74:2 On rivers one is permitted to embark on a boat, under all
circumstances, even on Friday, 1 as long as the Jew is not required to
do there (forbidden) Shabbat work. Even if animals are drawing along the
boat, it is permitted. 2
1) Travelling on a river, according to the Sages, does not mess up one's system in the way that a sea-journey would; therefore, embarking on a riverboat on Friday would not detract from one's Shabbat enjoyment and is permitted. (2) It is Rabbinically forbidden to ride an animal or even in an animal-drawn carriage on Shabbat, because the Sages feared that one might inadvertently snap off a tree branch with which to hit the animal. This prohibition doesn't apply to boats which are pulled down the river by animals walking on the riverbank, because the animals are a great distance from the boat itself. |
על הנהרות מותר להפליג בספינה בכל ענין אפילו בערב שבת ובלבד שלא יצטרך הישראל לעשות שם מלאכה בשבת ואפילו אם בהמות מוליכות את הספינה מותר |
74:3 Under what manner is it permitted to embark on a ship on Friday ?
If one went on to it on Friday and remained there until night, even
though one returned to one's home and slept in one's home, one is
permitted to go on board on Shabbat day 1 as long as the ship is not
traveling for the sake of Jews alone. However, since one has been at
one's home on Shabbat one acquires (again) that as one's residence 2 so
if the ship traveled beyond the Shabbat boundary, and arrived to dry
land (a port) one only has four cubits, 3 and more than this one is not
allowed to go.
1) One is not allowed to travel more than 2000 cubits on Shabbat, from the place one establishes one's ''residence'' at the onset of Shabbat; this law is based on the verse (Exodus 16:29): ''A man shall not leave his place on the seventh day (i.e. on Shabbat)''. The area within the 2000 cubits is called one's ''Shabbat Boundary''. One of the reasons that it might be forbidden to board a boat on Shabbat, is that it looks like you are intending to travel beyond 2000 cubits on Shabbat. However, if one boards the boat on Friday, and remains there until it gets dark (some require even making Kiddush and eating a little on the boat), then the boat is seen as one's ''home'' for Shabbat, and one may re-enter it on Shabbat itself (Aruch Hashulchan 248:13). 2) Remaining on the ship until nightfall on Friday night only serves to allow him to re-enter the ship on Shabbat day. However, because he left the boat on Friday night and spent the night in his house, his house is considered to be his true Shabbat residence; therefore, if the ship travels more than 2000 cubits from his house on Shabbos, he may not leave the confines of the ship. (Mishna Berurah 248:22). 3) One may walk through the entire ship, but not disembark. See also Chapter 95. |
היכא דמותר להפליג בספינה בערב שבת אם נכנס בה בערב שבת וישב שם עד חשיכה אף על פי שחזר לביתו ולן בביתו מותר ליכנס בה אחר כך ביום השבת ובלבד שלא תלך הספינה בשביל ישראלים לחוד אך מאחר שהיה בביתו בשבת קנה שביתה בביתו ולכן אם הלכה הספינה יותר מתחום שבת ובאה בשבת ליבשה אין לו שם אלא ארבע אמות ויותר מזה אסור לו ללכת שמה |
74:4 Going on a ship in order to pray with a minyan or for another
mitzvah, provided the ship is traveling for others (then this) can be
allowed. In any event the Jew should go onto the ship on Friday, while
it is still day and stay there until it is dark, afterwards one may
return to one's home and come back on Shabbat to the ship. However if
the ship is travelling for the sake of Jews alone, 1 this should not be
allowed.
1) See the N'tiv Chayim on the Shulchan Aruch, Chapter 248, for more details. | ללכת בספינה כדי להתפלל בעשרה או למצוה אחרת אם הספינה הולכת גם בשביל אחרים יש להתיר מכל מקום יש להישראל ליכנס בתוך הספינה בערב שבת בעוד יום ולישב שמה עד שתחשך ואחר כך יכול לחזור לביתו וחוזר בשבת לתוך הספינה אבל שתלך הספינה בשביל הישראל לבד אין להתיר |
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