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.
These laws were made by men attempting to put into detail the laws created by God.
The Law was given to the Jews to demonstrate that it was impossible to be saved by the Law, only condemned by it.
Thanks :-)
Oh no I wasn't trying to imply you said that. Just thinking out loud. Sorry for the confusion.
Excellent website. As a Jew brought up in a non-Orthodox home and outside the Jewish community, my religious education has been more through looking up answers for questions gentiles ask than through any formal instruction. In the past several years, that has been one of my main teachers.
Ahhh. Thanks for your explanation. I reiterate that my intention was to learn, not make fun of, and thanks to you, I did.
"And frankly, I don't think God really cares a heck of a lot, or is offended very much, about oven operation on any given day."
Upon learning of the rules and tradition behind these oven guidelines, I'm inclined to agree.
I'm in big trouble if God does 'care' about such frivolities.
OK. Here's a wager:
Memorize the five books of Moses. Obey every word. Never fail to live up the the letter of every single word written. Do everything they say to do in exactly the way they say to do it. Every day.
Do this for one year.
Succeed, and then get back to me.
Don't get me started on Whirlpool!
Here's a thought- What if a microwave or oven has an auto-time feature? Couldn't an observant Jew get around the rules by programming it the day before to come on and turn off on its own during the Sabbath?
Some years ago I thought about converting but it was impossible to keep kosher in my house. Also, I attended reform congregations and the one I was going to now has mostly female rabbi staff :( It's been a while since I've immersed myself in Jewish religious texts seeing as how I couldn't remember the word 'talmud'!! LOL
Can't do it. Don't need to do it. The sin debt has been paid.
It's commemoration of the creation of the world.
G-d ceased his labors on the seventh day, and refraining from creative and productive tasks one day a week, and focusing instead on the spiritual facets of life, is a way of remembering that. And it is something that would benefit everyone, not just Jews.
There is no oral torah. There is the torah and then there are commentaries on the torah, but the torah is the Old Testament and nothing else.
Every major cooking appliance has a sabbath mode, and has had one for some time. Orthodox Jews need cooked food, too.
Serious good eats, indeed!!!
When I was expecting my youngest jedi...I craved yeasty items...like bread, doughnuts, and yes, even beer, which I normally never drink! My husband got me a six-pack of that non-alcoholic kind and it lasted the entire pregnancy.
Well, to get back on to the subject, there was an Amish bakery in Choteau, Oklahoma that had baked goods that were just scrumptious. I would drive the 45 minute drive, pick up a pie pan full of cinnamon rolls and eat the entire pan of rolls before I got home. Ha ha!
The young Amish lady that worked there was also expecting and a few months later (and 40lbs heavier) I went back and she had also had her son just a few days after I had mine.
Now my son was still nursing and I was contemplating starting him on a bit of cereal...cautiously, you know. Well, when I went in and saw her sitting there with her baby, I had to laugh. She was scooping up fingerfuls of mashed potatoes and stuffing them in her baby's mouth!
Last time I went to Choteau, that place was shut down. :-(
What can I say? We gentiles tend to be curious. :)
You apparently didn't know what God's own pronouncements were regarding fire on the Sabbath, so perhaps they're not adding as much detail as you think.
Besides, it would seem that they were on the right track, if Jesus is to be believed. His Sermon on the Mount revealed that, in fact, the spirit of the laws are far more restrictive than their simple reading suggests. Granted, he then proceeded to ridicule them for their hypocrisy, but that is a different matter.
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