davar” (Yeshayahu 58:13), forbade speaking on Shabbos in the same way one would during the week. Included in this is asking a non-Jew to do melacha. Therefore, one may not verbally ask a non-Jew to do melacha for him on Shabbos. The Mishnah Berurah (307:76) writes that one may hint to a non-Jew in an indirect way, without instructing. For example, one may not ask a non-Jew to fix a poorly lit candle, but one may say, “This candle is not burning well.” If the non-Jew decides to fix the candle, he may do so.

The same can be applied to standing by the crosswalk. Since you did not verbally command anyone to stop, standing by the crosswalk would at most be like hinting, which would not be a violation of “daber davar.” Sefer Orchos Shabbos (23:29) writes that standing by a crosswalk is even less than hinting and is permitted, but one may not hold up one’s hand to stop the driver because this is considered an instruction.

Although hinting is allowed in these two scenarios, to fix a poorly lit candle and waiting by the crosswalk, other cases of hinting may not be allowed. The rules of when this is allowed are detailed and complex. A competent halachic authority should always be consulted prior to communicating with a non-Jew to do melacha on Shabbos.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.