re: Mechalal Shabbos

Question

Dear Rabbi Abadi: Thank you for answering my questions, but I'm still confused. First, you asked "You said "I know a Rabbi ...." Is he a Rabbi of some community or some guy with a hat, jacket and beard and you are assuming he is a Rabbi. " The Rabbi in question is a Rosh Yeshivah of a very prominent school and is highly respected. Regarding how the gentile cleans the floors, I still do not fully understand the issue. So I ask my question differently: Are you permitted to hire a gentile to do something that CAN be done without Melacha, but that you KNOW is never done in this day and age without the use of a machine? If you hire a gentile to come after the Shabbat Seuda to clean up the rug before Seuda Shlishit, for example, are you permitted to hire them to clean the rug when you know for a fact that the only method they have ever used involves an electric vacuum? Toward that end, if the answer is "yes", then does this mean that 1) I can employ a gentile on Shabbat to transport my crippled grandmother to the Synagogue even though I know that the only way that the gentile will get her there is by car? (because it is too difficult to push the wheelchair or carry her the full mile, so the car is the most reasonable way for the gentile to complete his hired task), and that once they get to the synagogue he will push the button on the elevator because it easier then shlepper her up the stairs in the wheelchair? 2) I can hire a gentile, (as an employee not as a partner) to staff my booth at a trade show even though I know he will be writing up sales orders (although theoretically it's for his benefit because with a good enough memory he wouldn't need to write) ? 3) I can have my caterer drive platters and dishes in their truck back and forth between the synagogue and their nearby kitchen facilities? Technically, the gentile can carry these things, but he is accustomed to using the truck since it makes the job easier. So, can I hire him to transport these things to me (and from me) knowing without a doubt that he will use the truck on Shabbat? These questions are not hypothetical. They are real issues in our community that are being specifically permitted by some Rabbis while the Balei Batim incredulously asking how can it be permitted. Thank you very much for your hard work and great patience. We all really appreciate it.