A Shabbat elevator is an
elevator
An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They a ...
which works in a special mode, operating automatically, to satisfy the
Jewish law requiring Jews to abstain from operating electrical switches on
Shabbat (the Sabbath). These are also known as Sabbath or Shabbos elevators.
Description and history
Jewish law forbids those who observe it from undertaking various forms of "work" on the Sabbath, including that they may not create sparks or fires. In recent times, this has been extrapolated to also cover the operation of electrical equipment.
An elevator may be marked with a sign noting that it is specially configured for Shabbat observance. There are several ways the elevator works (going up and down), stopping at every floor, stopping at alternate floors, or rising to the top floor and stopping, while going down.
Shabbat elevators can be found in areas of large Jewish population in Israel, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ukraine (
Dnipro), Argentina, and Brazil. They are found in hotels, hospitals and other health institutions, apartment buildings, and sometimes in synagogues.
The Israeli
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
passed a special Shabbat elevator law in 2001, ordering the planning and building of all residential buildings, and public buildings which have more than one elevator, to install a control mechanism for Shabbat (
Shabbat module Sabbath mode, also known as Shabbos mode (Ashkenazi pronunciation) or Shabbat mode, is a feature in many modern home appliances, including ovens, dishwashers, and refrigerators, which is intended to allow the appliances to be used (subject to vario ...
) in one of the elevators.
In this mode, an elevator will stop automatically at every floor, allowing people to step in and out without having to press any buttons. Otherwise, Jewish law prohibits observers from using an elevator on Shabbat in the usual manner, because pressing the button to operate the elevator closes a circuit, which is one of the
activities prohibited on Shabbat
The 39 Melakhot ( he, ל״ט אבות מלאכה, '' lamed-tet avot melakhah'', "39 categories of work") are thirty-nine categories of activity which Jewish law identifies as prohibited by biblical law on Shabbat. Many of these activities are al ...
and may also indirectly lead to "writing" of the new floor number in the display.
In 2009, some
Haredi
Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
rabbis, led by Rabbi
Yosef Shalom Elyashiv
Yosef Shalom Elyashiv ( he, יוסף שלום אלישיב; 10 April 1910 – 18 July 2012) was a Haredi Rabbi and ''posek'' (arbiter of Jewish law) who lived in Jerusalem. Until his death at the age of 102, Rav Elyashiv was the paramount lead ...
, published a religious injunction forbidding the use of Shabbat elevators.
Some interpreters believe that a non-Jew known as a "
Shabbos goy" may not be employed to press the buttons and hold the door for Jews in buildings that do not have Shabbat elevators, unless the Jew has great difficulty using the stairs themselves. As discussed in that article, a non-Jew is not expected to keep the Sabbath like a Jew. Therefore, Jewish law holds that a Jew may benefit from work performed by a non-Jew only if the non-Jew performs this work for his own good and of his own free will.
A borderline case is when a Jew hints to a non-Jew that he wants him to perform a certain service without explicitly asking him. These borderline cases are not considered legitimate by many Orthodox rabbis.
Criticism
There are three categories of criticism against using a Shabbat elevator:
Elevators may be prohibited anyway
Some ''halakhic'' authorities rule that this classic Shabbat elevator does not fully overcome the relevant ''halakhic'' issues. Among other things, a person's weight on a downward-traveling elevator can be considered to partly cause the elevator's descent, and, therefore, the activation of all electric circuits which come into play as a result of it. Thus, when a person ''ascends'' in an elevator, the motor that moves the counterweight down and the elevator car up is operating to counteract the rider's weight, which is a hindrance to make operation of the elevator require more work-energy. However, when a person ''descends'' an elevator, the person's weight helps move the elevator in the downward direction, so the person is considered physically to cause the elevator to move down. Accordingly, some authorities permit ascending in an elevator, but prohibit descending.
The movement of an elevator may also indirectly cause other events to take place that are forbidden under Jewish law. For example, in many systems, one light turns off, and another light turns on, as the elevator passes from one floor to the next. Some commentators find that turning on incandescent floor lights violates a Biblical prohibition against kindling a fire on the Sabbath.
[Exodus 35:3]
Torah Exodus 35:3
/ref> The Zomet Institute
The Zomet Institute ( he, מכון צומת, ''Makhon Tzomet'', Tzomet being an acronym for ''Tzevtei Mada veTorah'' ( he, צוותי מדע ותורה), lit. ''Teams of Science and Torah'') is an Israeli high-tech non-profit organization speciali ...
and the Institute for Science and Halacha modify elevators to avoid these issues.
Permitted, but discouraged
An elevator in a Shabbat mode is an example of a legal workaround, where seemingly "forbidden" acts can be performed by modifying the relevant technology to such an extent that no law is actually violated. Usage of a Shabbat elevator by those who are otherwise capable is considered by some rabbinical authorities as a "violation" of Shabbat; therefore, many Orthodox Jews might prefer to walk up or down the stairs instead of taking an elevator.
Energy waste from continuous operation
In comparison to a normal elevator, which remains stationary until needed, Shabbat mode has the side effect of using more energy running the elevator car sequentially up and down every floor of a building, repeatedly servicing floors where it is not needed. For a tall building with many floors, the car must move on a frequent enough basis so as to not cause undue delay for potential users who will not touch the controls as it opens the doors on every floor up the building.
See also
* 39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat
* Electricity on Shabbat
Many Jews who strictly observe Shabbat (the Sabbath) refrain from using electrical devices on Shabbat, with the exception of passive enjoyment of devices which were set up before Shabbat. Various rabbinical authorities have pronounced on what ...
* Driving on Shabbat
* Paternoster elevator
A paternoster (, , or ) or paternoster lift is a passenger elevator which consists of a chain of open compartments (each usually designed for two people) that move slowly in a loop up and down inside a building without stopping. Passengers ca ...
Bibliography
* Bannett, D. R. ''The Sabbath Elevator Question, Elevators and Shabbat'', The Institute for Science and Halacha.
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References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shabbat Elevator
Shabbat innovations
Elevators