Q&A: Several Halakhic Questions
Several Halakhic Questions
Question
Hello Rabbi, I wanted to ask a few questions, with your permission.
(Thank you for the detailed halakhic response on the topic of postponing circumcision.)
- What is the ruling regarding reading books about the wars of Israel on the Sabbath? (There is enjoyment in it.) More generally, what is permitted and forbidden to read on the Sabbath? The topic is not entirely clear to me.
- Is it permitted on the Sabbath to sterilize bottles for a baby? We take a bottle, wash it, and afterward pour boiling water over it. True, we do not need the drops of water that remain, but in the end there is still an interest in cooking them in order to kill the bacteria, and therefore it seems that the law is different from the remaining drops of water from washing, which one does not need when preparing coffee or tea.
- What is the Rabbi's opinion regarding a baby-sense monitor on the Sabbath, a device that beeps and turns on a light when it detects that a child is not breathing? Is it permitted to activate it in an unusual manner? There is a discussion here about macro- and micro-level halakhic ruling, since the device saves toddlers every year, and forbidding it on the Sabbath means that inevitably a minority of children will die. (Similar to the permission the Rabbi presented from Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu regarding the use of a flashlight to check a weapon when a soldier comes down from his post.)
Thank you very much.
Have a peaceful Sabbath
Answer
There is a prohibition of ordinary documents, which is derived from “speaking of matters.” But extending that to books, especially nowadays, is strained, and there is no reason to be concerned about it. Certainly books of wisdom and analysis are permitted (although even about this there are those who disagreed), and even other books are allowed משום the enjoyment of the Sabbath. And regarding texts in the Holy Tongue, many have written that there is no prohibition at all.
I just now saw a survey here: https://eitamhenkin.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%90%D7%AA-%D7%93%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%99-%D7%93%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%A1-%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%95-%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%95%D7%A8-%D7%93%D7%99%D7%9F-%D7%A9%D7%98%D7%A8%D7%99-%D7%94%D7%93/
Discussion on Answer
- I should begin by saying that I saw there is a TaharTaf tablet that purifies the water without boiling. You can also dry the bottle before pouring boiling water over it. And even if there are drops in it, this is an unneeded constructive act, since you are not interested in heating the water but in killing the bacteria. It is indeed similar to coffee and tea, and even easier (because there you actually do want to heat that water as part of your coffee).
- What is the problem with the baby-sense monitor? As I understand it, the baby activates it when there is a lack of breathing. Do you yourself also activate something there?
Thank you very, very much for the quick response.
Regarding the baby-sense monitor: every time you pick up the baby it starts beeping because it no longer detects the baby's breathing, and then there is a need to press something to stop the alarm, because it will not stop on its own, but that is needed in order to reactivate the device afterward.
There is also a question there regarding the light bulb and not only the electrical circuit.
(I just saw that there is some grama-based solution from the Tzomet Institute… but the question is what happens when such an option is not available.)
I think this does not justify your violating the Sabbath. There is a difference between this and the example of checking a weapon. If there is a sweeping rule for the entire relevant public, then each person should comply with it because overall it will save lives. If there were a general rule that everyone had to use this device for all babies, that would be the same situation. But when you decide on your own to use such a device, there is no justification for it. The risk to any specific baby is completely negligible.
Thank you very much, Rabbi.
Have a peaceful Sabbath.
Regarding drops of water: https://ph.yhb.org.il/01-10-09/
In Orchot Shabbat it is brought (to the best of my memory) that Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was lenient, while Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv was stringent.