Posted on 08/30/2007 9:43:52 AM PDT by MotleyGirl70
“They persuaded their board to spend $11,000 to convert the elevator so it automatically stops on each of the four floors during the Sabbath.”
This is so they don’t have to push a marked-floor button in the car?
Who pushes the wall button to call the elevator?
Or does it just go up and down all day, stopping at each floor, opening the doors and waiting a short time before closing the doors and continuing its never-ending journey?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Exactly.
Orthodox Jewish friends that I grew up with who now live in Israel tell me that on the Sabbath the elevators are continually running and stop on every floor. When their father was terminally ill several years ago my wife and I visited frequently on the Sabbath because the family here in Dallas couldn't drive to visit him (though his wife sometimes did when the situation was urgent).
Since telling us to do something -- like open a door or push an elevator button -- was also considered work, we would walk with them and they would wish for something like this, "I wish this elevator door would open and we could go to the 7th floor." That way they did no work and I was able to function as sort of a Shabbat Goy.
Strange customs, yes, but the family has been close friends for more than 30 years and has always treated me as a son. The father and I did quite a bit of work together (we were in related fields) during the 1990s and he LOVED to talk about religion. The first question he asked me when I introduced him to my future wife was, "Does she go to church?" Even though I was a Christian, he considered it very important for me to a practicing, faithful Christian.
Would be waaayyy cheaper to hire a shabbeth goy.
Same basic idea, different name. It is VERY strictly construed among the truly Orthodox.
The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
All of religion was made for us - G-d doesn't need to be worshipped by a bunch of highly imperfect, short-lived hairless apes, even if they have souls and some reasonable amount of intelligence (in a very few cases).
Seriously, you are correct. Religion exists for us - for us to see what is better and to struggle learn from our mistakes and to improve ourselves. In Judaism, it is said that when G-d created all of the souls, He offered to let them/us stay with Him in eternal bliss immediately - but the souls said that they didn't want something they didn't deserve, that that they wanted to earn that privilege. So says the story...
...which is why we have to get up everyday and go to school or work, put up with assorted morons, bigots, power-hungry petty dictators, cruel and/or stupid co-workers, siblings, spouses, Hillary Clinton, etc. It is all in how you deal with these uhhh, challenging, aspects of life that determines your fate. Sometimes it is VERY challenging.
Lol. Then the old people living near the elevators would complain about the "dinging" the elevator does all day when the door opens at each floor ;)
I didn't mention this in my earlier post, but when I was toddler we lived in an Orthodox neighborhood in San Antonio and my mother did the same thing for the elderly Orthodox Jewish widow next door. Like mother, like son. Now, most Orthodox homes that I've been in not only have double kitchens (one for meat, one for milk) but have timers on their lights so that they automatically turn themselves on when it's the Sabbath.
As a Christian, I would agree that some of these practices go too far. However, a Jewish Sabbath is truly a Holy Day and a time to spend with your family instead of working, running errands, staring at the TV, and doing fix-it projects. I feel that we Christians have lost that.
The entire idea behind the restrictions is to avoid the creation of new energy and get one to truly rest in a contemplative sense. That means abstaining from any manner of work and finding renewal within oneself and attaining peace with God. The Shabbat is about welcoming God into our lives and remembering one day out of the week to a take a break from our human needs and to making Him the center of our attention and our thoughts. When Jews observe Shabbat, they are honoring the Creator by following His example."
GoldState, I totally agree. But suppose someone is in a one room apartment and the light bulb burns out. Do you suppose that The Creator would begrudge them replacing it rather than sitting in darkness, not being able to read, etc.
And DallasMike, Having a “Shabbos Goy” perform the supposed prohibitions for you is a direct violation.
For such is perceived as a servant and the Torah stipulates that you should do no work, neither your servant.
To pay someone else to perform Shabbat "violations" on your behalf is more wrong than doing it yourself.
Wait for some anti-Semite liberal to equate this with Islamic terrorism.
You can’t kindle a fire on the Sabbath (but you can use the coals from an existing fire); electrical stove being the modern equivalent.
The autos, of course, being internal combustion, kindle a fire with the spark plugs and gas.
You have a couple of issues with the elevator.
First, most modern elevators generate electricity from going down (capture the energy of raised elevator). This is work.
Second, “kindling a fire” is prohibited. Electricity, being the modern equivalent of a fire falls under this category.
Opinions also differ in these regards, so people opt for the most coservative position, some of whcih (IMHO) are stupid; problem of not having a “Sanhedrin” to cut a lot of the (IMHO) B.S. out.
Ah, ye old “Sabbath made for man, not man for the Sabbath” argument.
;-)
Not to mention ugly Jew-hate masqueraded by quoting from the New Testament.
Technically, it is not a violation of the Sabbath for non-Jews to do work on the Sabbath, as they are not under the convenent of Mt. Sinai.
That said, I, too, agree the Sabbath goy deal is stupid.
I did things like read under the hallway “Exit” sign in college.
It was sarcasm on my point. Catch up.
Yes, I follow.
Every FR thread mentioning Jews or Israel seems to end up bashing Jews and demanding their conversion.
What would be the point of the original article at all except to mock religious Jews.
Jerry Seinfeld’s dad would have finessed this.
< g >
I tend to agree.
Water off a ducks back.
Just answer the serious questions seriously and much of the stupidity goes away.
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