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A Shabbos goy, Shabbat goy or Shabbes goy (; ; plural Shabbos goyim) is a non-Jew who is employed by Jews to perform certain types of work ( melakha) that Jewish religious law ( halakha) prohibits a Jew from doing on the Shabbat.
Originally, the job of the shabbos goy was often given to a poor woman, and the compensation was in the form of challah; later, money was given, although not on Shabbat or not directly given to the worker, due to halakha 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 of Eastern Europe."
Notable examples
Notable examples of Shabbos goyim include Maxim Gorky, Thomas D'Alesandro Jr, Floyd B. Olson, Harry S. Truman, (2026). 9781935503804, Truman State University Press. ISBN 9781935503804 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,Clines, Francis X. "The Co-Author of Gen. Powell's Book Is Given a Part as the Story Goes On", The New York Times, October 1, 1995. "...Readers 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, 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, Martin Scorsese, Ralph Branca (who did not know at the time that he was Jewish), Tom Jones, and the adolescent Elvis Presley,Sources give two different people for whom Elvis was a shabbos goy. In Tugging at Jewish Weeds: An Interview with Steve Stern it was the Dubrovner family; to Alfred J. Kolatch, in his Inside Judaism: The Concepts, Customs, and Celebrations of the Jewish People (Pub. Jonathan David, 2006), p. 480, citing a secondary source, it is Rabbi Alfred Fruchter who is helped. all of whom served their Jewish neighbors in this way. Barack Obama served his Jewish office neighbor while serving in the Illinois Senate.
Further reading
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