Chapter 315

Matters forbidden due to building a tent on Shabbos.

Introduction:

The following chapter will discuss the laws of setting up dividers and roofings on Shabbos. A roofing is defined as any item which hovers over a surface, such as an umbrella, or a tent, or a table. The problem involved in setting up the above items on Shabbos is because it is a subcategory of the building prohibition[1]. At times it is Biblically forbidden at others only Rabbinically and at others it is even initially allowed to be done. These details will be discussed in this chapter.

Putting up a roofing for protection purposes

Halacha 1       

The law: It is forbidden to make a tent, which refers to [any] roofing which hovers over a person in order to guard him from a given matter, such as [to protect him] from the sun or from the rain or from another given matter.

The prohibition applies even by a temporary tent which has no walls: [This applies] even if [the roof] is temporary [meaning] that it is not made to last and even if there are not any walls under it, such as is the case with one who spreads a mat over four poles. Nevertheless since it is made in order to tent and protect it is [therefore considered] a complete tent and the Sages prohibited it even though it is [only] temporary due to a decree [that one may come to make] a permanent tent which is an offshoot of [the] building [prohibition].

 

Halacha 2

Adding to a temporary tent that was made before Shabbos: The [Sages] only forbade to initially [make a tent] on Shabbos, however if a temporary tent had been made from before Shabbos then it is permitted to add to it on Shabbos, such as for example if the mat was spread out from before Shabbos a handbreadths worth, which is the measurement required for [a roofing item to be] considered a tent, then it is permitted to open it completely on Shabbos and to add more mats to it, as all this is only adding to the handbreadth tent which was made the day before. [Furthermore] even to spread it over walls is allowed in this case.

Is the rolled up material included in the handbreadth? This measurement of a handbreadth that was mentioned does not include the rolled material, meaning that even if it was rolled up and placed [on walls] from before Shabbos and there is in the thickness of the circumference of the rolled material the amount of a handbreadth and more, nevertheless there needs to be coming out of [this roll] a handbreadths worth of material spread out for tenting.

The reason for this is: because the circumference of the rolled material does not appear like a tent at all.

 

Setting up dividers [makeshift walls] on Shabbos:

Halacha 3

When done for shade, privacy, to prevent cold and similar purposes it is permitted: All the above refers to making a tent which is a roof, however it is permitted to initially make temporary dividers on Shabbos. [Furthermore] even if one makes it in order to protect himself from the sun or the cold it is not considered like a tent because of this. Similarly [it is allowed even] if one made it in order to prevent the candles from extinguishing in the wind. It goes without saying that it is allowed to make a divider for mere privacy [purposes, such as] so that one not sit in a revealed area, or such as the dividers which are made during speeches to separate between the men and women, and so too for anything similar to this.

Using dividers to separate domains and thus remove a prohibition: There is never be a case that [making] a temporary divider would be forbidden with exception to if made in order to Halachicly legalize the status of  a Sukkah as will be explained in chapter 630 [Halacha 12 in Michaber/Rama] or [when done] to permit carrying [an object in an otherwise public domain] in the way explained in chapter 362[2] [Halacha 13] or [when done] to remove other prohibitions [from being effective] such as for example one who places a divider the height of ten handbreadths [80 cm] in front of Torah books, [such as] by spreading out a sheet or mat, in order to be allowed to have marital relations in that room or in order to go to the bathroom there, then it is forbidden to make these dividers on Shabbos.

The reason for this restriction is:  because in every situation that a divider permits [one to do something] [it is because] it divides that area into its own separate domain, such as [in the case that] it permits one to carry [in the surrounded area] it is because it turns that area into a private domain and separates it from the public domain or Karmalis which encompasses. Similarly regarding a room with Torah books, [the dividers] divide [the room] into two domains [as] the holy books are [now] in one domain and his marital relations or bathroom use is [being done] in another domain. Thus since one is making it in order to divide [that area] into its own separate domain, [therefore] this is considered like he is making a tent.
Placing up dividers which separate domains in a case that one does not need to do so in order to remove the prohibition: However if one does not need [the dividers] to separate the [area] into its own domain then its allowed to initially make it on Shabbos, even if it [consequently] removes a prohibition.

For example one who positions a divider in front of a light in order so he be permitted to have marital relations, [then since] it is not necessary [here] to have separate domains [to permit intercourse] and rather as long as the separation extends above the light in a way that one cannot see the light from the area that he will have intercourse and as long that [the divider] is slightly thick to the point that the light cannot be well seen through the separation, then it is allowed to have intercourse even if [the divider] is not the height of ten handbreadths and thus does not separate [that area] at all into its own domain.[3] Furthermore [one is allowed to have intercourse even] if [the separation] is not tied on well enough to the point that the wind will not be able to move it, as is required when making a separation in order to separate domains, such as [when having relations in the same room as] Holy Books as was explained in chapter 240 [Halacha 6 in Michaber/Rama]. [Therefore] since one does not need [the dividers] to make a separate domain it is permitted to make it even in a way that it separates the domain, as is the case when [the divider] is higher than ten handbreadths and is tied well.

 

Halacha 4

Scenario in which it is allowed to place a divider by the Torah books in one’s room:

The same applies with [making a separation in ones room that contains] Torah Books, that if one hangs the separation across from all the Holy Books in a way that [the books] are not revealed at all[4], in which case one does not need to make [that area into] a separate domain if one has another cover over the Torah books aside from this separation, and thus even if this divider is not ten handbreadth high and is also not tied well and thus does not separate [the area of books into its own] domain at all, nevertheless [it is valid] as this [divider] is no worse than [having] a mere covering [over the books]. It is thus permitted for one to use the bathroom there or even have intercourse if there is another cover on the Torah Books besides for the divider, as there are here two covers [over the books] and it is like a vessel within a vessel. Therefore it is allowed to place this divider on Shabbos even in a way that will separate [that area into its own] domain since one does not need it to separate the domains.
It thus goes without saying that it is allowed to cover the Torah Books with two coverings of clothing being that there is no divider here at all.
 

Halacha 5

Adding to an already existing divider

In all scenarios that it is forbidden to initially place a separation over the Torah Books and the like, it is nevertheless permitted to add to a separation that was placed before Shabbos: [Furthermore] even if the books are revealed from above the divider in which case the divider is not considered a covering, or [if it is but] there is no other covering on the books and one wants to have intercourse and thus needs the separation to be a height of ten handbreadths and be tied as Halachicly required in order to make that area into a separate domain, and similarly in any scenario that one wants to make a separation in order to create a separate domain, then it is prohibited to initially do so on Shabbos. However if it was [already] made from before Shabbos the measurement of a handbreadth then it is allowed to extend it on Shabbos being that adding to a temporary tent is permitted.

[This applies] whether the handbreadth [of the divider] is from top to bottom, such as mats which are wrapped on a [horizontal] bar from before Shabbos and the amount of a handbreadth [of the mat] extends beneath it from before Shabbos, then it is permitted roll it all down on Shabbos and tie it as is Halachicly required. [Similarly this also applies] whether this handbreadth [extends] from the side, such as if a divider from the side extended in front of the books the width of a handbreadth then it is allowed to hang sheets if front of [the books] on Shabbos being that the sheets are an addition to a temporary tent. Now, although the divider that extends [to the side] is permanent, [nevertheless] this does not pose a problem as explained in chapter 313 [Halacha 1] that there is only a prohibition [in adding to a tent] when the addition is permanent.

 

Halacha 6

The prohibition to make a permanent divider:

All the above [allowances in putting up dividers] is only with regards to temporary dividers, however a permanent divider is forbidden in any scenario even if one only does so for mere privacy.

[Furthermore] even to add on to [an already existing divider or tent] a permanent addition is forbidden in all scenarios.

Placing up decorative sheets: Nevertheless it is permitted to hang decorative sheets even though that they [will be] permanently [placed there] being that they are not meant to serve as separations.

 

Halacha 7

Hanging sheets and other items that move in the wind as a separation:

Placing door curtains in doorways on Shabbos: Door curtains which [are sheets that are] hung in front of a doorway in substitute for a door, then even though they hang there permanently it is allowed to hang it on Shabbos, as since it moves and swings with a common breeze and also does not prevent people from walking through it[5],  therefore it is not considered a permanent separation but rather a temporary separation and thus has no prohibition [in being made] when it is not made to remove [a prohibition].

For this reason the curtain [Paroches] which is in front of the Holy Ark is allowed to be hung there on Shabbos even if the ark does not have a door and the curtain is thus a fourth divider for the ark, as [the curtain] is a temporary separation and is only made for modesty.

Taking caution to not make a tent in the process: [However the above is only allowed] as long as one is careful when he hangs the curtain and material of the like that it not be folded in a way that it extends a handbreadth towards its width[6] at the time that it is being hung, as [if this occurs then] it comes out that one has made a handbreadth of the roof of a tent.[7]

Hanging a large curtain: Therefore if [one wants to hang]  a large curtain it needs to be hung by two people so that it be able to be hung all at once in a way that it won’t fold [in the process], however for one [person to hang it alone] is forbidden.
[As well] a canopy which has a roof extension sewn and hung around it like [material which surrounds] the rim [of an item], is forbidden to be hung at all on Shabbos, even with ten [people] being that it is impossible to avoid lifting up the rim a little and thus make a temporary tent[8].

 

The definition of an already existing roof:

Halacha 8

Placing mats over the frames of a roof: Wood [rods] which have one end inserted into the wall of a ship and its other end is bent into a dome form until it reaches the other wall [of the ship], and it then has mats spread over them to provide protection from the sun or rain, then if the wood [rods] have a width of a handbreadth, even in only one of the rods[9]  then it is permitted to spread mats over them on Shabbos being that by doing so one is only adding on to a temporary tent which was made before Shabbos.

Spreading a roof over rods that are within three handbreadths of each other: Furthermore even if none of [the rods] have a one handbreadth width, if they are within three handbreadths of each other then they are considered a tent, as [all items] within three handbreadths [of each other] are considered connected, and it is thus permitted to spread on them mats on Shabbos.

Spreading a sheet over a baby’s crib: Similarly a baby’s crib which has metal panels [over its top] and one [wants] to spread sheets over it to protect [the child] from flies, then if the panels are positioned as explained [meaning are a Tefach wide, or are within three handbreadths of each other] then it is allowed to spread a sheet on them on Shabbos. [However] if [it is] not [positioned this way] then it is forbidden. 

 

Making a roofing for non-protection purposes

Halacha 9       

Placing an item in an area that consequently causes a roof to be formed:

If there are no walls under the roofing item: A temporary roof which one does not intend in making it for it to be a tent to hover over what is underneath it, but rather only in order to use [this roof] for a certain use, such as for example placing the board of a table on its legs, then even though in doing so one makes a temporary roof this does not pose a problem being that one has no intent to make a tent.

If there are walls/boards under the roofing item: Nevertheless if one also places temporary walls under this roof, then this is similar to a tent and is forbidden to be done in its normal form which is [starting] from below to above, and rather [must be done from] above to below [which is] an irregular form.

Pacing a mattress over a bed shaped like a box: For example, a bed [made in the following manner] that its legs are made out of boards which are attached [to each other] like the walls of a box and on them one spreads [a mattress, such as] leather or places on them a board from on top to sleep on, then one may not first set up the legs and then place the hide or the board on them in the way that is done during the week, because this is similar to making a tent. Rather one is to first grasp the hide or the board in the air and afterwards places the legs underneath it, as this is not similar to making a tent being that it is not common to build [starting] from top to bottom.

 

Halacha 10

If the top of the bed is barred with rope: If this bed does not have placed on it leather or boards but is rather barred with ropes from above, then if there are three handbreadths between each rope, in which case we do not consider the ropes to be all attached, then it is forbidden to initially spread a sheet over it on Shabbos or place a pillow or blanket on it being that this is similar to making a tent. Similarly it is forbidden to remove the lower cloth that is on it being that this is similar to destroying a tent.

If the top was partially covered from before Shabbos: [However] if it had a pillow or blanket or clothing spread on it from before Shabbos the amount of a handbreadth, then it is permitted to spread [it] on Shabbos over the entire bed being that doing so is simply adding to a temporary tent.

 

Halacha 11

Beds with regular legs: All the above [restrictions] only apply to the type of bed that has walls, meaning that its legs are like the walls of a box, even if it does not have four walls but rather only two which are parallel to each other. However by our beds which their legs are not given the status of walls, it is permitted to initially set up [the legs] and afterwards place a beam on them. [Similarly] if it is [a bed that is] barred with ropes then it is allowed to initially spread a sheet over them on Shabbos even if there are three handbreadths between each rope.

The reason: This does not involve [the prohibition of] making a tent because such a form of temporary tent which one has no intent in making a tent out of, the Sages did not prohibit unless it has walls under it which reach the ground, as then it is similar to a tent.

If the walls of the bed are within three handbreadths of the ground: Regarding if the walls [of the bed] reach within three handbreadths of the ground, this will be explained in chapter 502 [in Magen Avraham Halacha 9][10].

 

Halacha 12

The above restriction only applies if one has a use for the space being formed:

Setting up barrels: When setting up barrels on top of each other, one [barrel] being placed on top of two, he is to hold in his hand the upper [barrel] and set up the lower ones under it. However he may not set up the lower barrels first and then place the upper one on them because the space that is created between [the two lower barrels] is similar to a tent which has two walls and a roof. Therefore it must be made in an irregular way from above to below.

Setting up books: However it is permitted to stand two books parallel to each other and place a book over them even though that this forms a handbreadths worth of space under them.

The reason for why by books it is permitted is because: since one has no use for the space between them it is thus not at all similar to a tent which has its space used. However by barrels [it is forbidden because] one requires the space between the two barrels in order so the barrels not mold, as it is for this reason that he set them up in this way [that one barrel stands on two as opposed to on one].

Similarly by a bed, even if it only has two [legs which are] boards parallel to each other, [since] one has use for the space between them [such as] to use it to store ones footwear and the like, and it goes without saying if it has four [legs made of] boards like a box in which one can conceal his items just like in a box, [therefore one may not place the board on them regularly].  

 

Halacha 13

The above restriction only applies if the roofing was not attached to the walls from before Shabbos

The law: Any temporary tent which one has no intention into making into a tent [the Sages] only prohibited spreading over walls which one [had already] set up under it on Shabbos if the roofing had not been attached on its walls from before Shabbos. However if [the roofing] had already been attached to them from before Shabbos but it was placed there folded, then it is permitted to spread it out and set it up on Shabbos.

Examples: For example a chair made from individual parts and when one wants to sit on it one opens it and spreads and stretches the leather [seating] and when one removes [the seat] he closes it up and has the leather fold up, then it is permitted to initially open it on Shabbos even if it has walls under it.

The reason for this is: because it is not similar to making a tent since one is not doing anything as the roofing was already set up and prepared together with the walls from before Shabbos and its just that one unfolds it on Shabbos and sits on it.

Setting up a wedding canopy: For this reason it is allowed to set up a canopy [that from before Shabbos was already attached to its poles] and to close it up.

Opening and closing a shelf: Similarly [it is allowed to open and close] a shelf which is attached to the wall[11] which has books placed on it even if it has walls under it.    

 

Halacha 14

Setting up a strainer:

A strainer that has dregs in it: A strainer which is hung to hold the dregs to filter it [from liquids such as wine], in which one stretches its borders to all sides, this is considered like making a tent and is thus forbidden to move it and stretch it if it was hung with the dregs from before Shabbos.

The reason: Now even though that making a roofing without walls [under it] does not have the tent prohibition [when done without intent to form a tent, as explained in Halacha 9], nevertheless here it was forbade in order so one not do so in the same way that he does during the week, as this is a belittlement of Shabbos.

Setting it up to place fruits on it or filter clean water: However it is permitted to move it and stretch it in order to place fruits on it or other matters, or even in order to filter with it clear wine and water, which is permitted to filter on Shabbos and does not contain any belittlement of Shabbos at all. 

 

Mantling an angled roofing on Shabbos

Halacha 15

The law:

If it has a handbreadths width on its top: [Regarding] a tent which is angled, if it has on its top a consecutive[12] roof the width of one handbreadth [which is not slanted at all throughout that handbreadth], or even if it does not have a handbreadth on its top but it contains the width of a handbreadth within less than three handbreadths near its head, being that [all items] less than three handbreadths [apart from each other] are considered attached and it is thus considered as if it has on its top a roofing that is a handbreadth wide, then this is considered a permanent tent if it was made to last and one who sets it up on Shabbos is liable for building and one who dismantles it is liable for destroying just like [one who] destroys a complete building.

If it does not have a handbreadths width on its top: However if it’s top does not have a roof [the width of a] handbreadth and [as well] does not have within three handbreadths near its top the width of a handbreadth, then this is considered a temporary tent and one who initially makes this [tent] on Shabbos is exempt [from the Biblical prohibition] although it is Rabbinically forbidden whether to mantle or dismantle it, even if it is not made to last at all.

 

Halacha 16

An example of a tent and its subsequent laws if it has pulling strings attached to it:

Spreading a sheet and the like over a bar: [Thus] For example, a folded sheet which is folded over a [horizontal] bar, meaning that half of it is hanging from one side of the bar and half from the other side and both of its ends touch the ground and one enters and sleeps in the shade [that has been formed] between the two ends, then it is forbidden to initially hang it on Shabbos even though it does not have a roof [the width of a] handbreadth and does not have within three handbreadths near its top the width of a handbreadth.

If the material has strings attached which when pulled spread open the tent: [However] if it was wrapped on the bar from before Shabbos and it has on its rim strings that are hanging which one pulls at while on the bar in order to spread the sheet to both sides [of the bar], then it is permitted to pull at these strings on Shabbos. [The reason for this is] because since these strings are hanging on it from before Shabbos in order to be pulled at to spread [the sheet], therefore they help [to allow one to be spread it on Shabbos] just like as if it were spread the width of one handbreadth from before Shabbos, in which case by doing so on Shabbos one is only adding to a temporary tent [which is allowed].
Dismantling a tent which was legally mantled on Shabbos: It is likewise permitted to dismantle it from this bar as any tent which is allowed to be mantled and [thus] does not involve [the] building [prohibition], then it likewise does not involve [the] destroying [prohibition] and is [thus] permitted to be dismantled.

[However this is] with exception to when one adds onto a tent that was [the width of] a handbreadth from before Shabbos, in which case it is only permitted to dismantle the material that was added [on Shabbos] however not the part of the tent that was [already] built from before Shabbos. Despite this, nevertheless it is allowed here [by the sheet case above] to remove the sheet from the bar [on Shabbos] being that here there was never actually a tent the width of a handbreadth from before Shabbos and its only that the strings help [to allow to spread it] just like does having the width of a handbreadth [from before Shabbos].

 

Halacha 17

The allowance to add a temporary roofing to an already existing roof only applies if it is not common to set it there permanently:

Spreading the sheets in a case that the bar is a handbreadth wide: The above [allowance to pull at the strings to spread the sheets] however only applies if it does not have a roof [the width of a] handbreadth and does not have within three handbreadths near its top the width of a handbreadth. However if it does have a roof [the width of a] handbreadth or within three handbreadths near its top the width of a handbreadth, in which case it is a permanent tent, then the strings do not help at all as even to add to a permanent tent is forbidden. [Furthermore] even if this sheet is not meant to last over here as he intends to dismantle it, nevertheless since it is mantled in the same way as a permanent tent, [therefore] the Sages were not lenient by it at all.

The reason for this is because: [The Sages suspected that] one may change his mind and decide to permanently have the sheets remain spread this way, and it thus ends up that he has added a permanent tent [on Shabbos]. They were only lenient to allow one to add to a temporary tent in a case that it is not usual at all to permanently leave it the way that it has been spread, such as by spreading mats over poles or on the ship as written above [in Halacha 2 and 8] as [by these cases] it is not usual at all to permanently leave the mats there the way they have been spread on Shabbos, and the same applies for all similar cases [that it is not usual to permanently spread a roofing there that it is permitted to be added to on Shabbos].

 

Halacha 18

Making an angled tent by an item that is designated for this purpose:

The bed canopy of a groom[13] which its roof[14] does not have a roof [the width of a] handbreadth and does not have within three handbreadths near its top the width of a handbreadth, since it is prepared for this purpose it is permitted to mantle [the canopy sheet over the rod] and to dismantle it on Shabbos, as long as it does not droop the length of a handbreadth below the [walls of the] bed.

The reason for why it may not droop a handbreadth below the bed is: because the canopy is meant to protect one from the sun or from other matters and thus has the status of a roofing on it although [that in actuality it is] without a roof. Thus, [when] it droops the length of a handbreadth below the bed, the bed serves as a roof for the one handbreadth wall [canopy] which now surrounds the bed. Now, although the bed is not made to protect and is thus not considered under the status of a roofing, nevertheless since the one handbreadth wall has the status of a roofing being that it is a part of the canopy which is meant for protection, it thus comes out that there is here a tent with a roof.

The permission to have sheets and tablecloths droop below their surface:  However a bed which does not have a canopy, then even though that its sheet which is spread on it droops one handbreadth below the [walls of the] bed on all its sides, [nevertheless] this does not pose a problem, as although that the bed has become a roofing for this one handbreadth wall, [since] there is no Halachic status of a roofing here at all neither on the handbreadth or on the bed.

For this reason it is [likewise] permitted to spread a tablecloth over a table initially on Shabbos even if it droops one handbreadth below the table on all its sides.  

 

Placing and removing the cover of items on vessels

Halacha 19

A cloth which is spread on the mouth of a barrel in order to cover it should not be spread fully across its mouth as [doing so is making a] tent. Rather part of its mouth must be left uncovered.

If the barrel is full to the top: [However] this only applies if the barrel is not full to the top and is rather lacking [at least] a handbreadths [worth of liquid in] as in such a case when one spreads the cloth over its entire mouth it is similar to making a tent over the space of a handbreadth.

However if [it is full to the point that] it does not lack a handbreadths [worth of liquid] then it does not have the status of a tent, as any tent which does not have the space of a handbreadth [under it] is not considered a tent at all.

The reason why it is forbidden when not filled to the top: However when it has the space of a handbreadth under it, then although the walls that surround this space, which are the walls of the barrel, were already set up from before Shabbos, and thus [one would think that] it should not be prohibited due to the tent [prohibition] [to spread a cover fully over it]. As just like it is permitted to place a pot on the mouth of a Kirah oven on Shabbos, as explained in chapter 353 [Halacha 14], and this carries no “Tent” prohibition in [roofing] the space [within] the Kirah due to that the walls of the Kirah were made and set up already from before Shabbos [and thus is permitted because] the [Sages] did not prohibit making a temporary tent when it is done without intention to form a tent with exception to when one places walls below it on Shabbos as explained above, [and thus based on this case so too here it should be allowed as] the cover placed on the mouth of the barrel is also not intended to be done in order to form a tent but rather for a mere covering. Nevertheless it is not similar to a pot placed on [the mouth of] a Kirah because the mouth of the barrels that existed back then was a lot wider than the mouth of the Kirah, and thus when one covers its mouth it is similar to making a tent even though that its walls have already been made from before Shabbos.

Removing the cloth covering from the barrel: The same law applies [regarding removing the cloth from the barrel] that it is forbidden to remove [a cloth] covering which covers its entire mouth if it lacks a handbreadth worth of liquid, because it is similar to destroying a tent.

The reason for why removing the cap of a barrel is nevertheless always allowed: This [cloth covering] is not similar to the cap [of a barrel] which is permitted to remove and replace [on Shabbos] as explained in chapter 314 [Halacha 14] being that the cap is modified for this use and its modification reflects on it that it is designated for this use, [and] therefore it does not appear like a tent. However when it is covered with a cloth then even if the cloth is designated for this [use], nevertheless [since] it has no modification which displays that it is designated for this [therefore it is similar to a tent].

The law by the covers of other vessels: This law applies as well for the cover of [all] other vessels which are very wide to the point of the wideness of the mouth of the barrels of those days.

 

Halacha 20

Other Opinions: [However] there are opinions which say that the above was never prohibited by a barrel and the like but rather by a tub and the like which are much too wide.

The Final Ruling: One is to be stringent like the first opinion, although those that are lenient like the latter opinion are not to be rebuked being that there are opinions which say that the covering of vessels does not involve [the] tent [prohibition] at all even by vessels which are very wide.