Electricity On Shabbat in Jewish Law - Range of Views On The Prohibition

Range of Views On The Prohibition

According to many Orthodox authorities, electrical appliances that generate heat, such as an incandescent light bulb or an oven, are prohibited Biblically (de’orayta) for reasons to be explained. However, appliances deemed to generate light without heat (such as a fluorescent light or LED) and appliances that do not generate light and are deemed not to generate heat (such as a fan) do not clearly fall within any Biblical categories of prohibited activity. Some authorities believe there is a Biblical prohibition, others hold there is a Rabbinic (derabbanan) prohibition, and still others believe that operating these appliances is prohibited only by common practice (minhag). The Conservative movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards has argued that "refraining from operating lights and other permitted electrical appliances is a pious behavior," but that it is not prohibited.

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