Takkanot (Regulations)

Enactments of the Assembly of Ludmir made on Tuesday, 21 Shevat

1. When the leaders of the people assembled together, the heads of the holy community of Ludmir (Włodzimierz), in conjunction with all those selected from neighboring communities, were chosen by their respective communities to sit with the head of our rabbinic court to act as watchdogs regarding the desecration of Sabbaths and festivals. For we have witnessed enormous breaches, when unruly disorder has contemptuously gained sway in Israel; their feet have slipped concerning the desecration of Sabbaths and festivals, and they have become ensnared and caught up in business affairs. They have seen fit to permit gentiles to work for them on the Sabbath, and many have stumbled therein, and the abandonment is great in the land; and specifically, those leaseholders, those mingling beer and honey and the malt producers. Hence, we made permanent enactments to erect fences, penalize, and fine all those transgressing these orders, accompanied by excommunications and fines. They undertook to designate appointees for this purpose in every single community and region, to heed, perform, and fulfill all of the above. And there were to be individuals overseeing this, exhorting the people to separate themselves from anything prohibited by recourse to penalties and fines, so as to rectify matters.

2. First and foremost: if anyone owns a brewery in which he sometimes brews for himself, while on other occasions he rents it out to others to brew in it—each individual on his set day—he is forbidden to lease it to gentiles to brew there on Sabbaths or festivals, because of the prohibition of earning fees on the Sabbath. Even if he rents it out for brewing on Fridays, he should ensure that the gentile starts his brewing sufficiently early that he could complete his labor (in this case, the labor of brewing) before the Sabbath begins. This should be calculated in each community in accordance with the volume of the malt and the time required to bring it to boil.

If a Jew brews for himself on a Friday, he should ensure that he commences his work of brewing with enough time for him complete his task six hours before the onset of the Sabbath, so that he does not extend his work into the beginning of the Sabbath. For instance, here in Włodzimierz and in most towns, where it is impossible to complete the brewing in one day, but rather a day and a night is required, he must start the brewing on Thursday, three hours before nightfall, so that he can accordingly complete it three hours before the onset of the Sabbath. When one rents to a gentile, the gentile must commence on Thursday before dusk, and if he fails to start at that time, it is forbidden to let him begin brewing later. Anyone transgressing this instruction shall be penalized and fined, and must hand over the fine directly to the appointees.

3. There are places where no one owns a brewery besides that which belongs to the local count, and it is under a leaseholder’s jurisdiction. Thus, he is obliged to allow all the town’s residents—one after another, in appropriate manner—to brew beer, while the Jew holding the lease has no interest in it besides the right to grant entry to all who will be brewing in the beer house. This situation is akin to a rental of a levy granted to a person, who is permitted to rent it for every Sabbath throughout the year. However, anyone owning a brewery is forbidden to lease it other than by incorporating it as part of a comprehensive annual rental fee covering both weekdays and Sabbaths. Even in this case, he must stipulate with the renter that he may do no work in it on the Sabbath, as explained below with regard to the malthouse.

4. In a case where one owns a malthouse and carries out his work under the agency of gentile workers—and thus it is as though they are under a contract in a Jew’s house—he should be careful not to allow the gentile to do his work on the Sabbath, apart from such tasks that are performed automatically, e.g., the soaking of grain before the Sabbath and the like, where the stalks drop off automatically throughout the Sabbath. However, it is prohibited to dry them by fire on the Sabbath, or to pour water over them, and the like. Therefore, the Jew must take the key [to the malthouse] from the gentile maltster beforehand, so that the gentile will not perform his work on the Sabbath. The overseers must be on guard to investigate and see whether the key is in the gentile’s possession and whether he is carrying out the Jew’s work on the Sabbath.

If the malting cannot be satisfactorily completed during the weekdays unless they were to work on the Sabbath too—and thus the malthouse cannot be closed as the gentile must complete the malting on the Sabbath—in such a case, the Jew must lease the malthouse to the gentile for three consecutive years, so that the malthouse will be the gentile’s. In such a scenario, it will be considered as though he is on a contract in the gentile’s house, which is permitted. He should further stipulate with him that the gentile may do no work in it on Sabbaths and festivals, and then even if the gentile breaches the condition, one need not be particular with him over this and the Jew incurs no guilt. Since he is leasing it for many consecutive years, it will become public knowledge that it is leased to a gentile, and thus there will be no concern even for the outward appearance of sin, and he may subsequently lease it without any stipulation. It is especially true that the matter of the lease will be publicized in a community where a permanent regulation was made concerning anyone owning a malthouse which he rents to a gentile.