Structure  of Shabbat  

מבנה השבת  ומהלכה 

Some actions are permitted on Shabbat by Torah law but prohibited by the Sages due to their having the appearance of a transgression of Torah law. The purpose of these prohibitions is to prevent error, lest one see people performing such an action, and be led to believe that a similar, prohibited act is also permissible. Furthermore, these prohibitions also serve to prevent false suspicions, as onlookers might think that the person is guilty of performing a prohibited labor. 

Further reading: For more on prohibitions due to the appearance of transgression, see p. ﻿454.  

Prohibitions that stem from a concern for the appearance of transgression are not exclusive to Shabbat; they exist in a variety of halakhic areas. There is nevertheless a particularly long list of actions that are prohibited on Shabbat for this reason. Two examples which express the aforementioned reasons for the prohibition are as follows: 

If a garment became wet during the course of Shabbat, it is prohibited to hang it out to dry on a clothesline on Shabbat, so that people will not mistakenly think that these clothes were washed on Shabbat and that laundering is permitted on Shabbat.  

It is prohibited for a Jew to rent out his place of business that bears his name, to a gentile who would operate it on Shabbat. In this case, the reason for the prohibition is that people might suspect the Jew of desecrating Shabbat. 

אדם שכשל ועשה בזדון מלאכה האסורה בשבת, נאסר עליו ליהנות ולהשתמש מתוצאותיה של אותה מלאכה. מלאכה כזאת מכונה בהלכה 'מעשֵׂה שבת'. כך בעניין אוכל שבושל בשבת וכך בכל מוצר אחר שמקורו בחילול שבת. 

בין מזיד לשוגג האיסור ליהנות מ'מעשה שבת' לצמיתות חל רק על מבַצע האיסור עצמו, אולם אנשים אחרים רשאים להשתמש וליהנות מתוצאות מלאכתו, מיד עם צאת השבת. 

כאשר מלאכת האיסור נעשתה בשגגה (מחוסר ידע או משִׁכחה) מותר גם לעושה המלאכה ליהנות ולהשתמש מתוצאותיה, אחרי צאת השבת. 

Some actions are permitted on Shabbat by Torah law but prohibited by the Sages due to their having the appearance of a transgression of Torah law. The purpose of these prohibitions is to prevent error, lest one see people performing such an action, and be led to believe that a similar, prohibited ac