Chapter 24
Laws Relating to the Erection of Protective Shelters and of Partitions on Shabbath and Yom Tov
ERECTION OF PARTITIONS
26.a. The Torah prohibits the erection of a permanent partition on Shabbath or Yom Tov.
26.b. Even fixing both the top and bottom of a curtain on to the frame of a portable screen is forbidden, if it is done in order to last for a few days or longer.
26.c. The size of the partition is not important.
27.a. It is permitted to erect a temporary partition (provided there are no other prohibitions involved), for example,
1) as a shade from the sun,
2) as a windbreak or
3) so that a person who is not feeling well can rest without being disturbed.
(See paragraphs 30, 32 and 34 below for examples where the erection of even a temporary partition is forbidden.)
27.b. One may even put up four such partitions around the bed of someone who is ill.
27.c. One is allowed to fix a curtain at both its top and bottom ends to a frame, for example, where it is intended temporarily to fill the place of a door which has come off its hinges, provided that
1) the curtain will indeed remain in the frame for only a short time and
2) the curtain is not attached with nails or tacks.
27.d. One is also allowed to cover a shattered windowpane with a cloth, since it is not usual to leave a window covered in such a makeshift manner for any length of time, but one must of course not attach the cloth with nails or tacks.
