Q&A: Printing on the Sabbath
Printing on the Sabbath
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Do you think that printing on paper on the Sabbath is forbidden by Torah law משום the prohibition of writing?
Thank you very much!
Answer
I don’t think so. The labor of writing is a kind of action, not just a result. And perhaps it depends on the dispute regarding cutting out letters:
https://www.betmidrash.org.il/index.php/%D7%92%D7%93%D7%A8_%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91#.D7.93.D7.99.D7.9F_.D7.97.D7.A7_.D7.AA.D7.95.D7.9B.D7.95.D7.AA
But I don’t think the two should be linked. According to all opinions, an act of writing is required. Printing from a computer is certainly not an act of writing. Printing with a typewriter might be debatable, although in my humble opinion even there he is not writing. But I saw that Rabbi Melamed compares it to signing with a stamp and forbids it.
Discussion on Answer
I don’t think there is a Torah prohibition involved. Nothing tangible and lasting is created here. What happens is that electrical circuits are activated, and they have no outward expression (except perhaps on the screen, but that is not lasting).
And what do you think about typing an article on a computer and then pressing “Save” afterward?