Continuing with yesterday’s halacha (Jewish law), a very common case is when a gardener, for example, comes on Shabbat to fix the garden, cut the grass, and do these things. Technically, you would say that everybody knows he is coming with kablanut. He doesn’t come afterward and say, “I worked for two hours, so you owe me by the hour.” That’s not how it works. He is coming based on the work itself, and he chooses when he comes. Usually, the contract is that he tells you, “I come once a month, or once every two weeks, and I cut the grass.” So I choose to cut.
On the other hand, building a house takes a very long time, so it’s a little strange to think that you told them to come dafka (specifically) on Shabbat. But with cutting the grass, it could very well be that somebody would pass by and say, “Why is he cutting the grass on Shabbat?” It’s true that I don’t think he was paid by the day or by the hour, but it’s very possible that they have a party at their house tomorrow and want the place to look good, so he wanted the worker to come on Shabbat. There is a chashash (concern), as the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish law) tells us, of Mar'it Ayin (appearance of impropriety): that he told him to come on Shabbat, even if it’s b'kablanut. Then it’s a problem.
There’s another chashash, because some people, depending on the neighborhood—some wealthy people—sometimes have a person who works on their whole property. He is paid, but now it’s different. It’s not b'kablanut: they don’t pay him based on the work; they employ him to work on the property. If he’s cutting the grass on Shabbat, it’s a big problem. Now we’re not talking about kablanut anymore.
Because of all the above, this is different from building a house. Even with building a house, we explained that there could be a zilzul (disrespect) of Shabbat, etc. But of course, the preferred way is definitely to tell them not to do it on Shabbat, but to come another day and do it then.
It happened to us once. It was Yom Tov (holiday), because they had already learned that we don’t come on Saturday. Once, though, it was Yom Tov on a Monday or a Tuesday. We were praying and started hearing the worker, and it was full of people. So we went out nicely and told them, “Would you please come back another time?” Of course, there was no problem with that.
That’s how we should be doing it, because here there is a possible Mar'it Ayin on two different angles, and therefore, in that case, it would not be allowed. B'kavod (respectfully).