Amera L'Akum Part II

Question:

What is the proper way to hint to a gentile?

Discussion

We mentioned two weeks ago that one is not permitted to ask a gentile to do an act for the benefit of a Jew that is not permitted for the Jew to do himself. However, we said that under certain conditions hinting may be permitted. We will now examine this in further detail.

There are three forms of hinting; hinting in the form of a command, hinting with gestures, hinting that is not in the form of a command. One may not hint in the form of a command. Therefore, one may not say “I can not do such and such an act”. Nor may one say “please help me out…” Both these ways of asking the gentile to do something is in the form of a command. One may not make a request to do a melacha nor mention the melacha required.

One may not gesture or sign in some way to the gentile to do a melacha even if he does not say a word. For example one may not point to the light switch and make a flicking motion with his hand to get the gentile to turn on the light (Chaya Adam 62:2).

One is only permitted to hint in a non-command fashion. This means he must hint without asking for the gentile to do an action nor mentioning the melacha. Additionally one can only use a hint when he is permitted to benefit from the act (see Parshas Bo).  An example of a permitted hint is “the light in the bedroom is on and I won’t be able to sleep”. Neither the melacha nor a request for help was mentioned.

If the gentile responds “would you like me to do such and such” you can not say “yes”. This is because it is as if you are saying do such and such. The only permitted thing to say is “I can’t tell you what to do” or repeat the original statement.

Summary:

One may only hint to a gentile in a non-command fashion. This means that he must hint without mentioning the melacha or asking the gentile to do an act. Any other type of hinting is prohibited. Additionally, one may only hint in a situation where the Jew can benefit from the act (see Parshas Bo).