Should Ahmed Turn on the Light on Shabbat?

You are commendable for raising a very practical question that many Sephardic Jews stumble over, thinking that a 'Shabbat goy' is the solution to every problem that arises on Shabbat (Ashkenazi Jews are more lenient according to the Rama in section 276, allowing one to tell a non-Jew to turn on lights for the purpose of a mitzvah in cases of great need, but not as some who are lenient in every situation, and it is obligatory to ask a qualified rabbi about each case).

With Hashem's help, I will try to answer the question briefly and emphasize the main points rather than numerous sources, to know what should be done:

A. It is ruled in the Tur and Shulchan Aruch (section 276) that one should not benefit from light that a non-Jew lit for a Jew. The source is in Tractate Shabbat (page 122), where it is explained that if a non-Jew lit a lamp for a Jew, it is forbidden to use its light. The Tosafot (there) wrote that the prohibition to use the lamp's light applies even to someone for whom it was not lit, and this is how it was ruled in law. When a non-Jew performs work for a Jew, it is forbidden to benefit from that work even if the Jew doesn't see it being done. Therefore, according to the law – it is forbidden to tell a non-Jew, even by hint, to turn on the light for the Jew's benefit, and if one told a non-Jew to turn on the light on Shabbat, it is forbidden to benefit from it, and one must leave that room. But if the non-Jew turned on the light for the Jew on his own without being asked – one doesn't need to leave the house, but one should be careful not to benefit from this light, such as reading a book by its light. And this is forbidden even for someone for whom the light was not turned on.

B. The authorities disagree about "shvut d'shvut" (rabbinic prohibition performed indirectly) in the place of a mitzvah, but I cannot elaborate on this within this column. However, what emerges in practice is, if an electrical shortage occurs in one's home and the house is dark, making it difficult to make Kiddush and eat in the dark, thereby also preventing one from studying Torah and enjoying Shabbat – one may bring a non-Jew to the house and ask if he wants to drink or eat, and if he responds affirmatively, one may say that it is dark and impossible to bring what he asked for, then the non-Jew will understand and turn on the light for his own needs, and the Jew may benefit from it as well. And if it happens that after the non-Jew turns on the light, he comes to turn it off, the Jew may tell him not to turn it off.

C. Someone who truly finds it difficult to fall asleep when the electric light is on may say to a non-Jew "it's difficult to sleep when there's light in the room," and he will understand on his own to turn off the electricity. Since this is done by hint and not by command, there is no prohibition of telling a non-Jew, especially if there is a sick person or a woman who has recently given birth in the house, in which case one may be lenient about this.

D. It should be known that if the electricity goes out in the synagogue on Friday night or on Yom Kippur night during the Shema recitation and prayer, it is permissible to tell a non-Jew to turn it on for the benefit of the many who are reading the Shema and praying from the prayer book. Even though, according to the law, we hold like the Shulchan Aruch that one should only be lenient with a "shvut d'shvut" (indirect rabbinic prohibition) in the place of a mitzvah, in the case of a rabbinic prohibition in the place of a mitzvah for the public, we rely on the opinion of the Ba'al HaItur who wrote to be lenient in the place of a mitzvah. Some have written that it is good to do this through telling a non-Jew to tell another non-Jew. The same applies in a yeshiva where the circuit breaker trips, causing a disruption of Torah study. (Sources: Mishnah Berurah section 276, the book Livyat Chen end of page 25 based on the book HaMichtam and the Behag, Yalkut Yosef Shabbat part 1 page 330).

Rabbi Shai Amar is a rabbi in the Halacha department of Hidabroot