Apartment Hunting on Chol Hamoed
Updated: Sep 22
A client wanted to go apartment hunting in Jerusalem during Chol Hamoed Pesach but was unsure whether he was halachically permitted to do so. I told him to ask his local rabbi, as I am certainly not qualified to make that decision for him. As this question comes up often, I decided to devote this article to reviewing some of the issues.
The major question is whether one is permitted to “do business” during the holiday. In Tractate Pesachim 118a, Rav Sheshes says in very strong words, “One who disgraces Chol Hamoed is regarded as if he worships idols.” One major reason for restricting business activity during Chol Hamoed is that it can distract from the joy of Yom Tov, which includes eating, drinking, doing enjoyable activities and learning Torah.
However, some business-related activities are permitted in certain situations. A few examples include purchasing food needed for the holiday and working to prevent financial loss. If, for example, your company would suffer tremendous loss if you did not work, you may be permitted to work on Chol Hamoed. Similarly, if a store is having an extraordinary sale, one may be permitted to buy the item on Chol Hamoed because delaying the purchase until after the holiday would cause a financial loss.
Rav Moshe Feinstein has a teshuva (responsum) addressing a related situation. If on Chol Hamoed you are in a place where they sell something that cannot be purchased where you live, you are permitted to buy the item to avoid the inconvenience of having to make a special follow-up trip after the holiday.
That got me thinking about my overseas clients who travel to Israel for Sukkot and Pesach and, due to work obligations, cannot stick around afterward. Despite the generally restrictive approach of the codifiers regarding purchasing homes on Chol Hamoed, Rav Moshe’s teshuva raises an important consideration for foreign buyers who have a limited opportunity to apartment hunt while they are in Israel.
Noted author Rabbi Moshe Lichtman directed me to an important source to consider when contemplating purchasing a home in Israel. The Gemara in Tractate Gittin 8b, subsequently codified by Maimonides and the Shulchan Aruch, allows a person to direct a non-Jew to draft a contract of sale on Shabbat. In that particular case, the non-Jewish seller was planning to leave town before the end of Shabbat, and the buyer’s delay would have cost him the opportunity to buy the property.
Even though one is rabbinically prohibited on Shabbat from directing a non-Jew to act on one’s behalf (“amira l’akum”), the sages suspended this decree because of the overriding mitzvah of Yishuv Eretz Yisrael – settling the Land of Israel. Although the vast majority of our deals are with Jewish sellers and therefore the Gemara’s case is not exactly on point, this ruling underscores the tremendous value that Jewish law attributes to the commandment of inhabiting the Land of Israel.
I discussed this issue with Rabbi Shalom Rosner of Kehillat Ohel Ephraim in Nofei HaShemesh. He concurred with Rabbi Lichtman’s sentiments that not only are such Chol Hamoed apartment-hunting activities permissible, but doing so is a fulfillment of the commandment of Yishuv Eretz Yisrael and a wonderful way to infuse kedusha (holiness) into one’s holiday.
Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home, a real estate agency focused on helping people from abroad buy and sell homes in Israel. To sign up for his monthly market updates, contact him at gborvick@gmail.com.
