Hosting a Non-Jew on Shabbos or Yom Tov
Question: Is it permitted to host a non-Jew for a Shabbos meal?
Discussion: If the non-Jew needs a place to eat, e.g., he is homeless or has no other place to eat, it is permitted to host him or her for a Shabbos meal, even if hosting the non-Jew will result in additional tirchah, toil, for the host10. It goes without saying that the conversation around the table should not involve weekday or business activities.
Once the meal is over, the host should not send any leftover food with the non-Jew to take home. This is forbidden since it may appear to others that the non-Jew is carrying those items on behalf of the Jew11. If, however, the host’s community is surrounded by an eiruv, this restriction does not apply12.
It is permitted to host a non-observant Jew for a Shabbos meal, especially if the invitation may result in bringing the guest closer to yiddishkiet. But it is forbidden to invite him for a meal if the guest will desecrate the Shabbos due to the invitation. If the guest does not live within walking distance of our home, he should be invited for the entire Shabbos so that he does not drive home on our account. The guest should be told that according to Jewish law, it is prohibited for him to drive on Shabbos. Experienced kiruv workers maintain that when properly explained, the guest will often accede to the request.
In the event that the guest will come for Shabbos only if he can drive home, there are authorities who permit inviting him anyway, provided that there is a reasonable chance that the invitation will lead to kiruv.13 The guest should be informed that sleeping quarters have been arranged for him and he may change his mind at any time and decide to sleep over.14 Since not all authorities agree with this leniency15 and not all cases are identical, the specific case should be presented to a rav for a final decision.
Question: Is it permitted to host a non-Jew for a Yom Tov meal?
Discussion: No, it is not.16 Food preparation on Yom Tov is permitted only when the food is intended to be consumed by fellow Jews. Since Jews are commanded to celebrate and enjoy Yom Tov, the Torah gave a special dispensation allowing us to prepare fresh food on Yom Tov to enhance our simchas Yom Tov17. But one is not permitted, min ha-Torah, to cook, bake (or perform any other forbidden food preparation) if the food is meant to be eaten by animals, or by non-Jewish guests, acquaintances or domestic help. Since preparing food for them is not considered a simchas Yom Tov need, they are explicitly excluded from the special dispensation which permits us to cook, bake or prepare food on Yom Tov18.
Moreover, it is even forbidden, miderabanan, to invite a non-Jew to one’s house for a Yom Tov meal, even if the host has already cooked and prepared all the food and is not planning to do any more cooking or baking on Yom Tov. This is so because the Rabbis feared that one might be tempted to prepare a special dish in honor of an important guest and will inadvertently come to violate the prohibition of cooking, baking or preparing food specifically for a non-Jew19.
Jewish apostates or those who are public Shabbos desecrators are considered as non-Jews and one may not prepare food for them nor invite them for a Yom Tov meal. But nowadays, when many non-observant Jews were raised without a Torah education, they are not considered as non-Jews regarding this halachah and it is permitted to invite them for a Yom Tov meal20, especially if it is a kiruv rechokim situation.21 [Potential converts who have begun but not completed their conversion process are considered as non-Jews and may not be invited for a Yom Tov meal22.]
But the Rabbis forbade only formal invitations of non-Jewish guests to a Yom Tov meal. If, however, a guest shows up without an invitation, or if a guest was brought into the host’s home by another guest, or even if the host notifies a guest in advance that food is available for him whenever he comes (but does not formally invite him), it is permitted to serve him along with the other members of the family or guests. It is, however, forbidden to cook anything special which is intended specifically for him and not for the other guests or family members. The same guidelines hold true concerning non-Jewish domestic help: It is permitted to feed them (as they are not considered invited guests), but it is forbidden to cook or prepare anything special just for them23.
[Under extenuating circumstances, if not hosting a non-Jew will impede the simchas Yom Tov of the host, it is permitted to invite a non-Jew, provided that all of the food that will be served to him is prepared before Yom Tov24. A Rav should be consulted25.]
10. Mishnah Berurah 325:1. Still, if it can be avoided, it is appropriate to avoid hosting a non-Jew for a Shabbos meal, if it will result in additional tirchah or the host; see Kaf ha-Chayim 325:5.
11. O.C. 325:1 and Mishnah Berurah 4.
12. See Shulchan Aruch ha-Rav 246:5.
13. Teshuvos v’Hanhagos 1:358. Several arguments lend support to this position: 1) The guest is desecrating the Shabbos regardless of my invitation; 2) Actually, we are minimizing his chillul Shabbos during the time period he will spend at our home; 3) He will be eating kosher food; 4) Several poskim hold that “aiding a sinner” does not apply to one who deliberately sins (see explanation of this view in Igros Moshe, Y.D. 1:72 and E.H. 4:61-2; 4:87-1, quoting the Dagul me-Revavah); 5) The purpose of the invitation is for kiruv and not to aid a sinner in committing a sin.
14. Emes l’Yaakov, C.M. 425, note 27 (oral ruling); Minchas Shelomo 2:4-10. See Halichos Shelomo, Pesach 9:69, Orchos Halachah 444.
15. See Igros Moshe, O.C. 1:98-99; 4:71, who prohibits organizing a minyan for children on Shabbos when they will surely travel by car. There are several distinctions, however, between those cases and this one.
16. Mishnah Berurah 325:1.
17. See Ramban, Shemos 35:3 and Sefer Ha-Chinuch, mitzvah 298.
18. Sha’ar ha-Tziyun 325:2.
19. O.C. 512:1.
20. Based on Chazon Ish, Y.D. 1:6; 2:28 and Tzitz Eliezer 8:16-20. See Shulchan Shelomo, O.C. 512:2-2, note 1.
21. Halichos Shelomo, Pesach 9:69.
22. See Shulchan Shelomo, O.C. 512, note ٥ and ٦.
23. O.C. 512:1 and Mishnah Berurah 11.
24. Beiur Halachah 512:1, s.v. assur.
25. A possible solution to this problem is to cook all the food that will be served to the non-Jew in advance of Yom Tov and then arrange for the non-Jew to halachically acquire that food. This way, he is being invited to eat his own food, not the food belonging to his host. See Kol ha-Torah, vol. 62, pg. 48, for more details.