Featured Post

Free The Hostages! Bring Them Home!

(this is a featured post and will stay at the top for the foreseeable future.. scroll down for new posts) -------------------------------...

Apr 19, 2015

KosherSwitch Launch (video)

by now you must have seen the campaign to fund the new innovation to circumvent Shabbos prohibitions.. called The Kosher Switch!

I have no idea regarding the halachic issues surrounding this kosher switch, and will not (at this time) comment on that. It is sure to raise a firestorm, and I see some rabbis and rabbinic organizations have already begun commenting on the issue. I look forward to seeing how this develops.



The Kosher Switch campaign on IndieGogo


------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel
------------------------------------------------------

3 comments:

  1. Not sure why you're giving this further publicity.

    I found the video portrayed Shabbat and Halacha in a very negative light, besides the off color joke about inviting a woman up to his bedroom, and the bad Chiuch portrayed at the beginning of the video (trying to teach a sleeping child to break Shabbat) - I had no idea that so many Jews who define themselves as "Orthodox" see Shabbat as a burden that has to somehow be bypassed.

    As to the Halacha behind the switch, most of the Rabbis quoted in the movie have already clarified that they do not support this switch for non-emergency use. Not aware of any "Big name" Poskim who have come out in favour of this switch L'Chatchila, I'd be very happy to see a halachic analysis in favour of this switch endorsed by a respected Posek.

    Yet the Kosher Switch guys still managed tor raise tens of thousands of dollars....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the joke about inviting a woman up to the bedroom (or rather, what the woman is THINKING the man wants with her in his bedroom) is on the racy side. Perhaps they can find a "cleaner" way to make the point--which is, of course, to show the hazards of relying on a Shabbos goy. (Doesn't the halacha probit asking a non-Jew to do on Shabbat and Yom Tov anything you can't legitimately accomplish yourself?)

      As far as whether the rebbeim quoted say they don't endorse the switch for non-emergency use: did they say "emergency," or did they say "shaas hadchak?" The former would be a heart attack; the latter would be having a dozen guests at your table Friday night when all the lights go out and nobody can see to read a bentcher.

      Finally, the video isn't suggesting that a child be taught to break Shabbat. I concede, though, that it raises a burden of chinuch. If you think you have problems explaining to your kid that the town where you're going to spend Shabbat doesn't have a communal eruv like your town does, imagine trying to accustom them to the idea that the house *just next door* isn't equipped with a similar switch.

      I think the advent of the Sabbath mode oven, where, with Star-K endorsement, current is clearly being manipulated on Yom Tov (and not just for emergencies!), has started a radical shift in how we view the use of electrical devices on Shabbat. KosherSwitch is just one more step on this continuum which, in time, may lead to an acknowledgement that turning fluorescent lights on and off is no problem whatsoever.

      Delete
  2. I find it interesting. why doesn't it deserve publicity? As I said, I do not know the halachic issues around it but as a topic of discussion I dont see why it can't be discussed.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...