But yesterday Deb bought a new stove, or a cooker as we'd say back in the mother country. Before she used her flexible friend to buy this amazing device that does everything apart from cleaning itself......oh wait it does that too.......I happened to glance at the features and noticed the following :
Certified Sabbath Mode.
Hmmm this was a new feature to me and so, thinking it might have been developed by the fast food businesses to get families into their premises on a weekend, I went off for a quick surf.
I found this little gem......
Turning on an electric stovetop to warm food will initiate the flow of electricity to the burner. The halachic authorities have determined that electricity used as heat or light is considered fire. Therefore by turning on the burner one is creating a new fire. … Turning the dial on your electric stovetop may also initiate a light or icon on a control panel which would otherwise be off. This may be a transgression of kosev, writing, as well as molid. Even when the electric burner was left on from before Yom Tov, if one wishes to adjust the temperature of the burner there is also reason for concern. This is because, as a rule, one does not know if there is electric current running to the element at the time they wish to make the adjustment. Even when there is an indicator light showing that a burner is on, this may not be an indication that electricity is flowing to the burner at that moment. Rather it is indicating that the element is set to maintain the desired setting which it will maintain by going on and off at pre-determined intervals. As a result when one adjusts the temperature upward on Yom Tov they may be initiating the flow of electricity at a time that it was otherwise not flowing. As mentioned earlier, this would be prohibited because of molid.
Catholics everywhere, rejoice. You are not alone !
I really wasn't aware that many centuries before Ben Franklin went kite flying, ye olden Jews were cooking delicious hot meals on their electrically powered stoves. Who'd have thunk it.
Anyway, to get around this perplexing problem, modern day chosen ones (as opposed to the Chosen One who is now managing in Spain) have put their little skull caps together and come up with the solution.....the certified Sabbath mode for stoves. These stove ovens are designed to bypass many of the practical and halachic problems posed by the modern oven by using a random delay.
This feature allows one to raise the temperature on Yom Tov at any time, regardless of when power is flowing to the oven. This is because when one adjusts the dial or keypad, it is not directly causing the temperature to change. These "instructions" are being left for the computer to read at random intervals. The computer will then follow the "instruction" to raise the temperature. Therefore, this action is only causing a grama, an indirect action, which in turn will cause the temperature to be raised.
Sabbath mode ovens are designed to bypass many of the practical and halachic problems posed by the modern oven…. Some Sabbath Mode ovens are designed to work with a random delay. This feature allows one to raise the temperature on Yom Tov at any time, regardless of when power is flowing to the oven. This is because when one adjusts the dial or keypad, it is not directly causing the temperature to change. These "instructions" are being left for the computer to read at random intervals. The computer will then follow the "instruction" to raise the temperature. Therefore, this action is only causing a grama, an indirect action, which in turn will cause the temperature to be raised.
I can't say I fully understand this bypass as I was off school on the day advanced oven techniques were being explained. Despite this, I just find it hilarious.
I find it hilarious when religions get their followers to worry about the most trivial things. And where does it end ? Can they turn on the kitchen light to see how the certified Sabbath mode is working on the stove ? Probably not. It's that damn electricity again.
So there you have it. Not really a rant but a post with a tinge of sadness (nay, disbelief) at the lengths people go to when modern interpretations are made about religious laws that were drawn up centuries ago before the invention or development of the very devices now needing to be circumvented.
I think the title of my previous post could've been used again for this one !!
5 comments:
I think that if there is a God, then He is sitting with His head in His hands, weeping. He could of course be weeping with laughter.
Although I am not religious I respect anyone who has real faith. But religions should either follow religious rules - or decide they're no longer appropriate and do away with them. What is happening here is what I would describe as Cheating in a "can't see the wood for the trees" way. Does anyone really worship a God who cares how and when you switch your oven on? Are there not FAR more important things to care about?
I agree with Daphne. Mind you, the Israelites/Jews were always burdened with a multitude of rules almost from the beginning (See Leviticus) but the sad thing is that it is so often the obsessive adherance to outdated rules and interpretations that have caused and still cause so many of the problems in the world.
I think I have read somewhere that the Old Testament contains not just 10 commandments, but 613 laws in all. The Jews said to Moses, "All that God has said, we will do." The arrogance and presumption in that statement was their first mistake. The catch, I suppose, is this: which laws are God-breathed and which laws are man-made?
I am also mindful of an old proverb, "strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."
I am also aware that James wrote in the New Testament, "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."
So this post must be a lesson in either (a) how Jews can become completely paranoid trying to keep not only the letter but also the spirit of the law, or (b) why the rest of us should be forever grateful for the concept of grace.
But even St. Paul said, "Shall we sin that grace may abound? God forbid!"
P.S. - It's really difficult to read the quoted material. Could you change the color, perhaps?
Ok ?
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