Q&A: Electric Car on the Sabbath
Electric Car on the Sabbath
Question
Dear Rabbi, hello,
Is the issue with an electric car on the Sabbath only because of electricity, or is there also some issue of kindling a fire?
Is the prohibition rabbinic or Torah-level? (If there is one at all. In my private life, I do not hold that electricity is forbidden on the Sabbath, and I do turn on lights and a fan; I also see this as Sabbath enjoyment.)
Is there any other prohibition involved in an electric car besides, according to those who hold (most of the halakhic world) that electricity is forbidden on the Sabbath?
Many thanks and with appreciation,
Ofir
Answer
If you decide on your own about prohibitions like electricity, then I do not understand why you are asking me. In my view, using electricity on the Sabbath is forbidden, and the question of Sabbath enjoyment has no relevance here whatsoever. Cooking delicacies on the Sabbath for the meal is also Sabbath enjoyment. Since when does Sabbath enjoyment permit desecrating it through prohibited labor?
Discussion on Answer
I want to consult someone who understands the issues involved on the Sabbath aside from electricity as well. I did not come to receive your opinion in advance. Obviously, Sabbath enjoyment does not permit doing prohibited labor. I am only arguing that there is no prohibited labor involved that would make electricity forbidden, and therefore it is Sabbath enjoyment. After all, electricity did not exist in the time of the Talmud, and I do not think electricity should be forbidden because of creating something new, building, or kindling. This is both from my familiarity with Jewish law, from the fact that Orthodox rabbis rejected one another’s reasons for forbidding it in this matter, and because some branches within the Conservative tradition permitted the use of electricity from the time it was discovered.
The question whether this is Sabbath enjoyment or not has nothing to do with the question whether there is a prohibition involved. So drop the word “therefore” here. The question is whether it is permitted or not, and it really does not matter whether it is Sabbath enjoyment (as stated, cooking delicacies is also Sabbath enjoyment).
I do not know how an electric car works, so I do not know how to answer your question. As I said, in my view using electricity on the Sabbath is forbidden, and as I understand it, it is very likely a Torah-level prohibition.
By the way, turning on a light (at least with incandescent bulbs) involves the prohibition of kindling as well, even according to the view that would permit electricity (at least rabbinically).