[Script Info]
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[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.00,0:00:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.00,0:00:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Jewish Law Corner
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.00,0:00:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hello everyone. In today's "Jewish Law Corner", we'll discuss
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.00,0:00:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a frequently asked question: "what is this Shabbat timer I've seen in many homes?"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.00,0:00:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"If turning on electricity is prohibited on Shabbat,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.00,0:00:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what does it matter if a timer is turning it on? What are you trying to pull?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.00,0:00:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Who are you trying to fool?" So what is the meaning of this practice?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.00,0:00:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"And, if a Shabbat timer can be used to turn electricity on, what if I connect
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.00,0:00:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my sound system, my TV and radio to a Shabbat timer and watch my favorite TV show?"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.00,0:00:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So let me explain: the Torah says, "you shall not do any work" (Ex.20:10)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.00,0:00:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the Ten Commandments states that a Jew is not allowed to work on Shabbat.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.00,0:00:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a different lesson, we spoke at length about the definition of "work", but the
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.00,0:01:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Torah says "you shall not", meaning YOU shall not, the Jew shall not. But when we
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.00,0:01:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,use a Shabbat timer, and set it before Shabbat to turn things on and off
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.00,0:01:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on Shabbat, we are actually behaving properly on Shabbat. We have lights,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.00,0:01:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,air conditioning, everything we want for Shabbat, by way of a Shabbat timer.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.00,0:01:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We set it to the latest time we think we may need the lights or air conditioning on.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.00,0:01:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In this manner, a Jew can keep Shabbat in accordance with Jewish Law, because he
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.00,0:01:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is doing no work. A mechanical system is in place to turn things on and off automatically,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.00,0:01:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so he doesn't have to. The fact that he set it before Shabbat is not a problem, because
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.00,0:01:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he did that work on a weekday; he did no work on Shabbat. The Torah said "YOU (as a Jew)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.00,0:01:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,shall do no work on Shabbat". So it is crucial that each person spend the small sum
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.00,0:02:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,necessary on a Shabbat timer for his home, thereby resolving many issues with Shabbat prohibitions.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.00,0:02:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the obvious question then is, "if this is so, what's wrong with plugging in other devices?"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.00,0:02:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I have a radio and I want to hear news and other programs. Or TV, or anything else I
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.00,0:02:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have in my home," he asks. There are things he wants to hook up to a Shabbat timer,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.00,0:02:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and thereby listen, or watch something. Jewish Law states that some things are prohibited because of
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.00,0:02:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Marit Ayin"--the negative impression they will make. This concept must be explained.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.00,0:02:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example, one should not hang laundry on Shabbat. Why? I didn't wash the clothes
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.00,0:02:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on Shabbat. I have clothes that were washed before Shabbat. I just want to hang them out to dry.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.00,0:02:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Jewish Law prohibits this. Why? Because people will suspect you. When people see
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.00,0:02:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a woman hanging clothes on Shabbat, the sense is that she just finished washing them
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.00,0:03:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and now she's hanging them. Some might say, "I don't care what people think of me."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.00,0:03:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Let them suspect me. I know that I'm beyond reproach. I haven't sinned against my Creator."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.00,0:03:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Let them think whatever they want." But this approach is wrong. The Torah states,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.00,0:03:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"you shall be vindicated from Hashem and from Israel" (Num.32:22). Not just from Hashem--
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.00,0:03:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,also from Israel. One is not allowed to enable others to suspect him. He can't come along and say,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.00,0:03:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"but I forgo my own honor. Let them suspect me." Since, when people suspect that he is
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.00,0:03:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,doing prohibited work on Shabbat, it is not his own honor in question here, but rather Hashem's honor.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.00,0:03:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The more Jews are seen washing their clothes on Shabbat--at least according to the suspicions--
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.00,0:03:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this diminishes Heaven's honor--Hashem's honor. It is one less person faithful to his Creator, according to
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.00,0:03:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Torah He has given. But when you are careful not to be suspected, even when you're beyond reproach,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.00,0:03:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"you shall be vindicated from Hashem and from Israel", everyone knows there is another loyal soldier
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.00,0:04:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the Creator's regiment. Therefore the suspicion, the "Marit Ayin" in Jewish Law, is a very important
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.00,0:04:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,concept, to the point where one must not hang his washings on Shabbat, in case people suspect him
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.00,0:04:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of having done laundry on Shabbat. So someone will come along and say, "Fine, I won't hang it
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.00,0:04:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in public view. I'll hang it up in my bathroom. I'll lock the door, shut the window, pull down the blinds.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.00,0:04:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'll hang my laundry there." Jewish Law states that anything that is prohibited because of Marit Ayin
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.00,0:04:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is prohibited even in the most private inner rooms. And, as we all know, that any simple government
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.00,0:04:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,law can't have loopholes. It's dangerous. if there's a loophole, you never know how far people will take it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.00,0:04:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Therefore, we erect a fence, as it were, around the prohibitions in Jewish Law, and everything that is
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.00,0:04:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,prohibited because of Marit Ayin will be prohibited even in the innermost chamber.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.00,0:05:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Therefore, electrical systems--such as a radio, stereo system or TV--that are not usually plugged
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.00,0:05:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into a Shabbat timer, must not be used on Shabbat with a timer because of Marit Ayin.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.00,0:05:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When people see a light turning on or off inside your home, or the air conditioner turning on or off,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.00,0:05:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everyone knows a Shabbat timer is being used to turn the light on and off. But when electrical systems
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.00,0:05:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that cannot be connected to a Shabbat timer--for an additional reason we will discuss shortly--
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.00,0:05:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they cannot be plugged into a Shabbat timer, then anyone who sees a TV on inside your home,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.00,0:05:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or hears the radio, what does he think to himself? According to today's norms, what does he think?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.00,0:05:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Does he say, "he probably plugged it in to a Shabbat timer?" Or does he think, "this person turned it on
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.00,0:05:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,during Shabbat". We all know that, according to current norms, the sense would be that this person
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.00,0:06:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,turned something on during Shabbat. This is an instance of Marit Ayin. And everything that is
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.00,0:06:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,prohibited because of Marit Ayin is prohibited even in the innermost chamber. Furthermore, it's also
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.00,0:06:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,important to note that, with regards to Israeli TV, or Israeli government radio stations, or any pleasure
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.00,0:06:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one derives from work that is done on Shabbat, that a Jew does on Shabbat somewhere else, then
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.00,0:06:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the perspective of Jewish Law, an additional problem arises on Shabbat.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.00,0:06:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As we all know, if a Jew cooked food on Shabbat, that food is prohibited on Shabbat. Even if a non-Jew did
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.00,0:06:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,work on Shabbat for a Jew--meaning he didn't do it for himself (because if he did it for himself, I am
Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.00,0:06:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,allowed to benefit from it)--but if he did it for a Jew, then a Jew is not allowed to benefit from it on
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.00,0:07:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Shabbat, because it was done for him. With regard to radio and TV, and any other instrument that,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.00,0:07:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at that same moment, some Jew somewhere is doing prohibited work on Shabbat so that I may enjoy
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.00,0:07:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the result of that work, according to Jewish Law, I may not benefit from that work done on Shabbat.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.00,0:07:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is another reason for the prohibition of enjoying work done on Shabbat even when I
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.00,0:07:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,plugged the device into a Shabbat timer before Shabbat. Whenever we discuss instruments
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.00,0:07:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and there are others who are doing prohibited work on Shabbat for me, I cannot take pleasure from this.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.00,0:07:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everything I mentioned earlier, the subject of Marit Ayin, pertains to work that is not the product
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.00,0:07:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of anyone's Shabbat desecration, whether Jew or non-Jew, anywhere in the world, for my benefit.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.00,0:07:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But rather, for example, if I connect my DVD player to a timer, no one else in the world is doing work,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.00,0:07:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just the Shabbat timer. This would seem to be the same situation as the lighting and air conditioning.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.00,0:08:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the truth is, that although a person viewing a recording in such a manner is
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.00,0:08:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not transgressing as severely as a person who actively desecrates Shabbat, and
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.00,0:08:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,turns something on with his bare hands, the issue of Marit Ayin nevertheless still exists,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.00,0:08:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and everything prohibited because of Marit Ayin is prohibited even in the innermost chamber.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.00,0:08:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the halachic explanation of all aspects of using a Shabbat timer with the electronic devices
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.00,0:08:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,commonly used nowadays. I'd like to wrap up by wishing all of us wonderful, blissful Shabbatot,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.00,0:08:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,surrounded by our loved ones. I thank you all and wish you great success.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.03,0:08:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Translated by Onkelus Translations www.onkelus.com onkelus@gmail.com