Historical analysis on the use of Electricity on the Sabbath and yom tob Traditional Judaism is known for being

up-to-date with science. It is of no surprise that Sephardic sages teach that Jewish law never contradicts science. This is established in the Torah and has been the glory of the Jewish nation for millennia. Many times it has been found that the Jewish oral law has preceded the general scientific knowledge. In fact, many of the astrophysical discoveries and cosmological theories that were developed during the 20th century were already hinted at in the ancient midrashim of Rabbi Eliezer. Since the Torah and science have accompanied each other throughout the ages, new challenges to applications of Jewish law continuously arose. Technological breakthroughs helped facilitate the Jewish way of life, but also stirred new questions and controversies. It is no doubt that the discovery of electricity and its use has revolutionized humanity and its course. However, many questions arose in the ashkenazic circles of Europe in the late 19th century as to the use of electricity on the Shabbath and the yom tob. A historical analysis of such questions will allow the reader to understand how electricity became to be considered a toledah of fire according to Jewish law. It is the intention of the writer to delve through the pages of the Talmud, Mishneh Torah, and some 20th-century rabbinic responses on the matter. In the end, every Jew will have the freedom to choose the way in which he will walk, as the Talmud states, Baderekh sheAdam rose lelekh bah, molikim oto.

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Shabbath 40b ' " ' ' , 21 Hilkhot Shabbath Mishneh Torah Chapter ESH & UR , , -- , : , ; , . , . . , -- : , -- , , : , ; --, . , --, : , ; , , , -- , . , , , -- . . -- , , . , . , : , -- , , , ; , . , . , ; , , -- , ; , . ., . ,

Geonim Maimonides interprets that heating a metal for metalworking (metallurgy) is considered asur on Shabbath. -- ,

20th Century Ashkenazic Responsa Literature

Molid
According to Rashi "creating anything new" is prohibited under a rabbinic category called molid. Rabbi Yitzchak Schmelkes suggested applying molid to the generating of electrical current. Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and Hakham Ben-Sion Hay Uzziel disagree with this application. Among other reasons, they state that molid is a limited category that cannot be expanded past the definitions the Talmudic Sages imposed. Hakham Ben-Sion Hay Uzziel stated in his response work Mishpate Uzziel, that lighting with electricity is not a derivative of fire, but heat caused by friction. ( ; , , -Beit Yitzchak 2:31)

(Mishpate Uzziel heleq alef)

Bonh The Chazon Ish wrote that closing an electrical circuit to create current was Biblically prohibited as building, and opening a closed circuit was the corresponding prohibited act of destroying. - Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach disagreed vigorously with the Chazon Ish. Among other reasons, he claimed that building and destroying must be fundamentally permanent in nature, whereas most electrical devices are routinely turned on and off at will, and the person who turns it on usually intends that it will be turned off at some later point, and vice versa. Building an item that is fundamentally temporary in nature is at most a rabbinic prohibition, and Rabbi Auerbach claimed that opening and closing a circuit is like opening and closing a door, which is not prohibited at all. "

Makh Bapatish
Closing a circuit to render a device operational might also violate the Biblical prohibition of makh bapatish (striking the final hammer blow, i.e. completing a product). The argument would be that an electrical device is not complete because it does not function unless the electricity is turned on. Rabbi Auerbach and Rabbi Yaakov Breisch strongly disagree because makh bapatish refers to a fundamentally permanent act that requires great effort, and turning on an electrical appliance is fundamentally temporary because it will be turned off, and requires a minimal amount of effort. (Minhat Shelomo pp 101-102). Combustion Combustion is a chemical reaction that occurs between a fuel and an oxidizing agent that produces energy, usually in the form of heat and light.

Conduction of Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire. In addition, electricity encompasses less familiar concepts such as the electromagnetic field and electromagnetic induction. Electric charge is a property of certain subatomic particles, which gives rise to and interacts with the electromagnetic force, one of the four fundamental forces of nature. Charge originates in the atom, in which its most familiar carriers are the electron and proton. It is a conserved quantity, that is, the net charge within an isolated system will always remain constant regardless of any changes taking place within that system. Within the system, charge may be transferred between bodies, either by direct contact, or by passing along a conducting material, such as a wire. The informal term static electricity refers to the net presence (or 'imbalance') of charge on a body, usually caused when dissimilar materials are rubbed together, transferring charge from one to the other. The presence of charge gives rise to the electromagnetic force: charges exert a force on each other, an effect that was known, though not understood, in antiquity. A lightweight ball suspended from a string can be charged by touching it with a glass rod that has itself been charged by rubbing with a cloth. If a similar ball is charged by the same glass rod, it is found to repel the first: the charge acts to force the two balls apart. Two balls that are charged with a rubbed amber rod also repel each other. However, if one ball is charged by the glass rod and the other by an amber rod, the two balls are found to attract each other. These phenomena were investigated in the late eighteenth century by Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, who deduced that charge manifests itself in two opposing forms. This discovery led to the well-known axiom: likecharged objects repel and opposite-charged objects attract. The force acts on the charged particles themselves, hence charge has a tendency to spread itself as evenly as possible over a conducting surface. The magnitude of the electromagnetic force, whether attractive or repulsive, is given by Coulomb's law, which relates the force to the product of the charges and has an inverse-square relation to the distance between them. The electromagnetic force is very strong, second only in strength to the strong interaction, but unlike that force it operates over all distances. In comparison with the much weaker gravitational force, the electromagnetic force pushing two electrons apart is 1042 times that of the gravitational attraction pulling them together.

There are seven fundamental methods of directly transforming other forms of energy into electrical energy:

Static electricity, from the physical separation and transport of charge (examples: triboelectric effect and lightning) Electromagnetic induction, where an electrical generator, dynamo or alternator transforms kinetic energy (energy of motion) into electricity, this is most used form for generating electricity, it is based on Faraday's law, can be experimented by simply rotating a magnet within closed loop of a conducting material (e.g Copper wire) Electrochemistry, the direct transformation of chemical energy into electricity, as in a battery, fuel cell or nerve impulse Photoelectric effect, the transformation of light into electrical energy, as in solar cells Thermoelectric effect, direct conversion of temperature differences to electricity, as in thermocouples, thermopiles, and Thermionic converters. Piezoelectric effect, from the mechanical strain of electrically anisotropic molecules or crystals Nuclear transformation, the creation and acceleration of charged particles (examples: betavoltaics or alpha particle emission)

Legislation according to Talmud

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Minhag Rabbi Auerbach rejects all the fundamental reasons for prohibiting electricity as cited above, except for turning on an incandescent light which is considered lighting a fire. Nonetheless, he prohibits using any electrical appliances absent great need because Shabbat-observant Jews have traditionally acted on the assumption that using electricity on Shabbat is prohibited. Thus, according to this opinion, the prohibition of electricity on Shabbat is a minhag without a substantive reason in the laws of Shabbat. Conclusion As it has been shown above, it is evident that the use of electricity on the Shabbath and/or yom tob should not considered a derivative of either esh or uhr. The Talmud Babli establishes the parameters for the derivatives of fire. In fact, fire is inducted by a chemical process called combustion, which requires the element of oxygen. On the other hand, electricity is conducted by the movement of electrons in atoms, creating friction, which in turn produces heat. According to this fact, it would appear that the prohibition of using something without intent before the yom tob does not restrict the use of electrical stoves. However, on the Shabbath it is clear that the use of electrical stoves for cooking should be prohibited because of the principle of bishul laid down in the Torah. In terms of using electricity for lighting, it is clear that on yom tob there is no problem, and since none of the ab melakhot that appear to restrict its use on the Shabbath are held by Talmudic law, it would be safe to permit its use. However, none of the ab melakhoth should be performed with electrical appliances, such as using an electronic blender, juicer, meat grinder, and hand mixer. The local authority should investigate each and every matter, prohibiting whatever electronic appliance would violate the Shabbath precepts. In addition, one should take precaution if one were to use the television, radio, or the internet, since this could disturb the spirit of the Shabbath. Today, the majority of orthodox Jews prohibit the use of electricity on Shabbath and yom tob as a matter of law based on a tradition on not using it. However, as it has been shown above, customs and traditions cannot be legislated as permanent laws after Rab Ashe and Rabina. Perhaps there was doubt in some rabbinic circles in the early 20th century in regards to the use of electricity on these festive days, nevertheless, by now we should have a clear scientific knowledge as to how electricity is conducted and how to distinguish it from the Talmudic terms esh and uhr. Our Sages of blessed memory have laid the principle of applying the Torah and Talmudic laws in every generation and circumstance through the thorough scrutiny of every matter before prohibiting or permitting a matter. For sure, the use of electricity on the Shabbath and yom tob will not be the last of its sort.
Yehonatan Elazar-DeMota 20 Shebat 5772 Dominican Republic