Q: May one ask a non Jew to perform a melocha or work for him on Shabbos?
A: It is assur derabbonon to ask a non-Jew to do work for oneself on Shabbos.
There are three reasons for the Rabbinic prohibition to instruct a non Jew to perform work for a Jew on Shabbos: (1) asking a non-Jew to do work will cause a laxity in the observance of Shabbos, (2) there’s a statement from the prophets which says “Daver Davar” meaning that one’s speech on Shabbos should be different from one’s speech on the weekdays, and (3) instructing a non-Jew is halachically considered a form of שליחות which attributes the actions of the messenger to the sender.
It’s forbidden to outright tell a non Jew to do any action that one would be forbidden to do himself. This means that one may not ask a non Jew to do a prohibition that is deoraisah or derabbonon. It is forbidden to tell a non-Jew to violate a prohibited activity on Shabbos even if the Jew receives no direct benefit. For example, one may not ask a non-Jew to turn off the lights.
Just as it is forbidden to tell a non Jew to do work on Shabbos it is also forbidden to hint using words of command or to make motions that imply a command to do work.
Example of a hint that do include a command are: “Why didn’t you turn off the light last Shabbos”, “Do me a favor, there’s not enough light in the room”, “Anyone who turns off the flame won’t lose”,or “ If you lower the flame, I will reward you for your effort”.
Some say that it is permissible to hint to a non-Jew to do work on Shabbos if one uses a hint that doesn’t include a command. Others limit this leniency. Rav Nissim Karlitz in Chut Shani agrees that one may hint to a non-Jew to do melacha with a hint that doesn’t include a command, but adds that it has to be a case where it doesn’t appear as though one may have commanded the non Jew on Shabbos, such as if it is an action that is done commonly without the permission of the employer. Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv holds that it is forbidden to hint, even if it doesn’t include any command, to the non Jew to a do any melacha. He says that it is only permitted when the non-Jew is only fixing an existing flame but not creating anything new. In fact, Rav Elyashiv even forbids saying “it is light in the room and I can’t go to sleep” since the Jew will benefit from the actions of the non-Jew if he turns off the light.
A hint which does not include a command is a statement which only addresses the need for a certain action but doesn’t address the role of the non Jew in that situation. For example “The alarm is beeping, and we are not permitted to turn it off”, “The lights in the bedroom are on and we are not permitted to shut them”, etc
One may tell a non-Jew to do a permissible activity even if it’s clear that the non-Jew will do a prohibited activity while doing that task unless the non-Jew has in mind that the Jew will benefit directly from the prohibited activity, for example, it is ok to ask a non Jew to wash the dishes as it is possible to do so with cold water and no sponge, however, it is most likely that the non Jew will be using hot water and a sponge. Other examples: It’s permissible to ask a non-Jew to carry something up a tall building even if it’s known that the non-Jew will use the elevator. It’s permissible to ask a non-Jew to get something from a dark room even if it’s clear that he will turn on the lights in order to get that thing.
If one hints to a non-Jew to do a certain action and the non-Jew asks in reply “do you want me to me such and such?”, one may not respond “Yes” because doing so is considered like giving a command, but rather one should answer “I would appreciate if such an action was done”.