These rules do not come from the Torah or the Talmud.
They come from the centuries of the Rabbis discussing, analyzing and debating the Torah and Talmud, from the time of the Jews were carried off to Babylon all the way up to the present day. However, like all Rabbinic discussions, they are not all in agreement, with the Orthodox following what they consider to be the “stricter” interpretations.
In simple terms, some things are prohibited because they represent a modern form of “fire” and the scriptures said “Do not light a fire in your dwelling in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath” (Exodus 35:3). Now then, while the Orthodox claim electricity is a modern form of fire, they make very “flexible” rules about electricity, which simply require that no adjustment (turning it on or off) be made. Thus your heater may be on, but you can’t adjust it, you have to leave it as is from start to end of the Sabbath.
Quite a number of things are prohibited because they constitute “travel”, which is prohibited on the Sabbath. Yet, in the strictist sense you can easily travel with your feet. So technically, by orthodox rules, you could walk fifty miles, but could not use any kind of vehicle, not even a bike on the sabbath.
Yes, I know, it seems rather silly to most of us.
You’d think that the most strict form of a commandment to not light a fire in your dwelling on the Sabbath would mean that you could not even have a fire in your dwelling on the Sabbath. And if electricty was “fire” then you could not even have the elctricity on. But the modern Orthodox Jews have found modern ways of stretching and shrinking the latitude of their own rules, rather conveniently it seems.
According to family lore, my grandfather’s 12 year old brother made money lighting fires for Orthodox Jews on the sabbath. He died when his clothing caught on fire while lighting on of those fires.
Thanks, I just asked in a similar post about the use of heat on the Sabbath and see you addressed it already. The travel thing is the one that is relevant I guess, and I didn’t know about that one.
“But the modern Orthodox Jews have found modern ways of stretching and shrinking the latitude of their own rules, rather conveniently it seems.”
They certainly do,like the eruv.
.
As long as you were not carrying any one of a wide variety of ordinary, everyday objects.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruv
Regards,
ENGLISH MUCH?
“You’d think that the most strict form of a commandment to not light a fire in your dwelling on the Sabbath would mean that you could not even have a fire in your dwelling on the Sabbath. “
No, the plain language is NOT TO LIGHT IT. Once it’s lit and not attend to by man its fine.
Your comment shows your ignorance about and bias against Jews. Shabbos is to LIVE BY, not die. We have rules explaining how to stay warm and have light and heat and hot food on Shabbos, but in a manner to not desecrate the Sabbath.
By your whiiney comments you would prefer NO SABBATH OBSERVANCE, thus you would likely prefer no jews.
Stick to Chinese Physics.