Shulchan Aruch: Chapter 517 - The Manner in which it is Permitted to Purchase Types of Food from a Storekeeper on a Festival

SECTION 517 The Manner in which it is Permitted to Purchase Types of Food from a Storekeeper on a Festival (1-9)

1 On a festival, [a person] is permitted to purchase [various] types of food or drink from a storekeeper,1 provided [the customer] does not mention to him a specific number [of items],2 nor a specific measure,3 nor a specific sum of money4 so that it will not appear that he is conducting a business transaction, but rather [it will seem as if he] is borrowing [the food or drink from the storekeeper], as stated in sec. 323 with regard to Shabbos. The same laws apply with regard to a festival.

2 If the storekeeper is a non-Jew, it is forbidden to purchase from him an item that could have been [growing in the ground] or might not have been caught5 [at the onset of the festival], e.g., fresh produce or fish, unless it is obvious [by inspecting them] that they were not gathered or caught on this day, as stated in sec. 515[:4-5]. Consult that source regarding all the particulars concerning this law. Similarly, it is forbidden to purchase eggs from [a non-Jew] because it is possible that they were laid on the festival.6

However, when such entities are not found [growing in the ground,] nor are they [likely to have been]caught [at the onset of the festival], e.g., dried fruit, geese, or chickens, it is permitted to purchase them from [a non-Jew] (following the guidelines explained in sec. 323).7 [This leniency applies] even if [the produce or game] was brought from outside the city’s festival limits, provided it is a city primarily populated by non-Jews, as stated in sec. 515[:18];8 consult that source.

3 Similarly, is permitted to purchase flour from [a non-Jew] even if it was ground on the day [of the festival] if the majority of purchasers of flour in the city are non-Jews. [The rationale is that the non-Jewish merchant] certainly ground it for the sake of [another] non-Jew.9 True, this flour first came into existence on the festival. Nevertheless, it is permitted even according to the authorities who forbid [using or moving] nolad10on a festival. [The rationale is that] even grain that has not been ground is fit to be eaten as roasted kernels or porridge.11 Thus, this flour is only considered as food that was separated from other food, and is not placed into the [halachic]category of nolad, since even when this flour was [still] included in [the kernel of] wheat, it was [already] categorized as food.12

4 Similarly, (in a place where the custom is to permit bread that a non-Jewish baker baked to sell, as stated in Yoreh Deah, sec. 112,)13 it is permitted to purchase bread baked on a festival from [such a baker] if the majority of the people who purchase bread in this city are non-Jews. [The rationale is that it can be assumed] that the flour was ground for their sake.

If it is known that the flour was ground on the day before the festival, e.g., flour was brought to the baker on the day before the festival, and a Jew sealed it with his seal on the day before the festival so that the non-Jew would not exchange it with flour ground on the festival, and on the following day, the Jew came and saw that his seal had not been tampered with, it is permitted to buy this flour [from the baker] even if most of the people who buy flour in the city are Jewish.14 Similarly, is permitted to buy bread the non-Jew baked from this flour even if most of the people who purchase bread in the city are Jewish.

5 If most of the people who purchase bread in a city are Jewish, the bread of a non-Jewish baker that was baked on Shabbos is forbidden to be purchased on a festival that immediately follows [that Shabbos]because of the prohibition [against Shabbos] preparing [for the festival. This prohibition applies] even when the flour was ground on the day before Shabbos. [The rationale is that] since most of the customers are Jews, [the non-Jewish baker] surely baked [the bread] for their sake. Therefore, the bread may not be eaten by a Jew on Shabbos. Thus, by baking [the bread] on Shabbos, [the baker]causedthe bread to be [considered to be] prepared to be eaten on a festival, and Shabbos may not prepare for a festival.15

However, if the majority of the purchasers of bread in this city are non-Jews, [the bread may be purchased on the festivalthat immediately follows the Shabbos]. True, on Shabbos itself, one should act stringently and not purchase such bread even when it was baked for the sake of a non-Jew for the reason explained in sec. 325[:6].16 Nevertheless, on the day of a festivalthat follows [Shabbos], this [bread] may be permitted, since there are those who permit [the bread] even on Shabbos itself, and their opinion is fundamentally accepted [as halachah], as explained in that source.

6 The permission to make any of the purchases mentioned in this section, in sec. 515, and in sec. 513, whether produce, fish, flour, bread or any other possible purchases, is granted only when the purchase price of the article is known and it is not necessary to establish a price with the non-Jewish [merchant].

Even though the purchase price [of the article] is known, it is forbidden to pay [the seller] money on the festival itself. [Moreover,] it is forbidden even to show the non-Jew the money so that he take it himself. It is even forbidden to pay him via another non-Jew, for no matter how the money reaches the seller on the festival, it is evident that a commercial transaction [transpired], and that is forbidden, as Scripture explicitly states in [the book of] Nechemiah.17 License was granted only when [the purchaser] does not give [the seller] money, for then it does not appear as a commercial transaction, but rather [as if one person] is borrowing [from another,] in the manner described in sec. 323[:1]; consult that source.

7 Even on the day before a festival, [a Jew] is forbidden to tell a non-Jew to purchase types of food on the following day for him.18 [This restriction applies] even if [the person] needs [these items] to [enhance his] festive joy. It is even forbidden to instruct a non-Jew to purchase [food] for him with his own money and [promise] to repay him after the festival. [The rationale is that] the non-Jew becomes [the Jew’s] agent to make the purchase for him on a festival.19

Even after the fact, when the non-Jew has already purchased food for [the Jew] as his agent, it is forbidden for the Jew to benefit from [the purchase] on the festival if it is his common practice to [instruct non-Jews to make such purchases on his behalf on festivals. The rationale is that] if we were to permit him to eat [the food] on the festival, there are grounds for concern that [he] would do so again since he is suspect regarding this matter. However, if it is not his common practice to [instruct non-Jews to make such purchases on his behalf on festivals,] he should not be penalized for this. It is permitted for him to partake of [the food] on the festival itself if he knows it was brought from within [the city’s] festival limits or the majority of the city’s populace are non-Jews.20

8 The laws that apply on a festival when a person tells a shopkeeper, “Fill this container for me with wine,” are the same as those that apply on Shabbos, as explained in sec. 323[:1];21 consult that source. Similarly, the laws that apply when casting lots on a festivalare the same as those that apply on Shabbos, as explained in sec. 322;22 consult that source.

9 A person may not measure barley and give it to his animal23 [on a festival. The rationale is that] it is forbidden to measure on a festival.24 Instead, he should estimate [the proper amount of barley] and give it to [the animal].