Outdoor Dining

Q. Some restaurants set up tables and chairs outside on the sidewalk. Is there any issue with eating in public if one is seated?

A. We previously quoted the Gemara (Kiddushin 40b) that one who eats in the marketplace is displaying the behavior of a dog, and one who does so is invalidated from testifying in court. Since the Gemara does not differentiate between walking, standing, or sitting, it would appear that all of these are inappropriate. However, the Rambam (Hilchos Eidus 11:5) and Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 34:18) write that one who eats while walking through a marketplace is invalidated from testifying, which indicates that eating in a marketplace is acceptable if one is seated. On this basis, Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein (Chashukai Chemed, Brochos 50a) writes that eating in at a sidewalk café or restaurant is acceptable, as one typically eats while seated. Nonetheless, Rav Zilberstein notes that there is a higher standard for a talmid chochom. The Rambam (Hilchos Deiyos 5:2) writes that a talmid chacham should only eat at a home while seated at a table, and he should not eat in a store or in the marketplace unless there is a great need. It is clear from the Rambam that a talmid chacham should not eat in a marketplace even when seated. As such, a talmid chochom should not eat at a sidewalk restaurant. Rav Zilberstein makes a similar distinction regarding eating on a bus. For the general public it is acceptable since they are seated (provided other passengers are not offended), but a talmid chacham should avoid doing so.

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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.