Q&A: Using an Electrical Device on the Sabbath
Using an Electrical Device on the Sabbath
Question
Hello, I listened to your lecture on the prohibition of turning on an electrical device on the Sabbath on the grounds of the prohibition of building. I would be glad to know how one can justify prohibiting the use of an electrical device that is already on (for example, changing the temperature on an air conditioner or reading on an electronic book), since there is no creation of a new “thing” here, and in fact there is no creation here at all. Rather, it seems more like moving a bench or cutting a loaf of bread. Or is it more correct to justify this as a safeguard so that one should not come to sin by turning on an electrical device? I would be happy to hear your answer.
Answer
I really do think that it is hard to see a Torah-level prohibition here under the category of building. It is more connected to what people in the halakhic-technology field call “continuing an existing state” (though not exactly). There could be rabbinic prohibitions here such as generating current, kindling (strengthening light in an incandescent bulb), and the like, and perhaps also the decrees you mentioned (although it is generally accepted that in our generation there is no authority that can enact new decrees binding on everyone. At most, one can recommend it).