A ''Shabbos goy'', ''Shabbat goy'' or ''Shabbes goy'' (, ''shabbos goy''; , ''goy shel shabbat''; plural ''Shabbos goyim'') is a non-Jew who is employed by

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

to perform certain types of work ('' melakha'') that Jewish religious law (''

halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

'') prohibits a Jew from doing on the

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

Etymology

The term is a combination of the words '' Shabbos'' (שבת), the term for

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

usage, and '' goy'' (גוי), a

gentile ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is used as a synony ...

or non-Jew. The word ''goy'', which translates literally as "nation" in

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew ( or ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite languages, Canaanitic branch of the Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Isra ...

, has over time acquired the meaning of someone who is not Jewish. In modern usage in English, the word ''goy'' is sometimes seen as derogatory, but this is a point of discussion in the Jewish community. According to Adi Ophir and Ishay Rosen-Zvi, this usage started to take place from the first and second century onwards. They argue that before this time, no crystallized dichotomy between Jew and non-Jew existed in Judaism.

Description

On Shabbat, there are numerous restrictions and certain types of work are prohibited, such as construction work. The rabbis ruled that asking a non-Jew to violate Shabbat for oneself is generally forbidden, but under certain circumstances the rabbis allowed it, especially to heat the oven on winter days in northern countries. A ''shabbos goy'' is not needed where life is at stake (''

pikuach nefesh ''Pikuach nefesh'' (), which means "saving a soul" or "saving a life," is the principle in ''Halakha'' (Jewish law) that the preservation of human life overrides virtually any other religious rule of Judaism. In the event that a person is in critic ...

'') or in the case where there would be a reasonable chance of danger to life (''safek pikuach nefesh''). Originally, the job of the ''shabbos goy'' was often given to a poor woman, and the compensation was in the form of ''

challah Challah or hallah ( ; , ; 'c'''hallot'', 'c'''halloth'' or 'c'''hallos'', ), also known as berches in Central Europe, is a special bread in Jewish cuisine, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Shabbat ...

''; later, money was given, although not on Shabbat or not directly given to the worker, due to '' halakhic'' restrictions on hiring workers on Shabbat. According to Ronald J. Eisenberg, "Today the proliferation of electronic timers has virtually eliminated the need for the ''Shabbos goy'', who once played an important role, especially in the ''

shtetl or ( ; , ; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ''shtetelekh'') is a Yiddish term for small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish populations which Eastern European Jewry, existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The t ...

s'' of Eastern Europe."

Notable examples

Notable examples of Shabos goyim include

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...

Thomas D'Alesandro Jr Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, Floyd B. Olson,

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

, Pete Hamill,Chan, Sewell
"White Ethnic Politics: Irish and Italian Catholics and Jews, Oh, My!"
''The New York Times,'' October 25, 2007. "'I became the Shabbos goy at the synagogue,' he said. 'So every Saturday morning, I would go in, on my way to Holy Name Church, with my surplice on my arm and I would do whatever the rabbi would ask me to do — turn on the gas stove, whatever — and there would be a dime on the shelf at the front door, which he wouldn't touch, and off I’d go.' Mr. Hamill cited other 'Shabbos goys': Colin L. Powell, Martin Scorsese, even Elvis Presley."

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

,Clines, Francis X
"The Co-Author of Gen. Powell's Book Is Given a Part as the Story Goes On"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', October 1, 1995. "... aders follow General Powell all the way back from Gulf War strategist to South Bronx Shabbos goy, the lad who earned a quarter on Friday nights turning on and off the synagogue lights for Orthodox Jews."Fertig, Avi
"Glatt Kosher Adventure To The Land Down Under"
''

The Jewish Press ''The Jewish Press'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York City. It serves the Modern Orthodox Jewish community. History The ''Jewish Press'' was co-founded in 1960 by Albert Klass and his brother Sholom Klass. The Klas ...

'', November 21, 2007. "Former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell and Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York State, each a former Shabbos goy, both share fond recollections of their youth, when they were uniquely qualified to lend a Jewish neighbor a hand."

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo ( , ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

, Ralph Branca (who did not know at the time that he was Jewish), Tom Jones, and the adolescent

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, all of whom served their Jewish neighbors in this way.

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

served his Jewish office neighbor while serving in the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

Etymology

Description

Notable examples

References

Further reading