Question
If a woman is spending Rosh Hashanah in a hospital, may a bal tokah go to the hospital to blow shofer
for her? This is an issue as it involves a Rabbinical prohibition of not telling a non-Jew to do a melachah
for him or for that matter any other dirabunun that could arise as he navigates through a hospital on
Yom Tov would be an issue. Similarly, what about bringing a lulav and esrog on Yom Tov to a woman in a
hospital? Note the question is if he could ask a non-Jew to look up in the computer which room is the
patient in, to get buzzed into an electronic door or any other electronic device that may come up in his
visit. We are not discussing telling a non-Jew to push a button in an elevator as elevators have other
issues regarding the censors that make several calculations as he puts his weight in it.
Answer
This question is a subject for discussion, as women are not obligated in these mitzvos, making it more
challenging in finding a solution. As the שו"ע סימן שז סע' ה brings down that there is a simple formula in
telling non-Jews to do a דרבנן so that a Jew may be able to perform a mitzva and that is שבות דשבות
במקום מצוה לא גזרו רבנן telling a non-Jew to do a דרבנן for the sake of a mitzva is permissible. So, if a
woman would be obligated to perform these mitzvos there would be no issue for someone to bring
them to her in a hospital. But since shofar, lulav, and esrog are מצות שהזמן גורם she is not obligated in
them. (The שו”ע brings an example where one may tell a non-Jew to do a דרבנן for the sake of a mitzva,
if there is a shofar on top of a tree one may tell a non-Jew to climb up and get it, even though it might
involve him pulling out branches).
In order to understand a woman’s relationship with a mitzva there is a gemora that comes up in shas
four times ב”ק פז”ע”א, ולח”ע”א, קידושין לא”ע”א, ע”ז ג”ע”א R’ Yosef who was blind proclaimed, “whoever
would tell that the halacha is like R’ Yehudah I would make a feast for the rabunim” this is because R’
Yehudah’s opinion is that a blind person is exempt from all the mitzvos and therefore if R’ Yosef would
still observe all the mitzvos then he would be rewarded greatly for preforming them voluntarily.
However, when R’ Yosef heard that the halacha follows the opinion of R’ Chanina that says גדול המצווה
ועושה ממי שאינו מצווה ועושה once someone is obligated in a mitzva there is a curtain amount of יצר הרע
involved in it. Therefore, one who is actually obligated in a mitzva is greater. To this R’ Yosef proclaimed
“whoever tells me the halacha is NOT like R’ Yehudah I would make a feast for the rabunim.” This is
because it would be a greater reward for him to perform the mitzvos as one who is actually obligated in
them rather than doing them voluntarily. (In practice the halacha follows in the opinion of the חכמים
that argue on R’ Yehudah and hold that a blind person is obligated in all mitzvos, this is in accordance
with the view of most Reshonim). 1 From this gemara we have some insight to someone who is not
1 בה”ג סוף הלכות ב”ק עי” תשוה”ג שבציון 320 אשכול (רצב”א) הל’תפילין, עי ראבי”ה סי’ תתקצא, או”ז ח”ג ב”ק סי' שלט
בשם ר”ח, מרדכי שם בשם ר”ט מווינה בתי’ ב’, רמב”ן קדושין לא”ע”א, שו”ת הרא”ש כלל ד סי’ כא, ספר השולחן ק”ש שער א,
ריא”ז ב”ק פ”ח, ריטב”א קדושין שם, ר”ן קדושין שם (יג א בדפי הרי”ף), מאירי ב”ק פז א, יש”ש ב”ק פ”ח סי’ כ.
obligated in doing mitzvos and still does them, has some degree of reward. This is evident from the
language used in the gemara גדול המצווה ועושה ממי שאינו מצווה that the one that is obligated is
“greater” than the one who is not obligated, so he is only greater and not that the one who is not
obligated is considered not having any merit at all, just he is not as great. This is further seen in the
gemara in קידושין that it is in the back drop of the story of דמא בן נתינה which happened to be a non-Jew
and was rewarded with owning a פרה אדומה the gemara makes a point that he was not obligated and
done a good deed, he was still rewarded. Therefore, there must be some degree of reward to one who
is not obligated in mitzvos but still does them. Further proof of this, is the שו"ע in יו”ד סימן רמו סע’ו that
discuss a woman who learned Torah gets a reward but not as great as a man. The שו"ע understanding of
גדול המצווה ועושה ממי שאינו מצווה is there is a degree of reward that the person receives regardless. To
this extent one could argue that if there is a mitzva involved one may tell a non-Jew to do a דרבנן so that
he may bring a shofar, lulav and esrog for the woman to do the mitzva.
This though may be not universally excepted as there is a ירושלמי in שבת פרק א הלכה ב that says
anyone who does something that he is not obligated to do is called a הדיוט, seemingly there is a מחלקת
in בבלי וירושלמי. However, the רמב"ן explains that the meaning of this ירושלמי is one is called a הדיוט
when one is doing something that is not a mitzva at all but just some made up addition to the Torah, this
individual is called a הדיוט. However, if one does an actual mitzva properly even though he is not
commanded in the mitzva nonetheless he does get reward the רמב”ן continues to bring a proof from a
Gemara in ר”ה לג”ע”א we do not stop women from blowing the shofar on Yom Tov even though there is
a Rabbinic prohibition to blow a shofar unnecessarily. It is evident from here for the sake of a mitzva
they may blow the shofar, even at the cost of a Rabbinic prohibition.
The רא”ש in ר”ה פרק ב says in the name of the ראבי”ה a man who already fulfilled his mitzva of hearing
the shofar, may carry a shofar through a רשות הרבים to blow for a woman. This would indeed answer
our question. Even though it is known that carrying out side of an eruv is permissible on Yom tov,
nonetheless this is a debate between ב”ש וב”ה in ביצה יב that ב”ש holds we may not take out a child,
safer Torah, or lulav into a רה"ר, ב”ה permits it. The Gemara there explains ב”ה since there is a need to
carry these items it becomes allowed, this is due to the concept of אוכל נפש that we may prepare food
for Yom tov, we may carry food for Yom tov too. The Gemara goes further to explain that once they
permitted to carry for the sake of food, then any items that are necessary, are allowed to carried as well,
as long as they are somewhat necessary. But items that are not necessary at all would be אסור to carry
outside of an eruv מדאורייתא. Therefore, if he may carry a shofar in a רה”ר for a woman then he could
defiantly navigate through a hospital with the help of a non-Jew to blow a shofar for a woman there as
well.
The issue with this is we are going under the presumption that there is a bona-fide need for the women
to hear the shofar, but the שאגת אריה in סימן קו argues with this presumption and says that since there
is no mitzva for a woman to hear the shofar then it would be classified as something that is not so
needed, so true he could navigate through a hospital with the help of a non-Jew, but if a man would
want to go through a true רה"ר to just blow shofar just for a woman, then since she is not obligated in
the mitzva there isn’t anything to make it into a reason to allow a man to carry the shofar for her. He
adds that at best this is only a נחת רוח for the woman to hear shofar (see there for further discussion
and how he maneuvers around the opinion of the ראבי”ה). The שאגת אריה holds like this להלכה and
since the other אחרונים do not bring down the view of the ראבי"ה then must be they do not hold of his
opinion.
R’ Moshe zt”l in אגרות משה או”ח חלק ג סימן צד explains in length that the הלכה is indeed with the
opinion of the ראבי”ה and having a man bring a shofar through a רה”ר to blow for a woman is not just a
נחת רוח for her but rather something necessary, especially according to תוס who holds that the Gemara
in קידושין is a ראיה that women could make a ברכה on a mitzva. This must mean that a woman’s
performance of a mitzva is not just a רשות but a mitzva to a degree and as mentioned above there is
שכר in one who is not commanded but still does the mitzva. R’ Moshe concludes that the הלכה is not
like the שאגת אריה and one may bring a shofar to a woman even if he must walk through a רה”ר. He
may certainly go into a hospital and ask a non-Jew to help him navigate through the hospital to get to
the patient.
As a side note besides for bringing a shofar to a hospital for the woman to hear shofar, he himself is
doing the mitzva of חסד and ביקור חולים which would enable him to ask a non-Jew to help him navigate
through the hospital since it will now become a שבות דשבות במקום מצוה.