Orthodox judaism vs. Satans automatic lightswitch

[Broomstick]

And technically, hiring a Shabbos Goy is prohibited.

Oh, absolutely - the shabbos goy can do things as a favor but must do them unasked and without compensation.

Why this obsession with sparks? I realize that light switches can cause small sparks when they open or close, but there are plenty of ways to avoid that sparking. For example, are solid state relay switches okay? They don't produce a spark. Or you could have the switch in a small vacuum-sealed chamber, so there's no air to ionize; these cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 apiece.

This is all totally arbitrary, isn't it?

Yes and no - there is a rationale of sorts for some of this stuff, even if it won't necessarily make a lot of sense to outsiders. Some things are avoided to the point of essentially forbidden because Jews in question don't even want to give the appearance of violating the rules. For example, the prohibition of serving meat and milk together is well known (for God said don't serve the calf in the milk of its mother) but some refuse to serve a mix of fowl and dairy, or even fish and diary, because it might appear to violate the rule to someone not present for the entire preparation of the meal.

So, while your argument about non-sparking lightswitches is valid on a physics level it may not satisfy some of the most observant Jews to whom those switches are not easily distinguishable from the prohibited ones. Me, I think God should be able to discern the difference, and isn't that what counts? But, as always with religion, there's a social aspect involving people as much if not more than actual concern about God.

These Jews actually rip off sections of toilet paper in advance of the Sabbath, as pulling sections off of the toilet paper roll would constitute doing work on the Sabbath.

As a young boy, that was one of my father's Friday afternoon chores, to pre-tear the toilet paper for use on the sabbath.

Apparently opening the door to your house on the Sabbath is acceptable to them, but ONLY if you are leaving your house to go attend religious services.

Basically, that is the case with the most observant.

They also eat cold food on the Sabbath that is prepared the day before.

Not always - my Orthodox relatives had an extensive collection of sterno-warmed chafing dishes allowing warm food well into the afternoon on Saturday. One of their prize possessions was a very large coffee urn warmed by sterno. But if the sterno goes out no fair lighting again, the food goes cold and you just live with it.

But now reading that toilet paper is pre-torn and bathing is actually avoided by some, I guess it isn't too far off to say that some believers avoid doing much of anything at all that isn't involved with worship in some way (traveling, etc.)

Exactly. You either worship or you rest. That is all that you do on the sabbath. The one exception is actions required to preserve life - ambulance drivers and doctors, for example, can perform life-saving work on the sabbath.

there is a whole thing with putting a rope around a community so that those who are keeping Shabbat can travel within it... I don't recall what it's called or the particulars.

There is some controversy about that roping off business, apparently, but I'm not conversant enough with the particulars to really explain it much. Apparently, within the roped area some activities are permitted that aren't outside of it, but other Jews say the same rules should apply everywhere.

One thing to keep in mind is that there is not some sort of "Jewish pope" or "supreme council" anywhere. Jews can and do disagree with how to best observe the rules.

On the other hand, there is the somewhat well-known trivia fact that having sex on Shabbat is considered a 'double mitzvah' (though only within marriage)-one for having sex within marriage (or something like that) and another for enjoying Shabbat. If it's unprotected sex, it's a triple, for attempting procreation.

That's because in Judaism sex is not bad or dirty. It is supposed to be strictly within marriage, but there's not as much bullshit about sin and guilt surrounding it as in Christianity.

Hunh. That explanation was never given to me during my Jewish education-though I was raised Conservative, not Orthodox. However, that still doesn't explain the 'driving' aspect-how is driving exerting change on the environment?

Driving requires the burning of fuel. There's a fire inside the engine.

So some don't use air conditioning? Surprising.

Correct. Although an exception would be allowed for someone who's health or life would be threatened by not using air conditioning. Jews requiring electrically-powered life support in order to live don't have the machines shut off on the sabbath - preserving life takes precedence.

Still, do they forgo heat in the winter on Shabbat?

It wouldn't surprise me if some do. Most homes won't cool down to dangerous levels in 24 hours anyway, not in most climates. If the situation did become life threatening then the Jews would be obligated to start the heat up again because, again, preserving life takes precedence, but if it's not a threat to life then they just have to deal with it.

[Oskuro]

So the Sabbath is religiously mandated lazyness?

Regarding the couple on the OP, I don't really think it matters that they are Jewish or not, I think it's more an issue of them being assholes, in the sense that they'll go to any lengths, and use any means at their disposal, to get rid of whatever annoyance they've got their sights on. This time it's a religiously motivated annoyance.

[Broomstick]

So the Sabbath is religiously mandated lazyness?

I suppose you can look at it that way. But remember that in the bad old days people worked fucking hard every other day of the week, hard manual labor, from before dawn until after dusk. A day of enforced rest isn't a bad idea under those circumstances.

Jews are also required to rest their animals on the sabbath as well, given draft animals and the like a day off as well. Dairy animals would have to be milked (health issues again) but aside from that animals, servants, slaves, everyone would have the day off.

[Samuel]

Driving requires the burning of fuel. There's a fire inside the engine.

Not if it is electric or hydrogen!

So the Sabbath is religiously mandated lazyness?

Hey, it is pretty popular. My old kindershol teacher said that every religion afterwards had to add on days off in order to get people to join up.

[Soldier of Entropy]

That's because in Judaism sex is not bad or dirty. It is supposed to be strictly within marriage, but there's not as much bullshit about sin and guilt surrounding it as in Christianity.

Yes, I am aware of that.

Hunh. That explanation was never given to me during my Jewish education-though I was raised Conservative, not Orthodox. However, that still doesn't explain the 'driving' aspect-how is driving exerting change on the environment?

Driving requires the burning of fuel. There's a fire inside the engine.

Yes, but, as I stated, that's a refusal to adapt and a blind adherence to the letter of the law. The simple fact is, driving requires less effort and less work than walking. Also, would that mean that an electric car would be acceptable, or would that violate the spirit of the law? I find it rather strange, personally, that so many Orthodox Jews mix word and spirit of the Shabbat laws (You can't turn on the light because it makes a spark, but you can't drive the car because it's analogous to riding a horse, for example).

So some don't use air conditioning? Surprising.

Correct. Although an exception would be allowed for someone who's health or life would be threatened by not using air conditioning. Jews requiring electrically-powered life support in order to live don't have the machines shut off on the sabbath - preserving life takes precedence.

Still, do they forgo heat in the winter on Shabbat?

It wouldn't surprise me if some do. Most homes won't cool down to dangerous levels in 24 hours anyway, not in most climates. If the situation did become life threatening then the Jews would be obligated to start the heat up again because, again, preserving life takes precedence, but if it's not a threat to life then they just have to deal with it.

Right, I know about the life caveat.

[Oskuro]

I suppose you can look at it that way. But remember that in the bad old days people worked fucking hard every other day of the week, hard manual labor, from before dawn until after dusk. A day of enforced rest isn't a bad idea under those circumstances.

Just to clarify, although humorously, I didn't mean it in a negative way. To someone as ignorant of jewish customs as I am (I recently read on what contitutes kosher and was amazed) all this sounds outlandish at best.

[Samuel]

I suppose you can look at it that way. But remember that in the bad old days people worked fucking hard every other day of the week, hard manual labor, from before dawn until after dusk. A day of enforced rest isn't a bad idea under those circumstances.

Just to clarify, although humorously, I didn't mean it in a negative way. To someone as ignorant of jewish customs as I am (I recently read on what contitutes kosher and was amazed) all this sounds outlandish at best.

It is what happens when people, instead of writting down principles, come up with rules based on said principles and those rules are treated as never changing, ignoring the principles behind them or why they were all started in the first place.

[Melchior]

hydrogen

While technically there isn't any combustion going on in a fuel cell, they seem to have a very generous definition of "fire" (also, if people see you drive, they might think that you're working). Actually, now that I think about it, there is combustion even in the orthodox jew's digestive tract, but I suppose that, being it a matter of remaining alive, it's an accepted exception from the rule.
I find the kind of dogmatic thought behind the whole thing exceedingly unsettling, anyway.

[Coyote]

Some do-there is a whole thing with putting a rope around a community so that those who are keeping Shabbat can travel within it... I don't recall what it's called or the particulars.

What they've done recently in some Orhtodox areas in Israel is tie ropes or ribbons around trees, street signs, etc. They're color coded, so if you're from, say, "Theodore Hertzl Block" you stay within the yellow ribbons. If you're from the neigboring "Ben-Gurion Block" you stay within the blue, etc.

However, that still doesn't explain the 'driving' aspect-how is driving exerting change on the environment?

Ask an environmentalist how driving exerts a change on the environment! I think it's just proving mastery over the tools of man, or something. Let your car rest as you would have let your draft animals rest Back In The Day.

Also, logically, if no change can be exerted on the environment, wouldn't that mean that people should live outside on Shabbat?

Well, your house is already built; living outside would, once again, change the environment. Especially when it's time to poop. There's a point of diminishing returns, after all, even among the Orthodox!

...even the Orthodox can adapt. So why not here?
Probably so as not to throw everything away entirely-- at that point, there is no point. If Shabbat becomes like any other day, there's no point to Shabbat, and contemplating God's works for the previous 6 days, etc.

Also, bear in mind that this strict adherence is only on Shabbat, not all the time. I joked with the Orthodox that they were part of the "Amish Reserves" because they only were "weekend Luddites". During normal days of the week they drive cars, use air conditioning, fly in planes, etc.

So some don't use air conditioning? Surprising. Still, do they forgo heat in the winter on Shabbat?

Some really are that extreme. The Shomer Shabbos ("Defenders of Shabbat"; "Shomer" means "guard" or "guardian"). They guard Shabbat to keep it holy, guard it from encroaching secularism and erosion of significance. Some real extremists have not only two sets of plates but separate refrigerators. I've heard of (but not met) wealthy Orthodox in the USA that have houses custom built with two separate kitchens so as not to inadvertently mix meat & milk. It gets ridiculous, to the point where I (and indeed, many of the Orthodox Jews I knew in Israel) felt that some of these people were more concerned with following the rules than contemplating truly useful messages. One Rav I knew and respected lamented that "they write six chapters about how long a girl's skirt should be, and only one chapter about treating people ethically".

But the Orthodox I knew in Israel were almost entirely Mizrachi; namely Moroccan (I studied at the Yeshiva Beit-Moriah in Beer-Sheva) and pretty laid back; they followed the rules but were not uptight or wrapped up to the point of losing sight of reality. The "Modern Orthodox" movement that aren't into the dickitude (that I saw).

[frogcurry]

I always thought the idea was you didn't do business type work, not that you basically were supposed to do nothing at all for 15% of your life, to the extent of not operating light switches. It also raises a whole bunch of questions in my mind about where you draw the line. It seems potentially very arbritary (arbritary and illogical judgement in a religion? never!) on what is acceptable or not, in example;

- If I had a robotic vacuum cleaner which I programmed the day before to clean the house on the sabbath, am I breaking the sabbath? If not, then I could program a whole bunch of robots to do things, etc. Its no more work for me than presetting up a light or cooker for the sabbath, but it does result in a fair amount of physical activity in the house just not by me.
- If I run out of pre-torn toilet paper and have an incident of ....explosive indigestion.... does God let me tear some more in this case? Its not life threatening, just very discomforting...
- Surely any sex on the sabbath MUST be unprotected, since removing a condom from its wrapper and using it is more work than ripping toilet paper.

[Soldier of Entropy]

I think it's just proving mastery over the tools of man, or something. Let your car rest as you would have let your draft animals rest Back In The Day.

But that's nonsense; a car is inanimate, so it doesn't need to rest! Driving does not violate the true spirit of the law (don't work); it merely violates a strange halfway-between spirit and letter of the law (don't ride a horse-or the modern equivalent).

Probably so as not to throw everything away entirely-- at that point, there is no point. If Shabbat becomes like any other day, there's no point to Shabbat, and contemplating God's works for the previous 6 days, etc.

Except that there could still be plenty differentiating it. The point is not to work, so don't work. Don't do anything that you perceive as labor. Instead, spend the day in relaxation and reflection. It's still very different from the week, just without the pointless twistings of the law.

[Coyote]

Like it's been said-- it's a religion, so some things will be arbitrary. And with technology, they're making up th erules as they go along. New technology is a challenge: a heater or air conditioner left on automatic has, so far, not been a problem as long as you don't change the controls on Shabbat itself. Now, technically speaking, there's no real difference between that and a Roomba, or a robot that turns on your stove for you at a pre-set time, etc. However, at some point, someone will doubtlessly decide that a certain level of robot activity is the same as hiring a "Shabbos Goy" and prohibit it-- and that will force a review. How far down the line do we backtrack robotic activity? Right now I think it is all still up in the air.

Yes, obviously a car does not need "rest" but a car takes the place of a draft animal, which did. So the spirit of "resting" was carried over. The animal or the car obviously has no idea why or that it is "resting" on a given day; it is for the human to understand.

Bear in mind that the prohibition on eating milk & meat together literally comes from a phrase in the Bible where it said "thou shalt not eat a calf that has been boiled in it's mother's milk". That has been interpreted as a prohibition on mixing any meat & dairy. I've heard some say that because the prohibition is on "boiled" calf & milk, then cold cut sandwiches might be acceptable. Go figure.

I always bear in mind the insightful words of my archaeology professor at Ben-Gurion University. I took a Biblical Archaeology course there and to be honest it was one of the best courses of my life. Prof. Steve Rosen was very much devoted to having evidence, and rigorous examination of facts that can be verified. He told me how the archaeology teams can always figure out which building in a series of ruins was a temple: because it's the building that doesn't make any sense. Nothing to indicate it was for grain storage; a livestock area; a bedroom; a kitchen; etc... if it appears the building was just a room with no discernible purpose, it likely was a temple.

A lot of this stuff came from the years and may even have had a basis in practicality, but now makes no sense but the tradition is carried on.

[Eulogy]

By this couple's standards, breathing and digesting would be work! The former is drawing in oxygen so your body can burn (Oh snap!) carbon to get energy , and the latter involves dissolving food, extracting the useful parts and excreting the rest. Coyote's right; by their logic, we should all be dead.

[Akkleptos]

How do these fuckers expect to live in normal society if they're so strict? Shouldn't they go isolate themselves, like the Amish?

Precisely. If you're going to be so strict about these things - because you think it's serious business-, why live in an environment that makes complying with these rules difficult?

... many Orthodox Jews walk miles to synagogue on the Sabbath, , rather than drive, because starting the ignition creates a spark (and also because driving is considered analogous to riding a horse, also forbidden on the Sabbath)

I thought observant Orthodox Jews were not allowed to walk more than one stadium during the Sabbath.
A stadium being an ancient Greek measure of distance, based on the length of such a course and equal to about 185 meters (607 feet), that is.

It is what happens when people, instead of writting down principles, come up with rules based on said principles and those rules are treated as never changing, ignoring the principles behind them or why they were all started in the first place.

So true. Form over essence.

a car is inanimate, so it doesn't need to rest! Driving does not violate the true spirit of the law (don't work); it merely violates a strange halfway-between spirit and letter of the law (don't ride a horse-or the modern equivalent).

Driving is work. Just ask any lorry- or cab driver.

Also, wouldn't cellular glucose metabolism and energy consumption count as some sort of combustion as well?

[Broomstick]

Also, wouldn't cellular glucose metabolism and energy consumption count as some sort of combustion as well?

It is necessary to sustain life, therefore it is exempt from the Sabbath work prohibition.

[Ace Pace]

Instead of nitpicking the dozens of factual mistakes in this thread made about Orthodox jews, I'll focus on this particular post.

So the Sabbath is religiously mandated lazyness?

Yes. Shabbat is meant to be a day of rest, letting you think over the week and your life. It's full of things designed to help you do that. Among them, Parashat HaShavua, which is typically weekly philosophical musings from a local figure, not neccesarily a Rabbi. This paper is usually topical to the modern world, while trying to tie it in with the current Parasha.
What many Orthodox Jews do Shabbat is typically rest, meet family, take nice long walks (The 3 mile restriction definetly does not exist here), play, etc. Not so bad as weekends go.

Specifically about the things posted here, such lights exist here (obviously), but they have special Shabbat Modes, where they remain on, or turn on at set intervals, in order to keep the religious people happy. We have similar things for elevators in tall buildings. Electricity is an interesting issue, with one of the more interesting arguments I've heard about is that the prohibition was not actually based off any "deep understanding" of shabbat restrictions, but a backlash against the Industrial revolution. Jewish leaders saw the community crumbling and people leaving the faith, and saw this as a way to rebind the community together. Similar to how I understand the Amish treat technology, it has it's place but the community comes first.

[Akkleptos]

What I want to know - and I do think it's a legitimate question- is...

Where the fuck did God tell the Hebrews not to use ELECTRIC -fucking- LIGHTING!!!

It's the same bullshit interpretations we get from the bible (no, I'm not going to capitalise THAT) all the time, by people who are so insecure about their religious shortcomings they make increasingly stupid extrapolations of religious scripture as technology advances to compensate for their own fears of being underzealous in the face of their god.

[Ace Pace]

What I want to know - and I do think it's a legitimate question- is...

Where the fuck did God tell the Hebrews not to use ELECTRIC -fucking- LIGHTING!!!

It's the same bullshit interpretations we get from the bible (no, I'm not going to capitalise THAT) all the time, by people who are so insecure about their religious shortcomings they make increasingly stupid extrapolations of religious scripture as technology advances to compensate for their own fears of being underzealous in the face of their god.

Scroll up? Orthodox Judaism does not hold that you can't change the bible's meanings and interpetation is part of the bloody religion. Being suprised at someone interpeting the Tanach/Toshbah/Gamara is like being suprised that water is wet.

[Akkleptos]

What I want to know - and I do think it's a legitimate question- is...

Where the fuck did God tell the Hebrews not to use ELECTRIC -fucking- LIGHTING!!!

It's the same bullshit interpretations we get from the bible (no, I'm not going to capitalise THAT) all the time, by people who are so insecure about their religious shortcomings they make increasingly stupid extrapolations of religious scripture as technology advances to compensate for their own fears of being underzealous in the face of their god.

Scroll up? Orthodox Judaism does not hold that you can't change the bible's meanings and interpetation is part of the bloody religion. Being suprised at someone interpeting the Tanach/Toshbah/Gamara is like being suprised that water is wet.

That's what I mean!

Since when did the God of the Ta-Nah-Kh prescribes that ELECTRIC LIGHTING is in violation of his holy law? I mentioned the bible merely as an example, but in this case wer'e dealing with the Jewish Scripture directly.

In other words, show me where it is exactly in God's Law that activating ELECTRIC LIGHTING is non-Kosher for the Chosen People. Interpretations by humans, regardless of how respected the Rabbis may have been, is out of the question. Either God mandated it, or he didn't. As simple as that.

[Ace Pace]

That's what I mean!

Since when did the God of the Ta-Nah-Kh prescribes that ELECTRIC LIGHTING is in violation of his holy law? I mentioned the bible merely as an example, but in this case wer'e dealing with the Jewish Scripture directly.

In other words, show me where it is exactly in God's Law that activating ELECTRIC LIGHTING is non-Kosher for the Chosen People. Interpretations by humans, regardless of how respected the Rabbis may have been, is out of the question. Either God mandated it, or he didn't. As simple as that.

Wrong. Orthodox Judaism simply does not work like you think it does. Ingrained into it is the concept of interpetation and reworking the laws to fit the current community. You seem to misunderstand the hierachy in Judaism.
Above all is the Torah, the first 5 books in the Tanach. This is the only 'divine' bit anywhere, and it's also possible to interpert.
After it, come in roughly equal order, the rest of the Tanach, Toshbah (Torah Sh-eh Be-alpe) which is are the oral traditions (conviently written down) the Gamara (or Talmud) and everyone else.
A good example of how Judaism actively encourages interpetation is the "don't eat milk and meat" routine, which has a very tenous base in the Torah, but got expanded due to cultural reasons a few thousand years ago.
Another is all of modern Orthodox Judaism, which takes heavy cues from the Rambam's writings in the middle ages. Or the fact the Gmara states outright it's changing things, and it's perfectly fine.

[hongi]

Interpretations by humans, regardless of how respected the Rabbis may have been, is out of the question. Either God mandated it, or he didn't. As simple as that.

God gave the commandments, but he didn't really go into detail. Humans take up the pen from that point on and make that law applicable to everyday situations, even if they're different from the context in which the law was originally given.

Now I'm going to go off-topic, but this thread reminded me of something. The way people try to grapple with the Sabbath is such a clear example of why I like Judaism. Though this will probably be taken as anti-Semitic in some circles, I like Judaism precisely because I think it is just so undeniably human. I look at the massive reams of commentary that have been written on the Bible, the sometimes ridiculous hand-waving away of problem verses, the interpretations, the traditions etc etc and I only see the hand of many thousands of men at work. You have to admire the grand scope of it, even though there are nasty bits in it. That's true of every religion, but Judaism more than any other, because they hold up scribes and rabbis and interpreters as their highest authorities.

[Faqa]

What I want to know - and I do think it's a legitimate question- is...

Where the fuck did God tell the Hebrews not to use ELECTRIC -fucking- LIGHTING!!!

It's the same bullshit interpretations we get from the bible (no, I'm not going to capitalise THAT) all the time, by people who are so insecure about their religious shortcomings they make increasingly stupid extrapolations of religious scripture as technology advances to compensate for their own fears of being underzealous in the face of their god.

Scroll up? Orthodox Judaism does not hold that you can't change the bible's meanings and interpetation is part of the bloody religion. Being suprised at someone interpeting the Tanach/Toshbah/Gamara is like being suprised that water is wet.

That's what I mean!

Since when did the God of the Ta-Nah-Kh prescribes that ELECTRIC LIGHTING is in violation of his holy law? I mentioned the bible merely as an example, but in this case wer'e dealing with the Jewish Scripture directly.

In other words, show me where it is exactly in God's Law that activating ELECTRIC LIGHTING is non-Kosher for the Chosen People. Interpretations by humans, regardless of how respected the Rabbis may have been, is out of the question. Either God mandated it, or he didn't. As simple as that.

Let me put it this way - there is a REASON Jews have a historical reputation as lawyers. It is because creative interpretation of the law is built into the Jewish religion. As Ace said, the Torah is only the top of the hierarchy as regards laws. There are books and book of commentary, just to start, and arguments going on to this day about how to interpret everything. It amuses me, simply because I wonder if these folks plan to out-lawyer God on Judgement Day.

What many Orthodox Jews do Shabbat is typically rest, meet family, take nice long walks (The 3 mile restriction definetly does not exist here), play, etc. Not so bad as weekends go

And make sure the public transporation system is shut down so everyone else can share the joy. Not to mention stoning any cars they see driving through the neighborhood. Have I mentioned this country is dominated by massively overbreeding religious shits?

[Broomstick]

Where the fuck did God tell the Hebrews not to use ELECTRIC -fucking- LIGHTING!!

Um..... he didn't. I don't know any Jews opposed to electric lights. The issue isn't electric lights, it's turning them off and on on the Sabbath. Why don't you understand the distinction?

[Plekhanov]

Here's another recent example of the bizarre contortions Orthodox Judaism can drive people to:

Dial up with teeth, no Sabbath desecration

JERUSALEM, June 10 (UPI) -- A religious ruling permits ultra-orthodox Jews to operate their mobile phones on the Sabbath and religious holidays with their teeth.

Many of the ultra orthodox volunteers and workers at Israel's Magen David Adom emergency services work on the Sabbath and were confronted with the dilemma of how to activate their mobile phones without violating religious rules, Ynetnews.com reported.

Recently, the agency began replacing workers' paging systems with modern mobile phones equipped with GPS technology that locates workers and volunteers closest to the scene of an accident, shortening the response time, the report said.

MDA asked the Scientific Technology Halacha Institute to come up with a solution. Rabbi Levy Yitzhak Halperin issued a new set of rules involving the use of a specially designed case that prevents phones from being shut down accidentally. To confirm response to dispatch, workers are permitted to hold a small metal pin between their teeth and press the necessary buttons on the phones, the Web site said.

According to Judaism, the Sabbath, which is observed from sunset Friday to Saturday night, is considered a day of rest. Religious Jews do not travel, cook, work or use telephones. They also are prohibited from turning on electricity or driving but allowed to violate the Sabbath to save lives.

So it's apparently a sin to push buttons on a phone with your fingers or with a tool held by your fingers but ok if the tool is held between your teeth

Orthodox Jews seem to think their god is a letter not spirit of the law kind of a guy who gets pleasure out of seeing people finding legalistic loopholes in his arbitrary commandments. Which is odd as the Old Testament god seems to come across as some kind of ill balanced mob boss who want his orders followed to both the letter and spirit and who'd do very unpleasant things to anyone who tried this kind of legalistic bs on him.

[Ace Pace]

Orthodox Jews != Ultra-Orthodox Jews. The differences between them resemble the difference between a Christian and a Muslim.

I haven't heard of anything as ludicrous as this, and most religious people I know who have urgent work that can call them on Shabbath do something very simple, keep a fucking cellphone on them and answer it when work calls.