11 Feb HOSTAGE FOOTAGE ON SHABBAT: A HALACHIC PERSPECTIVE

The release
of hostages in
recent instances
h a s o f t e n
taken place on
Shabbat. Footage of these events
is being viewed worldwide, and
as a Shabbat-observant nation, we
would watch it only after Shabbat.
However, the question arises: Can
one view footage that was recorded
on Shabbat?
This question is divided into two
parts:
1. Videos recorded by the
terrorists before releasing

the hostages – Since non-
Jews are not commanded to

keep Shabbat, footage they
record does not fall under the
prohibition of benefiting from
Shabbat labor—unless it was
created exclusively for Jews.
Since these recordings were
made for their own public
relations and glorification,
they may be viewed after
Shabbat, despite having been
recorded on Shabbat.
2. Videos taken in Israel by
Jewish individuals – This
raises a separate halachic
concern that requires further
analysis.
The Status of Shabbat Violations
When a Jew violates Shabbat, the
results of his actions are generally
prohibited, but different scenarios
must be considered:
• If he violated Shabbat
unknowingly (shogeg)—
meaning he either did not
realize it was Shabbat or
was unaware that his actions
constituted a violation—then
the results are prohibited for
him and others on Shabbat.
However, they may benefit
from them immediately after
Shabbat.

• If he violated Shabbat
knowingly (mezid)—meaning
he was fully aware that it was
Shabbat and that his actions
were prohibited—then the
results are prohibited for him
forever. Others, however, may
benefit from them only after
Shabbat.
Accordingly, one might assume
that recordings made by those
who violated Shabbat could still
be watched after Shabbat. However,
upon further examination of the
poskim, some explain that if the
recordings were made specifically
for others to watch, it is comparable
to someone performing a melacha
for himself, rendering it prohibited.
Therefore, Jewish reporters filming
on Shabbat to broadcast the freeing
of the hostages are violating Shabbat
for others to see, and such footage
should be avoided.
A Classic Dispute in Halacha
One might argue that our case is
somewhat different, as the person
benefiting from the outcome of
the Shabbat violation would have
preferred that Shabbat be observed
rather than violated, and thus, he is
not pleased with the transgression.
This question was debated by two
great halachic authorities over 500
years ago. The Rivash ruled that
even if a Jew did not want melacha
to be performed for him on Shabbat,
he is still prohibited from benefiting
from it. The Maharshal, however,
permitted it. Nevertheless, the Ktav
Sofer explained that in a case like
ours—where the act was done for
public viewing—everyone would
agree that it is forbidden.
This principle is derived from a
question posed to the Ktav Sofer
regarding whether one may eat food

cooked on Shabbat in a Jewish-
owned restaurant after Shabbat.

Based on previous halachic rulings,
one might assume that it should be

permitted. However, the Ktav Sofer
explained that the usual allowance
is based on the assumption that the
Jew will not violate Shabbat again.
In this case, where the Jew is not
Shabbat observant and operates
his business on Shabbat regularly,
it is certain that he will continue
violating Shabbat. Therefore, one
is not permitted to eat the food
he cooked on Shabbat, even after
Shabbat.
Additional Reasons to Forbid
Another reason to forbid benefiting
from Shabbat violations comes from
a ruling of Chazal. They decreed
that one may not benefit from
melacha performed by a non-Jew
on Shabbat until enough time has
passed after Shabbat for the act to
have been done then. This prevents
even indirect benefit from the time
saved. For example, if a non-Jew
cooked an egg on Shabbat and it
takes five minutes to cook, one must
wait five minutes after Shabbat
before eating it. This restriction
ensures that people do not come to
ask a non-Jew to perform melacha
for them on Shabbat in the future,
since there would be no perceived
gain.
On the other hand, if a Jew violated
Shabbat, one may benefit from the
outcome immediately after Shabbat,
as the assumption is that we will
not ask him to do so again, since he
would not violate Shabbat for us.
Now, since a non-observant Jew
willingly violates Shabbat, and
wouldn’t might doing such a
violation for us next Shabbat as
well, in the same way a non-Jew
might, we apply the same principle
that we must wait after Shabbat the
time that it takes to perform the
melacha. Hence, we should wait the
amount of time it takes to film the
event and upload it to the news site.
However, there is a complication:
this event, which took place on

Shabbat, cannot be recreated after
Shabbat. Since it was a one-time
occurrence on Shabbat and cannot
be duplicated, one may argue that
it remains forbidden forever.
Accordingly, Rav Elyashiv
(Orchot Shabbat 25; 66) ruled
that recordings taken on Shabbat
by non-observant Jews may not be
watched after Shabbat for the above
two reasons:
1. The person who violated
Shabbat will continue doing so
in the future to benefit others
with his work, thus chazal
restriction would apply to him
as well.
2. Since we are directly benefiting
from the time spent violating
Shabbat—where the photos
and videos could only be taken
on Shabbat—they become
permanently forbidden.
Still, there are some poskim
(Rav Chaim Kanyevsky, Maor
Hashabat 1; page 432) who are
lenient regarding viewing such
pictures and videos, arguing that
they are not tangible items from
which one derives direct benefit—
unlike food cooked on Shabbat,
which is a physical object. This
idea is based on the principle
stated by Chazal that there is no
me’ilah (misuse of sacred property)
in merely looking at kodashim
(consecrated items).