Re: maid on Shabbat
Question
I am grateful if you can please help me understand this. Can you hire the maid who is NOT a "live in" to come to your house or shul to "clean up" after your Shabbat meals since we know that by "clean up" that means that she will vacuum and mop which are things that we cannot do on Shabbat. We know that she will use the vacuum because that is what we hire a maid to do. It is not like she normally gets on her knees and picks up the little crumbs on the rug and this time she discovers the wonderous vacuum and voila her life is so much easier!! So, if she always uses a vacuum to clean the floors, then by hiring her to "clean" aren't we asking her to vacuum a Jew's dirt, on a Jew's floor, for a Jew on Shabbat? PLEASE help me understand why this is done everywhere I look. Must you first hand her the broom and then just not protest when she goes to get the vacuum because since you hired her to clean up the floor with a broom, then the vacuum is truly for her benefit? Does it matter if she is only hired to come to clean on Shabbat? (like at the shul). Or in order to have her work for you on Shabbat does she need to be employed as a live in or by the week? Thank you very much for your patience with me.
Answer
Answered by Chaim Yisrael AbadiShe can use the vaccuum to clean up. She is doing something the easy way even though it can be done in a permissible way. The issue of working just for Shabbat is complicated, but a live in or a weekly employee is okay. CYA