Question:
Can I hire a gentile to clean my home on Yom Tov with broom and/or mop? What work cannot be done? I know gentiles work in the kitchen and clean dishes on Shabbat.
Answer:
A gentile can be hired to do work that may be essentially be done by a Jew. If the gentile could do the work in a permissible way and decides to do so in a prohibited fashion that is of no concern to you. Sweeping the floor and tidying up would certainly be permissible as would washing the dishes. Washing the floor is prohibited on Shabbos and Yom Tov and so a gentile should not be asked to mop the floor.
In Israel where a “sponja” stick is used to wash floors which can be done without squeezing out a cloth there is more room for leniency to allow a gentile to wash the floor.
