- Q. Dear Rabbi Shlit’a, I think that you are the right Rabbi for this question.
My neighbor left on a vacation for a week and left his dog in his adjacent backyard to watch the property.
He also left enough dog food containers in the dogs house, that the dog knows how to open and use. Last Shabbat we had a snowstorm in our town and the dog could not access the food left.
Could I give food to the dog on Shabbat? Is that also a mitzva?
A. Although feeding home dogs that depend on the owner to feed them is permitted on Shabbos (Shulchan Aruch O.H. 324: 11).
Mishna Berura (ibid. 21) rules that even if it isn’t a home dog is also a mitzva, as our sages teach that Hashem has compassion on them and so should we.
In this particulat case it is important to take care of the neighbors dog to maintain good relations that will help also in promoting Kiruv and closeness to Torah.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by, Horav Yaakov Hirschman, Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller, Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu and Horav Kalman Ochs Shlit'a
Important Numbers
