Shulchan Aruch: Chapter 277 - [Safeguards] to Prevent [Shabbos] Lights from Being Extinguished

SECTION 277 [Safeguards] to Prevent the [Shabbos] Lights from Being Extinguished (1-8)

1 When a burning lamp is placed near the door, (directly opposite the door when it opens,) where the light might be extinguished when the door is opened and a wind were to blow from outside, it is forbidden to open the door1 opposite [the light], lest the wind extinguish it.2 True, the person does not intend to extinguish the light – and [performing a deed that] unintentionally [leads to a prohibition being committed] is permitted.3 Nevertheless, since, were the wind to blow, it would be impossible for [the light] not to be extinguished, [the lamp’s being extinguished is considered as an inevitable consequence of the person’s actions; to borrow a Talmudicexpression:]4 “If you cut off its head, will it not die?” [And when one’s deeds will inevitably bring about a forbidden result, even unintentionally, one is held liable.] Therefore, even when the wind is not blowing outside, it is forbidden to open [the door],5 for perhaps [the wind] will begin blowing as soon as one begins to open [the door].

Even if the light is positioned at the door’s side – e.g., the door opens to the inside [of the house] and the burning light is positioned inside the house, behind [this door], it is forbidden to open [the door] if the light is close to the door and is (positioned opposite the crack of open space [left] between the doorpost and the door where the hinges are affixed that is brought about by opening the door.)6

If, however, the door is already open, it is permitted to close it so that the light will not be extinguished. This is not considered as causing [the light] to burn.7 Similarly, it is permitted to close a window that is opposite the table [upon which a light is burning], while it is forbidden to open it if the light is somewhat close to it.

2 If a lamp is permanently affixed to the wall at the side of the doorway,8 it is forbidden to open the door in the [same] manner that one ordinarily does during the week, lest the door strike the lamp that is behind it. It is impossible for the door not to extinguish the lamp when it strikes it; this is an inevitable result. Instead, one should take care to open the door gently so that it will not touch the light that is behind it. Closing the door, however, is permitted in any fashion.

[A different ruling applies, however,] if when one closes the door firmly in his ordinary manner, the door will strike the doorpost so powerfully that the entire wall will shake, jolting the lamp affixed to it as well. [As a result,] the oil in the lamp will be drawn slightly closer to the wick (and he will be liable for causing a flame), or it will be slightly drawn away from it and thus ([his action will result in] extinguishing [the light]).9 [Hence, one must not open or close the door with great force. Instead,] he must be careful to both open and close the door gently (so that it will not be inevitable [that his actions will affect the light]) even if the light is distant from the door.

3 [More stringent rules apply] if the lamp is affixed to the door itself. If it is an oil lamp, it is forbidden for one to open and close the door in the same manner he ordinarily does during the week. For by opening and closing the door in his ordinary manner, it is impossible that the oil will not be drawn closer to the wick (and he will be liable for causing a flame to burn), or that it will be drawn away from it (and thus [his action] will extinguish [the light]). Instead, he must open and close the door gently, so that it will not be inevitable [that the oil’s position will shift]. There is no prohibition in moving the door because an object that is muktzeh – the lamp –] is affixed to it,10 because the door does not become a base for the lamp since it is considered as auxiliary to the house and is identified as part of it. It is not considered secondary to the lamp.11

If the lamp uses a beeswax candle or the like,12 one may open and close [the door] in his ordinary manner, unless (there is reason for concern) that it will be completely extinguished if one will not be careful to open and close it gently. If, however, it will fall to the ground as a result [of opening and closing the door in his ordinary manner], it is of no consequence, as will be explained.13

Similarly, [care must be taken] when the lamp is at the side of a doorway14 and there is no reason for concern about a wind [blowing in] from the outside (e.g., a door that opens from room to room), but it could be extinguished because of the breeze created by opening the door itself,15 should it be opened in the manner one ordinarily does during the week. One must open it gently (so that it will not be inevitable [that it will be extinguished]).

4 It is forbidden to open a door opposite a fire that is somewhat close to the door if a wind is blowing outside,16 because the wind will fan the flames of the fire.17 [This applies] even if merely an ordinary wind is blowing which would certainly not fan the fire. [This safeguard was instituted as] a decree lest there be an unusually strong wind that would certainly – and inevitably – fan [the fire]. If, by contrast, [a door] opposite the fire was open, it is permitted to close it; it is not considered as extinguishing [a fire].

5 [The following laws apply if] one left18 a [burning] lamp on a tray while it was still day [on Friday] and forgot to remove it before nightfall, and it is necessary for him to carry and use the tray on Shabbos:He should shake the tray, which as a result [will cause] the lamp to fall to the ground, provided he does not intend to extinguish the lamp by shaking it [from the tray]. He may then carry the tray wherever he wants. If the lamp is extinguished as a matter of course, it is not significant, because he did not [extinguish it] intentionally and it was not inevitable that this [fall] would cause it to be extinguished.19

When does the above apply? When the oil in the lamp has already been consumed and all that is left is the burning wick or [the lamp] used a beeswax candle or the like. When, by contrast, a lamp [still] contains oil, it is forbidden to shake the tray, even to cause the lamp to fall from it, for it is impossible that the oil in the lamp will not be drawn closer to the wick and he will be liable for igniting a flame, or that it will flow away from it and thus [his activity] involves extinguishing [the light].20 Needless to say, [this applies] if some [of the oil] will be spilled.

Nevertheless, it is permitted to tell a non-Jew to shake off [the lamp] from the tray, because any [unintentional,] but inevitable [forbidden activity] is permitted to be performed by a non-Jew [even when instructed to do so by a Jew], as explained in sec. 253[:10, 28]. Therefore, even when the lamp employs a beeswax candle or the like, it is preferable that a Jew not [shake it from the tray] himself, but rather do so via a non-Jew if one can easily be found, or [refrain from using] the tray if he is not in that great need of it.

If he requires the place where the tray is located, he may carry it wherever he desires with the lamp on it,21 even if contains oil, as will be explained in sec. 309[:6].22

6 All the above applies when the person forgot to remove the lamp from the tray before the onset of Shabbos and, as such, the tray does not become a base for an object that is muktzeh, since it is not serving the lamp due to the intent of the homeowner, but as a result of his forgetfulness.23 If, by contrast, he intentionally placed the lamp on the tray so that it would remain on it at the onset of Shabbos, [the tray] becomes a base for the lamp and ancillary to it.24 [Hence,] the tray is forbidden to be moved just like the lamp [that is on it]. Therefore, [in such a situation,] it is forbidden to shake the lamp [from the tray], even if it employs a beeswax candle or the like. [This applies] even if he [does not] need [the tray itself, but merely] its space. It is, however, permitted to touch the tray, just as it is permitted to touch all articles that are muktzeh, as will be stated in sec. 308[:14.25 Moreover,] it is permitted to have it26 moved – and/or [the lamp] shaken off 27 – by a non-Jew, as stated in sec. 276[:9].28

There are authorities who maintain that [the object on which a Shabbos lamp rests] is not considered as a base [for a forbidden object] unless the person’s intent was for the lamp to remain on that object for the entire Shabbos. If, by contrast, his intent was to have a non-Jew remove it after the onset of the Shabbos, [or] to shake it off [himself], or to remove it in some other non-ordinary manner, [then,] if the lamp employs a beeswax candle or the like, it is permitted to shake it off.29 One may rely on their words and act leniently30 when there is a loss involved, e.g., a beeswax candle or the like that was on the table toppled onto the table,31 causing concern that the table itself would burn. One may shake the table and have the candle fall off it, if while it was still day [on Friday], one had the intent to remove it from the table on Shabbos via a non-Jew or by carrying it in a non-ordinary manner.

If the candle fell on the tablecloth, even though the candle was standing on it from the beginning of the Shabbos, all authorities agree that the tablecloth does not become a base for the lamp, for the reason to be explained in sec. 309[:9].32 Hence, one may shake the candle – or any other article that was muktzeh that fell on the tablecloth on Shabbos – from the cloth, even if no loss will be suffered if one does not shake it off.

[Moreover,] even if a candle – or any other article that was muktzeh – fell on a table that had become a base for it [because] it had been standing on it at the onset of the Shabbos, i.e., bein hashmashos, if bread (that was necessary for Shabbos) had also been lying on the table at that time, [the table] is considered as a base for both forbidden and permitted articles at the onset of the Shabbos. Therefore, even if the bread was already removed from [the table], it did not become a base for the candle alone since [that distinction of being a base is made] at the onset of the Shabbos and [it is presently] already after the commencement of Shabbos. Accordingly, one may shake the table to cause the candle or another article that was muktzeh to fall off, so that afterwards, one may move the table as he desires. Similar laws apply if other objects that were not muktzeh were lying on the table bein hashmashos, provided (the bread)33 or the other objects [lying on the table]34 were more important [to the person] than the flame to which the candle became a base,35 as will be stated in sec. 279[:1, 4].36

[Different rules apply if, in the latter situation, the person] requires the table itself37 and must move it to another place. If it is feasible for him to shake off the lamp (e.g., he has no further use for this lamp), he should shake it off by tilting the table and causing the lamp to fall. Afterwards, he may carry the table wherever he desires. If it is not feasible for him to shake off the lamp (e.g., he needs the lamp in the other place [to which he is moving the table], or shaking the lamp off could cause a loss, for it might break), he is permitted to carry [the table] while the lamp is on it, since it did not become a base for [the lamp] alone during bein hashmashos.

[Moreover,] even if he no longer needs the candle, but he needs the place where the table [is standing]38 and he will not be able to carry out [the activity] he desires in that place if he shakes the candle off there, he is permitted to carry the table with the candle on it to another place. [The leniency is granted] since the table did not become the base for a forbidden article alone during bein hashmashos, as will be explained [at length] in sec. 309[:4] and sec. 310[:17]. Consult those sources for all the detailed laws and their motivating rationales.

7 [On Friday,] while it is still day, one may place a Shabbos lamp on a tree with the intent that it burn there during Shabbos.39 One may not, by contrast, place a burning lamp on a tree for [use on] a festival even while it is still day [before the onset of the festival]. This is a decree lest one ascend the tree on the festival to take the lamp from there, thus making use of [a tree] on a festival while it is rooted in the ground. This is forbidden for the reason to be explained in sec. 336[:1].40 On Shabbos, however, there is no concern that he will ascend to take the lamp after it burns out, for [the lamp] is forbidden to be carried even after it burns out,41 as will be explained in sec. 279[:1].

8 It is permitted to place an overturned earthenware42 bowl above a lamp so that the flame will not catch on a [wooden] beam [located above the lamp]. Although he is carrying the bowl to save the beam – which [itself] is forbidden to be carried on Shabbos –there is no prohibition at all in doing so. How much more so is it permitted to place [the bowl] over the lamp to permit intimacy.43 Nevertheless, [in the above instances,] one must leave some space below the bowl; otherwise, the lamp will be extinguished.