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>Allowing electricity in Shabbat will completely change the Jewish life, and the amount of impact the community has on the individual. you only think this beca
by TchoBeer 5y ago
>Allowing electricity in Shabbat will completely change the Jewish life, and the amount of impact the community has on the individual.
you only think this because electricity was _already_ prohibited. Imagine a world where electricity was not prohibited on shabbat (as could very well be our world if the rabbis decide it so). We would not say "electricity destroys the spirit of shabbat" because not using electricity on shabbat is only part of the spirit after it's prohibited. The reason why it was banned in the first place, as far as I could tell, was that when electricity was new incandescent lightbulbs were basically its only common application (and those are obviously ma'avir [lighting a fire]), so the rabbis of the time gave a very generalized ban on electricity which stuck.
- sevrinsky 5y agoThe grounds for probihiting electricity usage on Shabbat have gone through something of a metamorphosis, as rabbinic scholarship on the nature of electricity has expanded and the mechanisms used by electrical devices have evolved. Given my digital-oriented profession and lifestyle, if it were not for the fact that all electronic devices are forbidden, I would find myself drifting back to work-related tasks ("oh, let's just see if this gets it to compile") to the point of losing Shabbat entirely. The blanket ban has saved my Shabbat and is part of the day's special distinctiveness.