of the Agunot and women whose brother-in-laws wont free them from the situation of halitzot. Buts what's more important? The rabbis teeth or some wretched women trapped for eternity?

During the entirety of Shabbat the power generators at the electric companies are working to generate umpteen megawatts of high-power electricity each hour and many skilled employees are busy on the job making sure all that power is not interrupted, so why not take advantage of clever innovations that allow partaking of the electricity that so many people are contributing to provide on that day anyway? All of them are hard at work breaking Shabbat so you won't have to.

..you blindly follow unproven scripture like sheep...draw from it ridiculous lessons and rules.... and then sit, develop, and capitalize on ways to exploit the loopholes of the very god you claim to love and worship. Wake up and realize that religion is nothing more than an ancient form of government thats lost its way.

Start using it instead of abusing it. The Shabbat was meant for rest and recreation. Rest means one does not work. Recreation means one enjoys the day by engaging in pleasurable acts and pastimes and not by living the dark world of religious nonsense.

Some of the stricter religious Jews use generators to provide electricity on Shabbat for just such concerns - others either accept the advances in power production automation and the fact that said power generators are providing power for critical infrastructure as well, such as hospitals, police, military etc. and a power station is not something that one just "winds down" or "winds up" at will. And of course, all of the above is only a concern in Israel. Abroad, the power is largely by gentiles, for gentiles. Religious Jews aren't a factor, and don't have to concern themselves with their usage being a by-product of another's Shabbat desecration.

For the life of me, I will never understand why militant atheists believe that they must shove their beliefs (or non-belief) on others and talk about the silliness or oppression of religion, when they themselves display all the bad characteristics of religious zealotry. Then again, humans seem to handle internal contradictions rather well.

We invented it, and it wasn't meant for recreation, but rather rest and a repast from the material world and its daily toils - the focus is on spiritual recharge and growth. For you, it may be pleasurable acts and pastimes. For us, it's religious worship and observance. We enjoy it, perhaps in a manner that you don't understand, but that's not the main point here. The point is that you don't get to define what Shabbat is to us. The secular world copied it , at best, as a partial attempt at merging socialist ideals and old tradition. It did not invent it - the religious did. So kindly keep your scorn to yourself.

Where the idea comes from that light bulbs are fire and that using it for lighting at night is simply over interpretation and out of context. A lightbulb is not lighting a alien fire. Zar means it belongs to someone other than Israel or Torah. A religious fire lit in the house to burn on shabbat that Torah nor G-d commanded and doing it while accusing G-d of saying he legislated it to His face in prayer (even though you are obligated to know that it is an addition to Torah, never said by G-d, and illegal), strikes me as zar. Meod zar. Why do we make Torah more expensive than it is to follow? People bumping around in the dark or laying awake because the lights are always on, simply is an addition to Torah laws and the subtraction of the word "Zar" from the law on lighting fire is also a violation. Devarim 4:2. Not to add nor subtract. So what sin is worse? Corruption of the people and Torah or a familiar lighbulb being turned on to see? If these words came from G-d's mouth show me were the Prophet said them in the first person.

Because that's what you're doing, really - and you spend your time telling everyone how wrong they are and how right you are, a convert to a fairly recent construct called Conservative Judaism. Not to mention that you don't follow even their interpretations, but rather the most literal meaning possible. Please, kindly leave us Jews alone, Josh.

"לא תבערו אש בכל מושבותיכם ביום השבת" - שמות, פרשת ויקהל So, before preaching even your literalism, at least learn the text. And because I expect that your familiarity with actual Hebrew is shaky at best, and likely nonexistent - Exodus 25:2-3

To care whether you flip a switch or use a clever gadget to get light on the sabbath. Richard Feymann, the great American physicist, wrote in his book about encountering orthodox students who had the opportunity to ask him about important concepts. Their only question was "Is electricity fired?" They did not earn his respect.

Once upon a time God was sitting in his celestial throne, looking at his human children using the shabbat light, the shabbat alarm clock and the shabbat toothbrush. So he told to his angels: "Do they think that I am sooo stupid that they can outwit me?" The moral of the story is that it is better not to respect shabbat with the risk of being stupid atheists, than to trick shabbat with the risk of taking god for stupid.

(according to believers) was to suffer, and through suffering get as much points on your account as you can to get a better seat in heaven.

We're not Karaites, who would spend Shabbat in the dark. We take the laws as given and, using our Jewish sechel, think of ways to prevent those laws from becoming a burden and thus depriving us of the joys of our sacred days.

I have never written to any comment, but - and Imean this whoelheartedly and non judgmentally - pls get Jewishly educated. Life is to grow, thrive, get pleasure - physical and spiritual - and all the other good things available, DEFINITELY not to suffer. That enters into the jewish equation in limited and circumscribed way. Pls speak to someone fluent in jewish law and philosophy to clarify this point. Good luck and Shabbat Shalom.

Jews lag behind the communists by decades.

Thank you for giving the most intelligent responses to this article. Even when it does not try (and it tries often) YNET has the effect of bringing all of the Jew haters out. They hate our religion so much and they believe they can look down their secular noses at us and redefine Torah, halacha, even who is legally a Jew. Thanks to people like yourself they betray themselves everytime. You call them out and hoist them on their own petard. Yahsar koach!

dude, i was describing the life of my two haredi sisters, so i kinda know what i'm talking about. But I'd recommend you watching some Erez Nehederet and looking for the meaning of sarcasm. And don't come to me with the excuse that they broadcast it friday night, cause i'm sure you can find some nice kosher tv set that turns itself on and off at ANY time you wish. You do that for me, and i'll consider going back to when i was a boy and allow the dirty words of the torah penetrate my clean and dear brain.

in which God also rested and made a way for all to rest, in His atoning works, ceasing from our own.

Ynet throwing y'all a nice little doggie treat here, and in true Pavlovian style: Sagi, Dorothy, Avi and co. in synchronized foaming, go: Arf! Arf! Arf! (Oh those backward Orthodox, those spongers, those...blah, blah, blah) Thanks Ynet, they needed their daily dose. Good doggies!

Why I am against keeping a mains powered light bulb burning for 25 hours is the waste of finite natural resources...ie: the coal or oil to make the electricity. My suggestion is that the lamp use an led bulb powered by a battery that is charged by a solar panel. In other words, buy a solar yard light and put a shade around it.

For those who keep implying that these innovations are somehow cheating the law, you're not getting it. "Melacha," poorly translated as "work" is not allowed on Shabbat, right? There are unlimited ways that one can translate "work" to stultifying extremes where one would sit in the dark and barely breathe (a'la Tzeduki style), so "work" has been limited to those 39 activities that were used in the creation of the Mishkan. For example, one of those activities was creating a fire. Connecting a circuit of electricity falls under that category. It doesn't seem like much "work" to flip a switch, but that is where the translation of "work" gets us into trouble. "act of creation" would be a better way to understand the concept of "melacha". The 7th day is when all creation was complete and we celebrate and acknowledge that by, in turn, discontinuing certain limited acts of "creation" on that day. So, in this context, turning on a light switch would be making a new creation by connecting a circuit, whereas, if the light is continuous and one simply shades the light with an enclosure to varying degrees, it is not an act of creation. NO CHEATING INVOLVED. Simply more convenient than leaving the light on in the bathroom or closet and opening/closing the door to adjust how much light in the room. Same concept, only it's sitting on your nightstand and one need not get out of bed to dim the light; one simply adjusts the aperture on the lamp. Shabbat (life in general, for that matter) is meant to be enjoyed (it says the Torah is to"chai b'hem" "LIVE in them", not suffer and drag through them) and REAL cheating (shopping, being chained to your cellphone, etc) is only cheating oneself after a busy week from a day to reconnect with familly, friends and one's own thoughts.

your parents or teacher perpetrated upon you in the name of Torah, I'm truly sorry. It must have been your parents, if your two sisters are under the thoroughly false misconception that suffering equates with anything idealized in Torah Judaism. The ways of Torah are supposed to be "Darchei Noam", "Ways of pleasantness"....so...somewhere somebody got their wires crossed. What'd y'all get: "If you don't eat your breakfast, G-d will smack you down for wasting food" and the like? I hate when people use G-d as their personal staff of retribution. Christians/Catholics are the ones who get brownie points for suffering and denial of life (ie: flagellation and self-mortification, celibacy, etc) -- those are the antithesis of Torah Judaism. So somebody fed you a big ol' box o' $#*% and you apparently ate the whole thing. No wonder you're so pissed off. But you're a big boy now, and you don't have to rebel against anyone anymore. You can eat what you like, nobody's shoving anything down your throat. Stop living the reactionary life and being so angry. Think you're not? Why'd you click on this article --- surely not in search of ways to enhance your Shabbat? You sound like a smart guy, otherwise you'd have ended up like your sisters. You escaped and rejected all of that "suffering as virtue" crapola. You probably won't, because you've surely inextricably associated Torah with sullying and suffering, but now that you're all grown up, you may consider an objective hearing on it. Most things are very different when looked at through the eyes of an independent thoughtful adult than those of an angry child.

all ye constipated ones. Just don't buy one, you miseries. We bought on last week actually, it's great, and can be used every night of the week,when you want just a sliver of light, (e.g.bathroom without stabbing your toes etc) without disturbing your partner. You don't need to leave it on in this case, just have it in dark mode, turn the on off switch, and voila a weeny weeny strip of light. Brilliant...or not, take your pick. What a miserable bunch of haters surface every time jewish style info is printed. Oh yes. I simply must tell all you lemon faces out there, that all our kids did full army service, and their kids are starting now too and they have good jobs, supporting their families,...so sorry to pee on your parade, but we are such an ordinary family, like you... just minus the meanness and hatred.

Nice one. Send it every time they bark and spew their reflux.

Very good Roman posting the passage (although the wrong number actually it is 35:2) . I mixed up the non-prophet story or prohibited esh zarah that killed Aaron's son with the non-prophet fire in the house on shabbat text. One of the benefits of debating and talking on point. A big However!! The only problem with the touted interpretative approach to Torah law (which its not really interpretation but just additions) is that it forgets it is in fact Contract Law which confines itself to the literal context in law. If your criticism using the word “literal” is suppose to sting I would have to ignore that Torah is a law book and a contract. I don’t know many that think a contract doesn’t mean what the words say in context. Try it at a car dealership to not perform what is written. Even more so, you can attribute it to the fact that Torah forbids interpretative additions or subtractions from the law. “You shall not deviate to the left or to the right”” So much for chicken and cheese sandwiches. It is a Mitzvah and an obligation that I and our Fathers took with G-d to speak of Torah on our way. So no even if I wanted to I can not leave it alone. If you are telling me to violate Torah, then you should not claim to represent the Jewish people. Let me introduce a concept that in your analysis clearly appears to be missing…that is the rules of evidence in a law court and hearsay. Valid in any righteous court in the world and an obligation of Torah also. In any court you cannot take hearsay testimony from unidentified sources. In fact Torah court requires two witnesses present in court. Additionally if you have a legitimate testimony from a more believable source, you would consider this in weighing the information. Being that Exodus is written in the second person by an unknown author who violated the law not to add or remove words from direct quotes of the prophet Moses, we can discount that source as NOT from the prophet’s perspective and already showing corruption with loose quotations and that some would say show a contempt for the law. A prophet must deliver the words himself to the people and we know Moses could and did write them in Devarim. We are ordered in the law in Devarim that we are not allowed to add or remove to the words Moses gives “This day”. In Exodus, the passage is a different day! When Moses gave these in the “Sefer Torah” he placed before Israel “this day” he did his job. No one else dared encroach on his job. So the Exodus writer authoring law is hard to believe that while Moses was alive and G-d looked over his shoulder, someone else witnessed what he said and paraphrased it rather than quoting Moses. That same someone never identified himself and where he got his authority because Torah certainly never gave it. So Roman, the law that requires Hebrews to protect Torah and to test words being given as G-ds, obligates all to righteously apply judgments on evidence, literal context, authorship and divine authentication via a prophet and signs and wonders. That being said, I could not find the “esh zarah” or any “esh b’bayt” passage in Devarim. It must be in another non-prophet book. Since we have no prophet delivering a prohibition and only a second person hearsay account, is a light-bulb that is not the intentionally lighting of fire really prohibited if G-d never said it and His prophet never gave it? What is to stop unknown authors from saying they heard different? Especially if they are not around to be held accountable?