To the Editor:

Rabbi Gil Student is correct in his evaluation of the “Kosher Switch” according to mainstream Orthodox Rabbis. The two very questionable claims promulgated by the Kosher Switch marketing literature are: (1) that the design improves on the earlier designs of grama switches in a significant way from a halachic perspective and (2) that “brand name” leading Orthodox Rabbis, such as Rav Neuwirth, Of Blessed Memory, the author of the Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchata, have approved the device for casual use.

In fact:

(1) Although the US Patent Office (USPTO) has recognized that the “Kosher Switch” is novel and worthy of patent protection, the USPTO is not a Rabbinic Halachic arbiter. Therefore, novelty does not necessarily translate into any Halachic benefit for the user of the switch. In fact, according to Rav Yisrael Rosen of the Zomet Institute who first introduced this approach 40 years ago, the novelty introduced does not change the action from grama to “non-grama.” If previous switches relied on the permissibility of grama, this one does too. And grama has only been permitted in extenuating circumstances for purposes of tending to the sick and in service of security services tending to potentially life-threatening security needs. R. Rosen has published this recently on the Zomet website at http://www.zomet.org.il/eng/?CategoryID=198&ArticleID=489.

(2) Rav Rosen has also provided documentation that Rav Neuwirth had only permitted this very technology to be used for the extenuating circumstances described above. Apparently, there are now counter-claims by the marketers of the Kosher Switch that Rav Neuwirth privately supported this switch for casual use on Shabbat. Anyone who has followed the use of this technology for the last 40 years finds these Kosher switch Halachic claims of support not credible. As Rabbi Student noted in his article, starting about 40 years ago, both Rabbi Halperin’s Institute of Science and Halacha and the Rabbi Rosen’s Zomet institute have worked closely with the leading Halachic authorities on these matters to introduce technological mitigations to minimize Shabbat desecration for those facing life-threatening situations in the security or health field, or for chronic illness. It was well known that Rav Neuwirth and Rav Shlomo Zalman Orbach both of Blessed Memory approved the leniency of these switches only for such circumstances. Many institutions in Israel, such as Shaare Zedek Hospital have installed this technology precisely for these purposes and for nothing more. Some in our own community use motorized wheel chairs specially built in conformity with these technological leniencies to allow them to be ambulatory on Shabbat. Nothing has changed since these limitations on the use of the grama switch were publicized. As was also noted by Rabbi Student, there are even mainstream Halachic opinions that rule all of these switches to be no better than direct action switches due to a Halachic analysis of what constitutes direct action and the fact that setting up a system which always performs a certain result is considered direct action even if on the microscopic level light is being manipulated instead of electrical contacts and even if there is a statistical random delay. According to these latter opinions, the present Kosher Switch is certainly no better than a regular light switch.

On a philosophical note, it is ironic that there is such a strong call for allowing the casual use of this switch. For those who revel in Sabbath observance and welcome the respite of the Shabbat, it is a magical time when the world stops and we get to rejoice in coming closer to our spiritual connections with G-d, with our family, and with the Torah. How lucky we are that the ringing of cell phones, the pounding of keyboards for email and Facebook, the twanging of yet another text message disappear from our lives for 25 hours. The sanctity of welcoming the Shabbat Queen is in the arrival of this spiritual solitude and in the way it demands that we prepare for it ahead of time. Our preparations start even on Wednesday of every week; Challah is baked, food is cooked, hot water is left on the special stove cover or urn, and—yes—our lights set on Shabbat clocks or just left on. I admit sometimes finding the anguish of that one light I forgot to turn on or off, but this small challenge is a reminder to us that we yield our lives to the great solitude of Shabbat and in doing so we find a greater spirituality. By all means let’s put our technology into the service of our lives but at the same time we can seek humility to balance the frenetic pace with which we try to dominate the world every day. The old-fashioned Shabbat clock is just such a balanced tool for our humble spiritual pursuit of Shabbat in the comforts of our home, and there is nothing wrong with acknowledging and conforming to the limitations of good ideas.

Thanks,
Rabbi (Dr.) Michael Kramer
Yonkers, NY

To the Editor:

Mike Karlin’s hypersensitivity to any positive claims regarding Clinton reflects the literal blinders worn by those espousing the party line. The recent Republican candidates include Ted Cruz, the Joe McCarthy twin, whose sole accomplishments were reading Dr. Seuss and shutting down the government; Scott [and his] complete failure to improve the economy in his state compared to his neighbors; Ryan [and his] budget proposals balanced by asterisks; Jeb Bush, [who relies] on notorious neocons, e.g., Wolfowitz; Perry and his “gravitas” glasses; and the comedic tag team of Cain, Palin, and Bachman. Favorites have to include Cheney-Bush, they of the cartoonish swaggering, “Mission Accomplished,” and “the war that would pay for itself,” whose adventure in Iraq has resulted in the destabilization of the Middle East. Mike is too bright to merely serve as a mouthpiece for Fox “news” speaking points.

Sincerely,
Earl Sandor
Teaneck