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The Jewish Law Corner
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Hello everyone. In today's "Jewish Law Corner", we'll discuss
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a frequently asked question: "what is this Shabbat timer I've seen in many homes?"
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"If turning on electricity is prohibited on Shabbat,
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what does it matter if a timer is turning it on? What are you trying to pull?
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Who are you trying to fool?" So what is the meaning of this practice?
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"And, if a Shabbat timer can be used to turn electricity on, what if I connect
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my sound system, my TV and radio to a Shabbat timer and watch my favorite TV show?"
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So let me explain: the Torah says, "you shall not do any work" (Ex.20:10)
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One of the Ten Commandments states that a Jew is not allowed to work on Shabbat.
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In a different lesson, we spoke at length about the definition of "work", but the
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Torah says "you shall not", meaning YOU shall not, the Jew shall not. But when we
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use a Shabbat timer, and set it before Shabbat to turn things on and off
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on Shabbat, we are actually behaving properly on Shabbat. We have lights,
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air conditioning, everything we want for Shabbat, by way of a Shabbat timer.
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We set it to the latest time we think we may need the lights or air conditioning on.
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In this manner, a Jew can keep Shabbat in accordance with Jewish Law, because he
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is doing no work. A mechanical system is in place to turn things on and off automatically,
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so he doesn't have to. The fact that he set it before Shabbat is not a problem, because
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he did that work on a weekday; he did no work on Shabbat. The Torah said "YOU (as a Jew)
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shall do no work on Shabbat". So it is crucial that each person spend the small sum
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necessary on a Shabbat timer for his home, thereby resolving many issues with Shabbat prohibitions.
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But the obvious question then is, "if this is so, what's wrong with plugging in other devices?"
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"I have a radio and I want to hear news and other programs. Or TV, or anything else I
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have in my home," he asks. There are things he wants to hook up to a Shabbat timer,
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and thereby listen, or watch something. Jewish Law states that some things are prohibited because of
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"Marit Ayin"--the negative impression they will make. This concept must be explained.
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For example, one should not hang laundry on Shabbat. Why? I didn't wash the clothes
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on Shabbat. I have clothes that were washed before Shabbat. I just want to hang them out to dry.
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Jewish Law prohibits this. Why? Because people will suspect you. When people see
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a woman hanging clothes on Shabbat, the sense is that she just finished washing them
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and now she's hanging them. Some might say, "I don't care what people think of me."
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"Let them suspect me. I know that I'm beyond reproach. I haven't sinned against my Creator."
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"Let them think whatever they want." But this approach is wrong. The Torah states,
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"you shall be vindicated from Hashem and from Israel" (Num.32:22). Not just from Hashem--
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also from Israel. One is not allowed to enable others to suspect him. He can't come along and say,
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"but I forgo my own honor. Let them suspect me." Since, when people suspect that he is
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doing prohibited work on Shabbat, it is not his own honor in question here, but rather Hashem's honor.
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The more Jews are seen washing their clothes on Shabbat--at least according to the suspicions--
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this diminishes Heaven's honor--Hashem's honor. It is one less person faithful to his Creator, according to
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the Torah He has given. But when you are careful not to be suspected, even when you're beyond reproach,
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"you shall be vindicated from Hashem and from Israel", everyone knows there is another loyal soldier
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in the Creator's regiment. Therefore the suspicion, the "Marit Ayin" in Jewish Law, is a very important
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concept, to the point where one must not hang his washings on Shabbat, in case people suspect him
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of having done laundry on Shabbat. So someone will come along and say, "Fine, I won't hang it
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in public view. I'll hang it up in my bathroom. I'll lock the door, shut the window, pull down the blinds.
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And I'll hang my laundry there." Jewish Law states that anything that is prohibited because of Marit Ayin
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is prohibited even in the most private inner rooms. And, as we all know, that any simple government
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law can't have loopholes. It's dangerous. if there's a loophole, you never know how far people will take it.
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Therefore, we erect a fence, as it were, around the prohibitions in Jewish Law, and everything that is
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prohibited because of Marit Ayin will be prohibited even in the innermost chamber.
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Therefore, electrical systems--such as a radio, stereo system or TV--that are not usually plugged
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into a Shabbat timer, must not be used on Shabbat with a timer because of Marit Ayin.
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When people see a light turning on or off inside your home, or the air conditioner turning on or off,
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everyone knows a Shabbat timer is being used to turn the light on and off. But when electrical systems
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that cannot be connected to a Shabbat timer--for an additional reason we will discuss shortly--
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but they cannot be plugged into a Shabbat timer, then anyone who sees a TV on inside your home,
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or hears the radio, what does he think to himself? According to today's norms, what does he think?
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Does he say, "he probably plugged it in to a Shabbat timer?" Or does he think, "this person turned it on
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during Shabbat". We all know that, according to current norms, the sense would be that this person
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turned something on during Shabbat. This is an instance of Marit Ayin. And everything that is
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prohibited because of Marit Ayin is prohibited even in the innermost chamber. Furthermore, it's also
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important to note that, with regards to Israeli TV, or Israeli government radio stations, or any pleasure
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one derives from work that is done on Shabbat, that a Jew does on Shabbat somewhere else, then
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from the perspective of Jewish Law, an additional problem arises on Shabbat.
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As we all know, if a Jew cooked food on Shabbat, that food is prohibited on Shabbat. Even if a non-Jew did
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work on Shabbat for a Jew--meaning he didn't do it for himself (because if he did it for himself, I am
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allowed to benefit from it)--but if he did it for a Jew, then a Jew is not allowed to benefit from it on
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Shabbat, because it was done for him. With regard to radio and TV, and any other instrument that,
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at that same moment, some Jew somewhere is doing prohibited work on Shabbat so that I may enjoy
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the result of that work, according to Jewish Law, I may not benefit from that work done on Shabbat.
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And this is another reason for the prohibition of enjoying work done on Shabbat even when I
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plugged the device into a Shabbat timer before Shabbat. Whenever we discuss instruments
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and there are others who are doing prohibited work on Shabbat for me, I cannot take pleasure from this.
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Everything I mentioned earlier, the subject of Marit Ayin, pertains to work that is not the product
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of anyone's Shabbat desecration, whether Jew or non-Jew, anywhere in the world, for my benefit.
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But rather, for example, if I connect my DVD player to a timer, no one else in the world is doing work,
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just the Shabbat timer. This would seem to be the same situation as the lighting and air conditioning.
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But the truth is, that although a person viewing a recording in such a manner is
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not transgressing as severely as a person who actively desecrates Shabbat, and
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turns something on with his bare hands, the issue of Marit Ayin nevertheless still exists,
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and everything prohibited because of Marit Ayin is prohibited even in the innermost chamber.
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This is the halachic explanation of all aspects of using a Shabbat timer with the electronic devices
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commonly used nowadays. I'd like to wrap up by wishing all of us wonderful, blissful Shabbatot,
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surrounded by our loved ones. I thank you all and wish you great success.
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Translated by Onkelus Translations www.onkelus.com onkelus@gmail.com