A ''grama'' (

Talmudic Aramaic Jewish Babylonian Aramaic was the form of Middle Aramaic employed by writers in Lower Mesopotamia between the fourth and eleventh centuries. It is most commonly identified with the language of the Babylonian Talmud (which was completed in the ...

: גרמא) in ''

Halacha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

'' (Jewish law) is something that was indirectly caused by something else but which outcome is not guaranteed. A classic example given to this is of vases that are filled with water and put around a fire in order to extinguish it. This is allowed on Shabbat because it is indirect and because the fire might not extinguish.

In civil law

There is a rule that ''grama benizakin patur''. If somebody caused financial harm to somebody else via an action that was not guaranteed to harm them, the person cannot be forced by a

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

to pay, although he might be morally obligated to.

On Shabbat

An action which indirectly causes a Shabbat violation due to ''grama'' has a lower level of prohibition than an action which violates Shabbat directly. In situations of great need, a ''grama'' violation can be permitted. Based on this, a variety of electrical devices have been developed which violate Shabbat only through ''grama'', and thus can be used in situations of great need, for example in health care or security.

References

Jewish law principles Talmud concepts and terminology Aramaic words and phrases {{Law-term-stub

In civil law

On Shabbat

See also

References