Using Hot Water Heated by a Gentile on Shabbos

Question

Dear Rabbi,

This past Shabbos, I noticed that we had forgotten to plug in our hot water urn before Shabbos, and as a result we had no hot water. We have a non‑Jewish live‑in maid. Of course, I did not ask her to heat water for us or to plug anything in, as that would be forbidden on Shabbos. However, on Shabbos morning she heated water in the kettle for herself in order to make coffee. There was leftover hot water in the kettle afterward. My wife suggested that we use the hot water since it had been heated for her own use, not for us. I felt uncomfortable doing so, although I couldn’t clearly articulate why. On the one hand, we didn’t ask her to heat the water, she doesn’t need to observe Shabbos, and she heated it solely for herself. Seemingly, there should be no problem benefiting from it — yet it didn’t feel right. In the end, we did not use the hot water.

Was that the correct decision?

Answer

Yes. Your intuition was correct. It is prohibited for a Jewish acquaintance to benefit on Shabbos from food or drink that was cooked by a gentile, even if it was prepared for the gentile’s own use and not at the Jew’s request. This applies even when there is no issue of bishul akum. The reason is that Chazal were concerned that when there is a Jew who may benefit from the result, the gentile might add more on the Jew’s behalf. Accordingly, in your case it was forbidden to benefit from the hot water that the maid heated for herself, even though it was leftover water.

Explanation

There is a general rule regarding amira l’nochri (instructing a gentile to perform melachah on Shabbos):

In addition to the prohibition against asking a gentile to do melachah for a Jew, it is also forbidden for a Jew to benefit from melachah performed by a gentile on the Jew’s behalf. This benefit is known as maaseh Shabbos done through a gentile.

However, there is an important distinction: If a gentile performs melachah entirely for his or her own benefit, a Jew is generally permitted to benefit from it. Example: If a gentile turns on a light in his room so that he can read, a Jew may enter the room and benefit from the light, since it was not turned on for the Jew.

There is, however, a major exception made by Chazal. If the melachah is of a type where it is possible to increase the action for the benefit of another person — such as cooking or heating water — then Chazal prohibited acquaintances of the gentile from benefiting, even when the gentile acted for himself. The concern is that if Jews were permitted to benefit in such cases, the gentile might intentionally add more food or water for them in the future.

Therefore:

• Cooking or heating liquids: Acquaintances may not benefit, since the amount could easily be increased for the Jew.
• Actions that cannot be increased: Such as turning on a light, the prohibition does not apply.
• A gentile who does not know the Jew at all: The concern for added benefit does not apply, and the decree is waived.

In your situation, the maid is a live‑in employee and clearly an acquaintance. She also knew that there was no hot water available due to the urn not being plugged in. Under these circumstances, the concern that she might add more water for your benefit fully applies. Therefore, it was indeed forbidden to use the hot water she heated on Shabbos, and your decision not to use it was halachically correct.

Sources

Admur 325:16-18 “The same law applies in all cases [of work done by a gentile for his own behalf] that there is suspicion that perhaps the gentile will increase on behalf of the Jew if [the gentile] is an acquaintance [of the Jew]. For example, a gentile which roasted or cooked for himself foods which are not prohibited due to “Bishul Akum” as well as all other cases in which when done for two people the amount must be increased more then if it were to be done for one person.”; Kuntrus Achron 276:5; Michaber 325:11; Tur 325; Rambam Shabbos 6:3; M”A 325:28; Tosafus Beitza 3a; Rabbeinu Yerucham 12:12; Aruch Hashulchan 325:21; SSH”K 30:58; Piskeiy Teshuvos 276:4