May a Jew hire a non-Jew on a multi-year retainer (shkhar shanah) for a specific ongoing task, allowing the non-Jew to work on Shabbat?
Synopsis
A Jew who hires a non-Jew on a multi-year retainer to perform a specific ongoing task (such as scribal work or weaving) may allow the non-Jew to work on Shabbat, because this resembles kablanut. There is a minority opinion forbidding any timed hire. The Rema adds that hiring for all work within the period is universally forbidden.
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