Carrying or transferring any item from one place to another—under certain conditions—constitutes the av melachah of hotza’ah and is not permitted on Shabbat.1 Its multiple layers and facets, combined with the many rabbinic prohibitions that extend from it, make the melachah of hotza’ah complex.

It is particularly challenging because even scenarios that seem innocuous can fall into the category of hotza'ah. For example, if you live in an apartment building, you may not carry the garbage into the hallway to throw it down the chute without a specific type of eruv (which will be discussed below). People may be aware that an eruv is necessary to carry one’s tallit to shul or push a baby’s stroller, but connecting that to taking a few steps into the hallway of one’s own building does not seem like a natural progression.

A Unique Melachah

Typically, a melachah substantially changes an item. Bishul, for example, takes something that was previously raw and renders it edible. Hotza'ah, however, merely relocates the item, with no lasting effect. For this reason (among others), hotza'ah is called a melachah geruah, “an inferior melachah.” This does not mean that the prohibition is less severe, but that it is a less substantial act.2

What Type of Carrying Is Forbidden?

The Torah forbids two forms of carrying on Shabbat:

  1. Transferring something from one type of halachic domain to another.
  2. Carrying something more than four cubits in a “public domain.”

To properly grasp the parameters of this melachah, we first need to define each of the different halachic domains.

Private and Public Domains

The terms “private” and “public” in this context do not refer to ownership. “Private” means it is closed off from the public, and “public” means that it is not enclosed.

A private domain refers to any place that is at least four handbreadths square (approx. 1.3 sq. ft.), and is surrounded by at least three walls 10 handbreadths high (approx 38 in.).

A public domain is an unroofed area that is accessible to the public and is at least 16 amot wide (approx. 25 ft.)3. An area can be considered a public domain even if it has walls, provided that traffic can pass through freely. Some halachic authorities add a condition that for a domain to be considered public, at least 600,000 people must pass through it each day.4

The accepted custom is to follow the second opinion.5 Therefore, according to biblical law, public areas like a park or an ordinary street would not be considered a private or public domain, and carrying would be permitted there. But that's not where it ends. The Sages were concerned that one may fail to distinguish between different public areas and one may come to carry in a full-fledged public domain. Therefore, they established a new type of domain called a karmelit6.

A karmelit is an open area that is not large enough or busy enough to be a public domain, but it is also not enclosed.

A makom petur is a small area, less than four handbreadths by four handbreadths (13 x 13 inches), that is not large enough to be considered a separate domain of its own7. A fire hydrant or a small post box would be an example of a makom petur.

A karmelit is treated as if it is both a public domain and a private domain. This means that one may not carry something more than four cubits inside it, nor may one transfer something from a private domain into it - as is the law by a public domain. One may also not transfer something from a public domain into it as it is treated as a private domain8.

One may, however, transfer something to or from a makom petur.

Picking up and Putting Down

One is only liable for carrying or transferring something if he lifted it up from where it was lying and, after transporting it from A to B, placed it down on a solid/stable surface. Placing something in someone’s hand is considered placing it on a solid/stable surface. Doing only one of the two, lifting up the article without placing it down later, or placing it down without having picked it up at the outset, are both rabbinically forbidden.9

Throwing an article from A to B is also a form of transferring and is forbidden on Shabbat.

The Eiruv

There is a somewhat complex solution to allow people to carry outdoors on Shabbat. It is by employing the use of an eiruv chatzerot, commonly referred to by its abbreviated term - eiruv.

There are two parts to making a kosher eiruv.

The first step is to make a tzurat hapesach - a type of enclosure which surrounds both private and hitherto pseudo-public domains (karmelit) and thus creates a large private domain in which carrying is permitted on Shabbat. This enclosure can be large enough to include entire neighborhoods with homes, apartments and synagogues, making it permissible to carry on Shabbat, since one is never leaving one's domain. It is technical, because theoretically the area should have to be surrounded with a wall to make it a private domain. However, a wall can be a wall even if it has many doorways creating large open spaces. This means that a wall does not have to be solid. Therefore, the tzurat hapesach may be created using vertical poles with string running along the top of them with the poles acting as the doorposts and string as the lintel of the doorframes. As such, the entire "wall" is actually a series of "doorways." Added to that there may be existing natural boundaries and fences.

But there is more to an eiruv than just poles and string. King Solomon foresaw that if people were allowed to carry in enclosed public yards which many houses shared, the entire law forbidding carrying in an actual public domain would be forgotten or distorted10. He and his court therefore established a rule that in order for a domain to be considered private, it needs to belong to a single household or entity. This is accomplished by everyone in the area contributing food, which everyone can partake of, thereby turning all of the residents into one unit. This is the second step in making an eiruv and where the term eiruv comes in; the Hebrew word eiruv means mixing or joining together. This practice continues today when an eiruv is needed in a community or in an apartment building. Usually, instead of everyone in the area bringing food (a real hassle), one person takes food and declares that it is available for everyone in the area to come eat from.11 Usually, matzah is used for this purpose as it can last for a long time.

Hotza’ah in the Mishkan

The walls of the Mishkan were made from wooden beams called kerashim. Each time the Mishkan was disassembled and reassembled, the beams had to be loaded onto wagons that transported them from the desert floor and vice versa. The wagons were halachically considered as private domains and the desert floor as a public domain. The transfer of those beams is the source for the melachah of hotza'ah.12

Common Activities to Avoid

  • One should check that his pockets are empty before walking outside on Shabbat.
  • While walking outside on Shabbat, one should be careful not to take off one’s glasses or hat, thereby carrying them.
  • When visiting an unfamiliar city, one should ensure that a kosher eiruv is in place before carrying outside on Shabbat.