Kosherswitch, how long will it be before we all have them?

chani8

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 2:39 am

There are poskim who permit turning on florescent lights anyway, so this is a no brainer, covers all shittas, except those who will claim, not l'kavod shobbos.

chani8

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 3:31 am

And TV isn't a problem on shobbos in the first place. Perhaps you can't adjust it in any way. I don't know. I hate TV anyway, can't imagine wanting it on for shobbos.

I like 'unplugging' on shobbos.

amother

Vermilion

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 6:28 am

chani8 wrote:

There are poskim who permit turning on florescent lights anyway, so this is a no brainer, covers all shittas, except those who will claim, not l'kavod shobbos.

I agree. We have a shabbos hot water system and we can't use it because it is not l'kavod shabbos. It automatically can melt the snow on the sidewalks and driveways also. Oh well. I don't understand why we can can use sukkoh pumps on shabbos.

imasinger

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 6:31 am

I asked DH to ask our rav about it. DH found this, which concerned him:

http://text.rcarabbis.org/the-.....osen/

But if we got the approval, I'd use it first for dishwasher, hot plate, then for a/c, then for lights. Especially in rooms where non frum family members come to visit.

Last edited by imasinger on Tue, Apr 14 2015, 7:16 am; edited 2 times in total

Yael3

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 6:35 am

I asked my rov and he said no. His issue is that turning on lights will become "habit" and then you'll start doing it at shul or other peoples' houses where they have regular switches.

saw50st8

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 7:05 am

Yael3 wrote:

I asked my rov and he said no. His issue is that turning on lights will become "habit" and then you'll start doing it at shul or other peoples' houses where they have regular switches.

I hate these answers. We eat out at restaurants even though we can get used to eating out and then maybe go to McDonalds Rolling Eyes

myself

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 7:11 am

Yael3 wrote:

I asked my rov and he said no. His issue is that turning on lights will become "habit" and then you'll start doing it at shul or other peoples' houses where they have regular switches.

My thoughts exactly.

mille

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 7:20 am

Yael3 wrote:

I asked my rov and he said no. His issue is that turning on lights will become "habit" and then you'll start doing it at shul or other peoples' houses where they have regular switches.

To be quite honest, it's very sad that your rabbi has that little faith in you/people in general. If a rabbi is going to say unequivocally "no", at least have a better reason than that. There's plenty of things that are "habit" but we somehow magically do not manage to break shabbat or kashrut or whatever.

Raisin

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 7:25 am

Yael3 wrote:

I asked my rov and he said no. His issue is that turning on lights will become "habit" and then you'll start doing it at shul or other peoples' houses where they have regular switches.

this is actually one of the arguments a lot of people have against an eruv.

Sanguine

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 7:36 am

I don't like the salesman - he acts like he's doing it as a service out of Chesed...

But Machon Tzomet has been looking for solutions for years http://www.zomet.org.il/eng/
I remember more than 30 years ago when I was in Israel for the year on an educational tour hearing from them how they created a moving electric circuit so that patients can press the call button in a hospital bed on Shabbat (the idea so impressed me that I still remember it). (The idea is exactly what this man's "original" idea is)

I love my Chagaz from Tzomet which lets me light gases on my stove on Yontif from a Yahrzeit candle and then the gas simply stops flowing at a set amount of time extinguishing the flame (It was great on Friday Pesach when I lit all four gases to cook and warm things before Shabbat ).

We don't have too many Shabbos Go-ys in Israel so Tzomet has been looking for solutions for year

water_bear88

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 7:36 am

I doubt we'd switch to using it without the approval of the Tzomet Institute- I'm pretty sure they speak for the DL community in Israel.

That said, I would love to see these used in hospital wards where patients are cholim she-ein bahem sakana. I wouldn't mind having them for kids' bedrooms either for those times that someone accidentally turns the light on, inevitably near the beginning of a 2- or 3-day yom tov- I just don't see a high likelihood of that becoming permitted.

imaima

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 7:45 am

myself wrote:

My thoughts exactly.

Well I don't agree. In my world, all light switches don't look the same. This switch has a specific look and shape, it won't be quickly confused with others.

How about people stretching their kids' age of chinuch till G-d knows when because they need someone to turn on the light for them? Is it better?

Sanguine

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 7:49 am

water_bear88 wrote:

I doubt we'd switch to using it without the approval of the Tzomet Institute- I'm pretty sure they speak for the DL community in Israel.

Tzomet has known the technology for years (I saw it 35 years ago) so there must be a reason why they never made a lightswitch. Look how many products they have http://www.zomet.org.il/eng/?CategoryID=250

Sanguine

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 7:55 am

And I use my dishwasher on Friday night http://www.zomet.org.il/eng/?C.....D=105 (but I "cheated", I had a DW man cut the wire for half the price of their button - Their technology my cheaper way).

imasoftov

Tue, Apr 14 2015, 7:56 am

Yael3 wrote:

I asked my rov and he said no. His issue is that turning on lights will become "habit" and then you'll start doing it at shul or other peoples' houses where they have regular switches.

If that's the only problem I will donate the switches to my shul. I'm not in the habit of adjusting other peoples' lights.