583. Erecting a Partition

In an introductory note to this chapter, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch writes that most Jews are already familiar with the prohibited labors of Shabbos and that he is only addressing common situations with which people may not be familiar. Clearly, the laws of Shabbos constitute an area requiring much greater study than this email alone will allow. 80:75 One may not relieve himself in a plowed field on Shabbos. (Traipsing around in a plowed field may likely cause a person to level holes, which is a prohibited activity - Mishnah Brurah 312:24.) If the field belongs to another person, one may not enter it at all, even on weekdays (because he messes up the owner’s work by walking on it – OC 312:9). 80:76 One may not set up any partition on Shabbos or yom tov, not even a temporary partition, if doing so will end up permitting some activity that otherwise would have been prohibited. Therefore, one may not make a partition by setting up a curtain in front of a candle in order to engage in marital relations. (Mishnah Brurah 315:10 permits one to erect a partition that obscures the source of the light, since this is not meant as a wall to divide the room – see there for details.) Similarly, one may not make a partition in front of seforim in order to have relations or to relieve himself because it is the erection of such a partition that permits these things to be done, by dividing the room into two. Therefore, this is considered an act of construction. However, if one covers the seforim with two covers, one on top of the other, this is not considered an act of construction and is permitted. If a curtain in front of a bed was laid out before Shabbos so that at least a handbreadth hangs, either from the side or the top, it may be spread out in its entirety on Shabbos because this is considered only adding to an already-existing temporary structure. However, if the hanging curtain is always pulled to one end and folded, this is not included in the handbreadth because it does not resemble a tent. Similarly, one may not open a folding partition on Shabbos unless it was already opened slightly before Shabbos. The space the partition occupies when folded, even though its side is wider than a handbreadth, does not contribute towards what’s necessary to permit its use. A temporary partition that wasn’t made to permit some activity, but was made for a reason like blocking the sunlight or keeping the wind from blowing out candles, may be set up on Shabbos.