Q&A: Refrigerator Light on the Sabbath or Causing Embarrassment to the Host
Refrigerator Light on the Sabbath or Causing Embarrassment to the Host
Question
Hello Honorable Rabbi,
A few Sabbaths ago I was staying with a friend who is observant. During the Sabbath it became clear that by mistake he had not disconnected the refrigerator light, so every opening of the door turned the light on. When I pointed this out to him, he said that in principle he would prefer the light to be disconnected, but if he forgets, he is not especially strict about it.
I remembered that there is a halakhic issue that when someone is not aware of the actual turning on of the light but knows that he is allowed to open the refrigerator, there is room to discuss being lenient. So I suggested that he ask one of the children to open the door, and afterward put in some kind of barrier so that the door would not close completely until the end of the Sabbath. In practice, the child opened and closed it, and afterward the members of the household continued putting things in and taking things out, with the light turning on each time.
At that point I faced a dilemma: on the one hand, to stop the meal — a step that would have made my halakhic position very clear, but also caused embarrassment to the host and his family; and on the other hand, to remain, on the assumption that from my perspective as a guest the light is considered an inevitable but unwanted result, since I have no interest at all in its being turned on and do not need it.
I would ask the Rabbi:
- How should one actually act in a case like this?
- Is there indeed room to view this, from the guest’s perspective, as an inevitable but unwanted result, and is there a difference between a refrigerator in the host’s home and a refrigerator that I own?
Thank you very much.
Answer
I do not see any difference between the homeowner and you as a guest. The benefit from the light is no different for him and for you. I know that it is commonly accepted to permit this through a small child, but in my opinion that is problematic in two ways: if it is your child, then there is the law of your son’s Sabbath rest and the law of education. And even if it is not your child, there is the issue of directly causing a minor to violate a prohibition. If he opens it for his own needs, then one can let him do it, and when he opens it, quickly act and make sure it stays open. But one should not tell him in advance to open it and leave it open, because then there is an issue of instructing him or directly causing the prohibition.
But the fact that the child opened it does not mean that afterward one may close and open it. So I did not understand why the introduction that the child opened it is relevant to the question at all. You are asking what to do when the refrigerator light is forgotten.
The recommendation in such a case is to wait until the motor stops running, then unplug it, disable the bulb, and quickly plug it back in, so that it will not immediately turn on.
Without that, this is an inevitable but unwanted result, and we rule that such a case is considered an inevitable result in every respect. True, if this is a rabbinic prohibition, there are the Magen Avraham and Terumat HaDeshen who permit an inevitable result in a rabbinic prohibition, but in my personal opinion operating an electrical device is Torah-level and not rabbinic, because of building. However, many halakhic decisors hold that it is rabbinic.
Assuming that is the situation, in my opinion you should refrain from consuming things from the refrigerator. There is no reason to fear embarrassment, since you are observing Jewish law. There is no embarrassment here unless they are embarrassed by their own transgression, and if so, that is as it should be. However, if people took things out for their own needs, there may perhaps be room under pressure to be lenient and use them, but even that is a strained leniency.
Discussion on Answer
I also heard about the solution of unplugging it when the motor is not running, but I did not understand what that solves. Even when the motor is not running, by pulling out the plug you disconnect other circuits, including the thermostat itself. Likewise when you reconnect it, even if the refrigerator is still cold and the motor itself will not immediately start running. So what have we gained by this?
Maybe if one disconnects it in an unusual manner, then according to the view that electricity is rabbinic, it is a double rabbinic prohibition in a situation of need.
I did not know that. If so, then it seems you are right. True, the thermostat only saves electricity and does not contribute to the food itself, unlike the motor, and still, if that is so, it seems this should be prohibited.
I found a similar question in which they permitted eating from a refrigerator when a Jew is not particular about the light, because the prohibition is not in the object itself.
https://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask
I think one could argue that in a one-time case, in order not to embarrass the host, it should be permitted.
(I am not a halakhic decisor, just suggesting a possibility.)
What about the three grounds for leniency that I suggested — can one be lenient on the basis of these considerations?
Oren, I answered yesterday and for some reason it was not received.
1. That is indeed a reason to be lenient. That is why I wrote that there are grounds for leniency.
2. I understood that he was in fact aware of the prohibition. In any case, an act done on the Sabbath unintentionally is prohibited to others until after the Sabbath according to most halakhic decisors, including the Shulchan Arukh. Perhaps the view of the Vilna Gaon and those who follow him can serve as an additional factor for leniency.
3. I do not think human dignity applies in a situation where their dignity is harmed by the very fact of committing the prohibition. When I act according to the law and someone is hurt by that, that is his problem. Only when the connection is indirect is there room to permit. If someone is offended by the fact that I am primitive and keep the Sabbath, would it even occur to anyone not to keep the Sabbath?
I thought of several grounds for being lenient:
1. The prohibited act did not make any change in the object itself.
2. From the questioner I understand that whoever took the items out of the refrigerator was not aware of the prohibition involved, so this is a case of an act done on the Sabbath unintentionally, which is permitted to others.
3. On grounds of human dignity.
What do you think?