BAIS HAVAAD SPECIAL EDITION:E-Commerce on Shabbos & Yom Tov Sukkos Edition: Business on Shabbos & Yom Tov: Part III By: Rabbi Baruch Meir Levin Shlit”a

Today’s world of commerce presents a myriad of opportunities that were not even imaginable just a few decades ago. Along with these opportunities, many new halachic issues can, and do arise. One area where this is especially true is the area of e-commerce. In this new found reality one may be doing high volume sales, on a national level, all while singing Yom zeh mechubad at his Shabbos table. In fact, a company can pre-arrange an entire functioning business operation on Shabbos and Yom Tov, including; websites, marketing campaigns, payments processing systems, call centers, order fulfillment centers and more, to be fully functioning, all while taking his Shabbos afternoon nap. Additionally, the expansion of marketplace sites such as E-bay and Amazon, provide even the unseasoned merchant the opportunity to partake in this enterprise. Although the technology is all new and “cutting-edge” the age-old principals of Shmiras Shabbos can and must still be applied. This article will explore how halacha views these and other similar situations.