Business Deals On Shabbat (14 Minutes) by Rabbi Yaron Reuven

1:20We'll talk about it after Shabbat. No, no, we don't make the deal now. We talk about it after Shabbat. Was it flawless? No, no, it's a VVS, it's a VV this, it's a VV that. People talk a hundred percent business on Shukran Shabbat. But you tell them you keep Shabbat. Of course, I keep Shabbat. Didn't Rambam say Mot Yumat, all those things? I said no, it even says worse. It even says worse. What does this say about a Mechalel Shabbat, Rabotai? What does it say? Many of us know somebody who's a Mechalel Shabbat. A recent statistic by the Pew Research Center that I read made me sick to my stomach. First, it said that 90% of American Jews do not keep Shabbat. This is not a chidush. It's sad. It's horrible. but out of six million American Jews, only 600,000 keep Shabbat. 5.4 million do not keep Shabbat. This is a problem, it's not the chiddush I'm about to tell you though. It's sad; both I and you want to cry about it, but there's something even sadder. What's sadder? The same research said that although 90% of American Jews do not keep Shabbat,

2:45Ninety-four percent believe it's okay to work on Shabbat. Ninety percent don't work on Shabbat, but ninety-four percent believe it's okay to work on Shabbat, meaning that four percent of the ten percent, which is really forty percent. Four percent of those who keep Shabbat say, "Now, if you want to work and you need to work, listen. Hashem didn't give you enough parnassah; I work on Shabbat. Hashem has to manage; He didn't give you enough money. It's His fault." meaning 40% of the so-called religious Jews admittedly say it's okay to work on Shabbat if you need to. Meaning the problem is not just with the secular people, the Reform, the Conservative, the atheists, the Messianics, and everything else that's in between. The problem is in the religious community as well, and the reason why is because most people simply do not know the magnitude of Chilul Shabbat. Now, I'm not going to go into the details that I covered in my shiur about Gehenom, as that's not for here. But I'm going to tell you a couple of small things that will shock you, because most people simply don't know this. According to the Rambam in Hilchot Shabbat, chapter 30...

4:01Judah violates Shabbat regularly, not that he does it by accident. If he does it accidentally, like turning on a light by mistake, that's a different story. He would have to bring a korban chatat. To give tzedakah has to do with teshuvah, but it's not on purpose. Someone that drives on Shabbat, someone that smokes cigarettes on Shabbat, someone that works on Shabbat, which includes the people that think they keep Shabbat but are talking business on Shabbat—they're talking about diamonds and jewelry and business and the stock market and bitcoins and real estate—and pretty much a lot of people, a lot of people, those people... Someone that violates Shabbat on a regular basis, the Rambam says in Hilchot Shabbat, chapter 30, in the eyes of Hashem, he's considered 100% an idol worshiper. Why an idol worshiper? Why? What's one thing got to do with the other? The idol worshiper is praying to Buddha. This guy just did kiddush on wine. I

5:07This guy just drove a car. Big deal. He doesn't believe—most Jews, if you ask them, “Do you believe in God?” they'll tell you yes. Most do. But do you know who God is? Not so much. Do you know that you have to say Shema Yisrael? Not so much. Do you know that there's a reward and punishment? Not so much. But is there a God? Most Jews will tell you yes. You ask people that really have some decent heritage in the Bukharian communities, Israeli communities, and so on, most have some level of belief in Hashem. don't necessarily know much about the obligations, but they have to believe in God. There's a, there's a starting point. You ask him: "Do you talk business on Shabbat?" "Yeah, what's the big deal? I'm only talking; I'm not doing any transactions. I'm not giving out any money. Just talking, just words. Business is just words. I built a hundred million dollar business with just words. Not once did I ever take cash..." Not one time, not one time in my entire career for 16 years did anybody ever give me money in my hands. Why? We didn't work with money; we worked with digits and computers. You send money on a computer. Even when somebody would send a check, I wouldn't see it. It would just go directly into a bank. It was all digital. Who deals with cash anymore? What am I, an ice cream truck?

6:24Who deals with cash? Nobody deals with cash. It's all talking. Mr. Jones, do you want to buy? It's a million and a half dollars for so-and-so. Yes? No. Yes? If you say yes, I make 60,000 today. If you say no, then I'll call somebody else and make 60,000. Beginning, end of conversation. Yes or no? It's all talk. But people think, no, no, I'm just talking. I'm not doing anything. It's chillul Shabbat. And 94% of American Jews... Feel it's okay to work on Shabbat, feel it's okay to work on Shabbat. The Rambam says those people are considered idol worshipers, and the reason why is just like the idol worshiper replaces Hashem Yitbarach, the source of all water, with holes in the middle of the desert. broken holes, broken cisterns, like the Prophet Jeremiah says, that can't even hold water. Just like he prayed, just like he replaced the source of all water, of all good, with nothing. The Jew that talks business on Shabbat, the Jew that works on Shabbat, the Jew that's not keeping Shabbat — same thing. He replaced it with nothing. He replaced it with nothing. Now, how bad does it really get in the second book?

7:46Ehtovli quoted from Rav Ephraim: One of the she'eilot (questions) that's asked is, "Is Islam considered idolatry? Are the Yishmaelim (Ishmaelites) considered idol worshippers?" For the most part, they are viewed as evil. Some are decent human beings, but many of them want to kill us. You do statistics... Prager University and a few other major research houses conducted studies. It's not a conspiracy. Most of them want to kill us. It has nothing to do with us not liking them. It has to do with them simply wanting us to cease existence because that's their job in the world. Why did this happen? Does anybody know? The Midrash says something awful. small actions, big reactions. All of us remember Sarah Imeinu. You heard Sarah Imeinu, the wife of Avraham, tzaddikah, kedoshah. Hashem said, Avraham, listen to your wife. What does it mean, listen to your wife? She's a bigger prophet than you. Sarah, bigger prophet than Avraham. Bigger prophet. Sarah made a mistake one time. She mistreated Hagar, mistreated her.

9:12Mistreated her, she didn't act so nice. Tiny small thing, okay, she said something, she did some things, but she didn't kill her. Did a few things, small things, big deal, no? What's the measure for measure? Hashem says, just like she mistreated her, her descendants, Yishmael, is going to torture Am Yisrael until Mashiach comes. Midah k'neged midah (measure for measure) signifies that a small action can lead to a big reaction. It's the shock of a lifetime, and when you understand what it means, this is all part of this binyan of Shamayim (structure of Heaven). There's no solution other than teshuvah (repentance). Now, unlike the Christians, the halacha is, according to the Rambam, that Islam is not idolatry. It's not idolatry. However, Christianity is considered idolatry. Rabbi Ephraim discusses the details of why it's not idolatry. Then, he references something mentioned in the Gemara Masechet Avodah Zarah that is particularly relevant to us. The Gemara states that if you have wine that is not mevushal (cooked), if you have non-mevushal wine,

10:39An idol worshiper touches the wine, and you have to throw it out. You're not allowed to enjoy it by drinking it, and you're not allowed to sell it either. You're not allowed to derive any benefit from consuming it or from any other way. You have to destroy it once it's open. Yes. Gave him a couple of key douche cups. It's uncooked wine, the idol worshiper shook it, held it, touched it. Even if it's the whole bottle, the bottle's open, or even if it's the whole barrel, the barrel is open, the idol worshiper shook it a little bit. Garbage. You are not even allowed to give it to your dog. A little Christian, who believes in JC Penney, touched the thing. That's it, it's all garbage. It could be the whole barrel of wine, could be $500,000 if it's expensive wine, and... Garbage is not allowed to be given to dogs or cats. You can't sell it; you can't do anything with it. All you can do with it is throw it out. The same thing applies to wigs that come from India. The only mitzvah you have with wigs from India is to burn them. It's the only thing you can do with them. Other than that, there's no other mitzvah to do with them. This is because Avodah Zarah is detestable to Hashem. It's disgusting to Hashem. You've replaced everything with nothing, and...

12:01Part two: If someone who is a Muslim touches your wine, what can you do? If it’s open, you cannot drink it, but you are permitted to sell it. Again, it's important to note that if the bottle is closed, the situation is different. However, with an open bottle, the primary restriction is on consumption. You're allowed to give it to your dog. You're allowed to give it to a non-Jew. You're allowed to sell it. You're allowed to enjoy it. Why? Because he's not an idol worshiper. But you're not allowed to drink it. Idol worshiper – garbage. Not idol worshiper – you can enjoy it in some regards, but you can't consume it. Shock of a lifetime? If a Mechalel Shabbat touches your wine, Has the same din as the idol worshipper. He has the same din as the idol worshipper, the guy that prays to Buddha. You must throw out the wine. Even if Muhammad himself were to come and touch the wine, you'd still be allowed to sell it. But if your fellow Jew, your brother, your sister, the michalel Shabbat, touches the wine, you can't use it. If that doesn't make you sad about Am Yisrael, what will make you sad?

13:23It's a sin. It's a sin from the Torah. As a matter of fact, to allow him to touch it is a sin. You've invalidated the wine by allowing him to handle it. To give him the wine is not permissible. Why? Because you've invalidated the wine. It is not allowed to waste or ruin wine. This principle is known as Bal Tashchit. It applies to everyone close to you—your brother, your sister, your father, your mother—at some point, it's relevant to you. Even your best friend from childhood; if they just touch the wine, you are not allowed to drink it. You’re not allowed to do anything with that wine. You have to treat it with the same seriousness as if it were Avodah Zarah. May Hashem have mercy. Understanding the significance of these laws helps us maintain the sanctity of Shabbat and our daily observance. In this way, we stay true to the path laid out for us in the Torah. But the Muslim terrorists, okay, we can still sell it. We can still make a few dollars off of it. That's halacha, rabotai. It doesn't make sense, but that's God. Why am I telling you these shocking facts? Because if we don't start understanding the significance of Shabbat, we're all gonna continue violating it. Even the ones that call ourselves Shomrei Shabbat. If you don't learn hilchot Shabbat, You're guaranteed to be violating Shabbat.