Posted on 05/17/2005 12:34:50 PM PDT by FoxPro
Please be aware that there are restrictions in the use of ovens and stoves on the Sabbath and Holidays. If you are unfamiliar with the laws of keeping food warm on the Sabbath or cooking on the Holidays, please call your Rabbi. Please note that when the Holiday and Sabbath coincide, the Sabbath laws prevail. See your owner's manual for instructions on operating the Sabbath mode. Before first use of a new oven be sure to wash the racks and interior of the oven thoroughly with warm water and soap to remove any coating oil.
COOKTOPS:
On the Sabbath, a gas flame or electric heat may not be initiated, adjusted or turned off.
On the Sabbath, a "blech" should be used to cover the flame in addition to covering the controls of the cooktop. For the gas burners and coiled electric burners, use a standard "blech". The manufacturer does not recommend putting a "blech" on the glass electric cooktop surface. Instead, just the controls should be covered.
On the Holidays, a gas flame or electric heat may not be initiated or turned completely off. For gas cooktops, raise and lower the temperature as required for cooking. For electric cooktops adjusting the temperature is permitted at any time following the instructions in the owner's manual (because there is a delay between the request and implementation).
During a power failure, gas cooktops will remain on, whereas electric cooktops will shut off and remain off when the power returns.
The glass electric cooktops cannot be kashered for Passover. For the rest of the year, be sure to wipe the cooking surface clean between meat and dairy use.
OVENS:
The oven temperature may not be initiated, adjusted or turned off on the Sabbath.
On the Sabbath, in lieu of a "blech", the oven controls should be covered. (Be careful not to cover vent openings.)
All food should be placed in the oven before the Sabbath begins, since none may be placed in the oven during the Sabbath.
On the Sabbath, the oven door may only be opened once, all the food removed, and then closed. On the Holidays, the oven door may be opened/closed at any time as often as desired.
On the Holidays, the temperature may be adjusted (but not initiated or turned off) at any time following the instructions in the owner's manual (because there is a delay between the request and implementation).
These ovens have a timed bake feature in the Sabbath mode. This feature can only be initiated before the Sabbath/Holiday. Once timed bake goes off, the oven cannot be used again for that Sabbath/Holiday.
These ovens have a delay start feature in the Sabbath mode. For use on the Sabbath, all food must be in the oven before the Sabbath begins.
After recovery from a power failure, all these ovens will stay off. They will remain in the Sabbath mode, however, there will be no cooking capability.
WARMING DRAWERS:
The drawer temperature may not be initiated, adjusted or turned off on the Sabbath.
On the Sabbath, in lieu of a "blech", the drawer controls should be covered. (Be careful not to cover vent openings.)
Food should be placed in the warming drawer before the Sabbath begins, as in a regular oven, since none may be placed in the drawer during the Sabbath.
On the Sabbath, the drawer may only be opened once, all the food removed and then closed. On the Holidays, the drawer may be opened/closed at any time as often as desired.
On the Holidays, raising the temperature is not permitted because there is no indication when power is on to the heating elements. Lowering the temperature is permitted when necessary for food preparation.
If the power fails when the warming drawer is ON, when the power returns, the drawer will return to its previous ON setting.
BAKE-N-WARM™ OVENS:
The oven temperature may not be initiated, adjusted or turned off on the Sabbath.
On the Sabbath, in lieu of a "blech", the oven controls should be covered. (Be careful not to cover vent openings.)
Food should be placed in the Bake-n-Warm™ oven before the Sabbath begins, since none may be placed in the oven during the Sabbath.
On the Sabbath, the oven door may only be opened once, all the food removed and then closed. On the Holidays, the oven door may be opened/closed at any time as often as desired.
On the Holidays, the temperature may be adjusted (but not initiated or turned off) at any time following the instructions in the owner's manual (because there is a delay between the request and implementation).
After recovery from a power failure, these Bake & Warm™ ovens will stay off.
Boy, we are so alike. We should really meet up one day.
I converted to Reform Judaism years ago (with a female Rabbi). My nod to not working on the Sabbath is not cooking complicated meals (take out is good), no housework, and no homework. While I'm not sure how Orthodox would view using the computer, I try to keep the Friday night computer usage for fun.
As a grad student, even as a regular working person, it is so easy to let the world intrude 24/7. I am glad to have the Sabbath, even my miserable little way of keeping it, to force me to set some time away from work and the secular. Also, when my son was younger, Friday nights were family nights - pizza, a movie on tv, time to talk to each other. Good stuff.
I don't keep Kosher; my feelings are Hitler killed 6 million Jews, I doubt I'm going to hell for mixing meat and milk. I could be wrong. : )
Look, if you don't buy it, fine. But if you consider yourself bound by the laws of the Pentateuch, then "yes". I mean, why would he have laws against kindling fires on the Sabbath, which quite obviously restricted cooking, if he didn't intend for them to be followed, at least back then?
According to Jewfaq.org, may Jews, especially among the Orthodox, hope that will take place.
Modern utilities present other problems.
Not that modern technology can't over come them, but the market might be a tad limited.
There's a web site I go to when I have questions regarding Judaism. It's called http://www.jewfaq.org
Specifically, here's what they have to say about observing Kosher (or Kashrut) laws:
Why Do We Observe the Laws of Kashrut?
Many modern Jews think that the laws of kashrut are simply primitive health regulations that have become obsolete with modern methods of food preparation. There is no question that some of the dietary laws have some beneficial health effects. For example, the laws regarding kosher slaughter are so sanitary that kosher butchers and slaughterhouses have been exempted from many USDA regulations.
However, health is not the only reason for Jewish dietary laws. Many of the laws of kashrut have no known connection with health. To the best of our modern scientific knowledge, there is no reason why camel or rabbit meat (both treyf) is any less healthy than cow or goat meat. In addition, some of the health benefits to be derived from kashrut were not made obsolete by the refrigerator. For example, there is some evidence that eating meat and dairy together interferes with digestion, and no modern food preparation technique reproduces the health benefit of the kosher law of eating them separately.
In recent years, several secular sources that have seriously looked into this matter have acknowledged that health does not explain these prohibitions. Some have suggested that the prohibitions are instead derived from environmental considerations. For example, a camel (which is not kosher) is more useful as a beast of burden than as a source of food. In the Middle Eastern climate, the pig consumes a quantity of food that is disproportional to its value as a food source. But again, these are not reasons that come from Jewish tradition.
The short answer to why Jews observe these laws is: because the Torah says so. The Torah does not specify any reason for these laws, and for a Torah-observant, traditional Jew, there is no need for any other reason. Some have suggested that the laws of kashrut fall into the category of "chukkim," laws for which there is no reason. We show our obedience to G-d by following these laws even though we do not know the reason. Others, however, have tried to ascertain G-d's reason for imposing these laws.
In his book "To Be a Jew" (an excellent resource on traditional Judaism), Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin suggests that the dietary laws are designed as a call to holiness. The ability to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil, pure and defiled, the sacred and the profane, is very important in Judaism. Imposing rules on what you can and cannot eat ingrains that kind of self control, requiring us to learn to control even our most basic, primal instincts.
Donin also points out that the laws of kashrut elevate the simple act of eating into a religious ritual. The Jewish dinner table is often compared to the Temple altar in rabbinic literature. A Jew who observes the laws of kashrut cannot eat a meal without being reminded of the fact that he is a Jew.
I think the real reason I didn't convert to judaism is because I hated the really intrusive questions about my ethnicity :( Plus I'm addicted to the internet and no way I could take a day off from that :o)
As a lawyer, I would say that an electric stove or microwave wouldn't break this rule since no fire is created. Unless you interpret fire to mean heat of any kind.
Did Yaweh have a gas oven?
I interpret it as part of a set of rules that nobody was able to abide by, so Christ came and made a new convenant. I'm not trying to start a fight, that's just what I think.
Classic Judaeism: Obey the letter of the law and totally ignore the spirit of the law.
If you take a dump on the Sabbath, are you allowed to flush?
propaganda...
its here, its real, its done...
Is this any crazier than worshiping a semi-divine god-man and kneeling before his graven image?
i never put meat in my diary. LOL
Yes, but they were still the laws he placed upon His chosen people before Christ came. Laws they were actually expected to follow, whether they did so perfectly or not. Are you suggesting that God placed no actual importance on those laws and was therefore just being sadistic? I hope not.
Thus it should not be difficult to understand why some who do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah would still feel bound to those laws.
My guess would be, as leaving it unflushed is unhealthy, yes.
OK, smart boy, why don't you just educate us all about the spirit of Exodus 35:1-3?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.