Orthodox Jews-a question about the Sabbath

[Lev23]

Are you allowed to turn on light switches, start up a car, push a elevator button, etc. on the Sabbath?

If not, can a friendly gentile do it for you?

 

[HashemEchad]

Are you allowed to turn on light switches, start up a car, push a elevator button, etc. on the Sabbath?

If not, can a friendly gentile do it for you?

It says in the Torah that we are not to kindle a flame on the Sabbath. Electricity is a form of fire, and a spark is ignited when you start a car. This is why the very Orthodox do not use electricity on the Sabbath. The Sabbath candles may be lit, but only before sunset.

A Gentile may perform any service that a Jew is forbidden to do on the Sabbath, but (contrary to popular view), the Jew cannot TELL or even ASK a Gentile to do it. He may HINT at it, but that is all.

The reason for this is because the Torah says that even Gentiles in Jewish homes must benefit from the rest of the Sabbath (see the 4th commandment for more info.) The Gentile may VOLUNTEER to perform these services, but he cannot be TOLD to do them by any Jew.

 

[mercygate]

One of my daughter’s classmates at Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York lived in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood and used to earn a little pocket money as a “Sabbath Goy” – doing all those little chores. She loved her Orthodox neighbors and they loved her! She certainly would have done it for free.

 

[HashemEchad]

Technically its against Jewish law to do it that way, because the Jew is never supposed to order or ask the Gentile to do anything the Jew cannot do. But if the nonJew offers to, the Jew may accept.

The concept arose among some less-religious Jews of the “Shabbos goy”, which means the Gentile one hires to do things the Jew cannot do on the Sabbath.

But a careful study of the Halacha on the subject (as well as the 4th commandment itself) will show that God ordained the 7th day Sabbath rest to be for ALL in the Jew’s home, even his animals!

What the very Orthodox do instead, is leave lights on, and leave a low flame burning on the stove with a “bleich” over it (a special metallic plate that can be used as a conductor of heat, to warm food up or keep it warm overnight.

The Torah also forbids us from tearing anything on the Sabbath, and so you will usually see a box of tissues in restrooms in very Orthodox homes on the Sabbath (though in the “old days”, I remember my mother tearing a whole pile of toilet paper into segments, and putting it in the restroom before the Sabbath began!)

 

[HashemEchad]

Hi Carnelian,

You must be in Golders Green or North London then? I have been told the Chasidic communities there in Europe are very strong and very committed, maybe more so than in the USA. I know there are far more anti-zionist Orthodox Jews in Europe than in the USA, too.

I have to say, the English Jews make the best matzo! (Rakusen’s).

 

[Kaninchen]

Hi Carnelian,

You must be in Golders Green or North London then? I have been told the Chasidic communities there in Europe are very strong and very committed, maybe more so than in the USA. I know there are far more anti-zionist Orthodox Jews in Europe than in the USA, too.

I have to say, the English Jews make the best matzo! (Rakusen’s).

I think he’s in the Brick Lane area of the East End - home to the famous “they shall not pass!” Battle of Cable Street - where everybody lived before moving to NW3 etc.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

I heard someplace, I think a Jewish University, the elevators were set to run continuously, stopping at every floor, on the Sabbath; so one did not need to push a button.

 

[HashemEchad]

I heard someplace, I think a Jewish University, the elevators were set to run continuously, stopping at every floor, on the Sabbath; so one did not need to push a button.

I’ve only seen those in hotels certified kosher for Passover, but yes, they do have that.

You know, I agree with those who say the spirit of the Torah (law) cannot be sacrificed for the letter of it. And that is perhaps one of the few things Jesus said which I agree with (but he simply repeated that from Jewish teachings as well).

He said, "Woe to you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and anise and cumin, yet omit the weightier matters of the Law, which are justice, mercy and truth!

These you ought to have done, and not have left the others undone".

Sounds to me as if Jesus would not be happy with the usual Orthodox Jewish OR the Christian way of doing things! Because while many Orthodox Jews adhere to the letter of the Law and sometimes forget the spirit of it, Christians tend to adhere to the spirit of it but totally ignore the letter of it!

 

[LutheranDK]

I heard someplace, I think a Jewish University, the elevators were set to run continuously, stopping at every floor, on the Sabbath; so one did not need to push a button.

The home for disabled people I lived (and worked) in when I was in Jerusalem for 6 months also had one of the elevators set to run continuously.
Always wondered about that, though. Guess I got my answer

Btw, and I guess this is for HashemEchad:

Where is the line drawn between what kind of “work” is and is not permitted on the Sabbath?
The impression I’ve gotten is this: Soldiers may fight defensive battles (which datest back to the Maccabean revolt, right?), police may stop any crime they come across (although not investigate it), and doctors may give treatment that is neccessary for the survival of the patient.

But what is, and what is not permitted?
For instance: Is it allowed for a nurse to help a sick and/or disabled/paralyzed patient out of bed, give him/her a shower, feed them, etc?

I hope this question is percieved in the same way that it was asked

 

[HashemEchad]

LutheranDK.

Any work is permitted which is helpful to people who are ill, injured, disabled, etc Jewish doctors are allowed to be on call for emergencies during the Sabbath.

Jewish Law not only allows but REQUIRES the Sabbath be broken to save life.

The case in question involving Jesus COULD have been prevented if Jesus and his followers had followed Jewish law and prepared the double portion on the Friday before the Sabbath, so they would not have felt the need to pluck grain to eat. I suspect the reason why the Pharisees criticized Jesus was because he evidently was lax in following the double portion requirement, as everyone else was doing. I don’t think their point was that he was eating food, but that he and his followers allowed their neglect of keeping OTHER laws to force them to violate another law.

 

[Valke2]

I’ve only seen those in hotels certified kosher for Passover, but yes, they do have that.

You know, I agree with those who say the spirit of the Torah (law) cannot be sacrificed for the letter of it. And that is perhaps one of the few things Jesus said which I agree with (but he simply repeated that from Jewish teachings as well).

He said, "Woe to you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and anise and cumin, yet omit the weightier matters of the Law, which are justice, mercy and truth!

These you ought to have done, and not have left the others undone".

Sounds to me as if Jesus would not be happy with the usual Orthodox Jewish OR the Christian way of doing things! Because while many Orthodox Jews adhere to the letter of the Law and sometimes forget the spirit of it, Christians tend to adhere to the spirit of it but totally ignore the letter of it!

the spirit of remember the sabbath and keeping it holy should be one of joy. So doing what you can to make light in the home and warm food on the table Ii.e. lights on timers, stove left one…) would certainly be within the spirit of the law.

 

[mercygate]

I heard someplace, I think a Jewish University, the elevators were set to run continuously, stopping at every floor, on the Sabbath; so one did not need to push a button.

AAAaaccchhh! The hospital/medical school where I work is / was “Jewish” and from 2:00 p.m. onward on Fridays every elevator bank has one elevator that just runs all night, stopping on every floor. Heaven help you if you forget and jump on the Sabbath elevator and want to go from the basement to the 20th floor!

 

[Valke2]

AAAaaccchhh! The hospital/medical school where I work is / was “Jewish” and from 2:00 p.m. onward on Fridays every elevator bank has one elevator that just runs all night, stopping on every floor. Heaven help you if you forget and jump on the Sabbath elevator and want to go from the basement to the 20th floor!

That’s why you should always carry a Chumash (Torah in a book). You never know when you may have some spare time on your hands.