What would be the Halacha concerning:
1. An arrival (delivered by a Gentile) of an item on Shabbos in which the
exchange of payment was necessary and the item could not be re-delivered at a
time other than on Shabbos?
2.An arrival (delivered by a Gentile) of an item on Shabbos in which the
exchange of payment was not necessary (it had been pre-paid) and the item
could not be re-delivered at a time other than on Shabbos?
I ask this because many times I would have to request of Fed. Express and UPS delivery persons to re-deliver our packages on another day (when this was at all possible) if ever they would arrive on Shabbos..... Since many Gentiles are not able to make allowances for Shomer-Shabbos Jews, what would be the proper procedure to follow ? Would there be a way of accepting the delivery (without transgressing Shabbos) and having the delivery left on the property until after Shabbos when it could be moved? ( I really need help with this !)
Thank you very much,
Ari Guth
1) The Mishnah Berurah (OC 325:61) writes that one may not pay the gentile for a Shabbos delivery. Shemiras Shabbos ke'Hilchasah (30:29) writes that it is forbidden to show the gentile where the money is so that he should take it. The source for this is the Machatzis ha'Shekel, commenting on the Magen Avraham in OC 325:20 (the reason for the Magen Avraham's Isur is because it is Uvdin d'Chol).
2) The REMA (OC 325:10) writes that the custom was to have the gentile deliver things on Shabbos. Although one should avoid doing so, nevertheless one should not stop those who do so themselves.
In the case of the Federal Express delivery, though, there is even more room for leniency. The delivery person was not instructed by any Jew to do any Melachah, and he does not have to deliver the package specifically on Shabbos. He is simply doing his job. This is comparable to a gentile postman (see OC 247) who is paid to do his job, and not specifically to perform Melachah on Shabbos. However, one should not take the package from his hand as one would thereby be performing half of a Melachah of Hachnasah by doing the Hanachah (see the first Mishnah in the Masechta). One may tell him to put it down on a table. (See Shemiras Shabbos ke'Hilchasah 31:21.)
Ilan