Q&A: A Rabbinic Electrical Action Performed Indirectly on the Sabbath in a Situation of Distress
A Rabbinic Electrical Action Performed Indirectly on the Sabbath in a Situation of Distress
Question
Rabbi, good week,
It sometimes happens on the Sabbath that there is a need to perform an electrical action on the Sabbath in a situation of distress, such as a refrigerator whose light bulb was not turned off before the Sabbath and it needs to be opened in order to eat, or passing in front of a motion-sensitive light that turns on automatically on the Sabbath at the entrance to the house when they forgot to disable it before the Sabbath. Would any such action be permitted if done in an unusual manner, such as using one’s elbow or a tool in order to press the switch?
Seemingly, according to this link: https://ph.yhb.org.il/01-17-16/
it appears that the answer is yes. But I thought that according to this, it would be possible to perform many electrical actions in an unusual manner on the Sabbath, and that would open the door to breaching the boundaries.
Best regards,
Answer
A double rabbinic prohibition was permitted in a situation of great distress. There are views that this applies only to telling a non-Jew, and not to doing it in an unusual manner. But here there is a rabbinic-level doubt, so seemingly there is room to be lenient.
All this is according to the view that dealing with electricity is a rabbinic prohibition. In my humble opinion, there is a strong possibility that it is Torah-level / of biblical origin (under the category of building), and then almost all halakhic decisors do not permit telling a non-Jew even for the sake of a commandment (with the exception of the Baal Ha’Itur).
As for the concern, one should remember that this is only in a situation of major need. And each person has to assess for himself what counts as a major need in his case.