836. Refraining From Mundane Activities on Shabbos

Shabbos 24:1

Some activities are prohibited on Shabbos even though they do not resemble the categories of labor and they will not lead one to perform a prohibited form of labor. Rather, they are prohibited based on Isaiah 58:13, “If you will restrain your feet because it is Shabbos and not from pursue your own interests on My holy day... and honor it (by refraining) from your usual activities, attending to your desires and talking about mundane things.” For this reason, one may not deal with his mundane matters on Shabbos, nor even speak about them, such as discussing merchandise with a business partner, construction projects, etc. Things like these are included in the prohibition against discussing mundanity. Thinking about such things, however, is permitted.

Shabbos 24:2

It is prohibited for a person to inspect his gardens and fields on Shabbos in order to see what they need or to see how they’re doing because this is considered pursuing one’s own interests. Similarly, one is not permitted to walk to the edge of Shabbos boundary (techum) on Shabbos in order to wait there for Shabbos to end so that he will be closer to a task that he wants to perform on Saturday night. In such a case, his walking on Shabbos would be considered pursuing his own interests.