(With due respect) I understand that Jews or Jewish, dont carry anything around on shabbat.?

Question

But then isnt wearing plain old clothes also work?

What happens incase of an emergency.Im sure the sick are treated. So Jews have an allowance for emergency work on Shabbat?
What about eating and feeding a baby?
Isnt walking also work? If not then why is going out of a city considered work?

Any useful link on which most or all Orthodox Jews agree would be welcomed!
Thank u and peace.

Answer 1

Ok- let us first define what is meant by "work" on shabbat. "Work" in hebrew is "avodah", but it is not "avodah" that is forbidden on shabbat, but "melachah". Melachah is defined as creative work - the creative activities done in the building of the temple. Thus it includes cutting, grinding, polishing, lighting a fire, cooking (smelting metals as part of this), sifting, weaving, dyeing, knootting, completing work, moving items from one domain to another and so on. In al their are 40 categories of "Avot Melachah", primarary melachahs, and each av melachah nad "child" melachas which we learn from the av melachah since they do result in the same action and thus are forbidden though not specifically mentioned.

From the above categories, exceptions exist for bodily necessities (tsrichah legefuah) , thus wearing clothes is one of these, as is cutting food to eat it etc. Some of these are even seen as REQUIRED since we are meant to rejoice on the shabbat (it would be pretty hard to rejoice if you couldn't eat!) Also, all necessities for life, yours or others, are allowed (so the feeding of a baby is not just allowed, it is REQUIRED!)

The next exceptions fall under the category of pikuach nefesh, preserving life. When it comes to pikuach nefesh, every law can be broken- with the exception of the three cardinal sins- murder, idolotary and sexual immorality (adultery, incest and sodomy). Essentially, preserving life is the ultimate thing and thus overrides the shabbat restrictions.

For non-life threatening diseases it gets more complicated- if it could develop into something life threatening, then there is no question- take the medication and all necessary treatments. Fro something that is non-life threatening but could result in long term illness or damage - once again take the medication/necessary treatment. What is not allowed is something like vitamin pills. An extra leniency on medical issues is given for babies or small children- since you can never be certain of every exactly how ill they are- any sick child is treated as being in a life threatening situation and any necessary treatment can be given to them.

Walking is not work (as I pointed out previously we are talking about constructive work), but over a certain distance it is considered to be wrong. the distance specified de'oraiso is quite far, and the Rabbi's limited this further to make sure that people adhered to the spirit of the day rather than using it as afree day for travelling purposes.

Answer 2

first yes, anything emergency where a persons life is in posible danger all actions must be taken to protect human life. To avoid doing so because its the sabbath is even a worse sin.

Their is no problem feeding a baby, their might be a problem in preparing some of the food, but that can be done before the sabbath.

Its a misnomer when people think that a person cannot work on the sabbath what it infact really is that a person cannot create. Just as G-d stoped creating on the seventh day so do we. That is why walking five miles is not considered a problem, but lighting a match is. One action creates something new the other dose not.

As for walking outside a city that is a clause that a person should not travel on the sabbath, so walking outside a city would be considered travel to a degree, I wish I could add more but I am not an expert in this.

http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=95906
http://www.ou.org/chagim/shabbat/thirtynine.htm

Answer 3

Excellent question! OK, to the first part yes, you can wear clothes without violating the laws of carrying; go to the first link for a detailed, Orthodox description of the do's and dont's on Shabbat.

As to your second question, in the case of saving a life **any** commandment can be broken (including those for Shabbat) except for three: 1) the prohibition against idolatry; 2) the prohibition against incest; and 3) the prohibition against murder.

As for walking, on Shabbat you are limited in terms of how far you can walk away from your home; the laws around exactly how this is accomplished, and under what circumstances an additional distance can be walked, are detailed in the part of the Talmud called "Eruvim". More about this can be found in the second link (go down to the part called "Eruv chatzeirot") and the third link

Answer 4

Good question and a detailed answer would be extremely complicated for that google aish hatorah or ohr sameyach or chabad you'll probably find details there the basic answer is that not all work is forbidden carrying is only forbidden in public places except where there is an eruv (check out the sites for information on this) there is an allowance for life threatening or suspected life threatening cases.

Answer 5

they mean work like work in a store or a factory or clean the house feeding a baby isnt work