Rabbinically Prohibited Activities of Shabbat - Amirah L'akkum

Amirah L'akkum

It is Rabbinically forbidden for a Jew to tell a non-Jew to do a forbidden activity on the Sabbath, regardless of whether the instruction was given on the Sabbath or beforehand. The reason is that otherwise, the sanctity of the Sabbath would be diminished, as any activity desired could be performed via proxy. It is also forbidden to benefit on Sabbath from such an activity, regardless of whether the non-Jew was instructed to do so or not. However, if the non-Jew does an activity for himself, a Jew may benefit from it.