Congregation Ohr Torah in West Orange hosted an evening with Jonah Ottensoser on Sunday night, February 24. Ottensoser, a former aerospace engineer who is currently an engineering consultant for the Star-K, gave a talk titled “Technology and the Observant Jew” that focused more specifically on his area of expertise in home appliances.

At the Star-K, Ottensoser has been working with appliance manufacturers on features aimed at Jewish consumers. Among the features he has worked on is Sabbath Mode, which brings a degree of functionality that can be used on Shabbat and Yom Tov to modern appliances. He has been featured in publications as varied as Mishpacha Magazine and Wired.

Through the course of the talk, Ottensoser addressed the halachic issues with all manner of home appliances from ovens and stoves to instant hot water faucets and tankless hot water heaters. In describing the issues he delved into how he has helped apply the psak of Rabbi Moshe Heinemann and other Star-K poskim in those appliances that have had special features added to them. He also pointed out some appliance features that have not been addressed and if/how they should be used on Shabbat and Yom Tov. Ottensoser answered many questions along the way.

Ottensoser’s visit was prompted by Ohr Torah member and former president Elia Weixelbaum, who met Ottensoser when he discovered a bug in a feature on a newly purchased oven. After several conversations with the Star-K and the appliance manufacturer, some replacement parts and firmware upgrades, the bug was fixed and a connection was made.

By David Goldstein

David Goldstein is the president of Congregation Ohr Torah in West Orange. In his spare time he works as a software quality engineer and spends time with his family.