Parshas Nitzavim 5785 & Rosh Hashana 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- Sep 18
- 2 min read
Monetary, Interpersonal Laws and Din Torah (47)
Chol Hamoed: Car Repairs. The basic rule for Yom Tov needs, including car repairs, is that unskilled work (maaseh hedyot) is permitted, whereas skilled work (maaseh uman) is prohibited unless refraining from the work will cause a meaningful loss of money (1). Therefore, the following may be done when needed for the Moed: 1) Changing a tire. 2) Jump- starting a car. 3) Changing a battery. Whenever possible, these things should be done in a private setting rather than in public, or in the middle of the street, so it should not cause a zilzul for the Moed (2). Filling a tire with air is also permitted.
Skilled Repairs. Most other repairs, including patching a flat tire, are deemed “skilled work” that only a trained mechanic can do and is not permitted unless a loss is involved. For example, if by not repairing a car now he will have to rent a vehicle (during Chol Hamoed or after the Moed) for a real need, he may fix it on Chol Hamoed. Similarly, if a car breaks down while traveling, and waiting to fix it will add towing costs, it is also permitted to fix it. If insurance will cover it, but will cause a raise in premiums, one should determine the details and discuss with a Rav if it is considered enough of a loss to have the heter of davar ha’avud.
Buying Food for Yom Tov. One might raise the following question. If one needs a car to buy food for the Moed, isn’t that a food “need” where even skilled work is permitted? For that reason, one can have a stove fixed even with skilled labor (3), and also fix a food processor. If so, why can’t one fix a car professionally to be able to buy food? The answer, as explained in halacha (4), is that only items that actually improve the food are permitted with skilled labor. However, a car does not improve the food and has only an indirect connection to the food. Thus, skilled labor is prohibited.
Question Arises. R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l (5) quotes an unresolved doubt whether the following case is deemed to be a skilled or unskilled labor: One has a car issue and it requires expertise to figure out the exact problem. However, it is clear that once the problem is located, it can be fixed rather easily with unskilled labor. Is that job called skilled or unskilled labor?
(1) משנה ברורה תקל:א (2) שו"ת באר משה ז:צט (3) או"ח תקמ:ז (4) מ"ב תקמא:ב (5) שמירת שבת כהלכתו סז:רכז