As the shabbos queen approaches, I continue to have some questions for her. But she never answers back, so maybe some smart yeshiva boy (I cannot accept the idea of a yeshiva girl) could help me out here:
1.Why is there a rabbinical prohibition against summoning an elevator or turning on a flourescent light on the Sabbath?
2.Why is it forbidden to turn on a simple radio, particularly one that does not generate a spark when switched on? Once switched on, is a torah jew like me permitted to adjust the volume? (I'm thinking of patenting radios for religious jews that are technically "on" all the time, but with the volume turned down. When the shabbos queen makes her entrance and you want to listen to a ballgame or the news, you just adjust the volume control without creating or terminating a circuit.)
3.Why is a Jew permitted to own a carpet, when walking on a carpet on a dry day will generate a static electical potential that discharges with spark, sound, light, and heat when the Jew touches a door knob? (I'm thinking of selling a line of plastic doorknows and bathroom fixtures for those who tremble before electricity.)
Also, whatever you do, do NOT fail to real my wedding planner blog. It is never too soon to start planning for that glorious day beneath the Chupa. Who should I get as caterer?
Joe writes: While I'm not sure if you're sincere in your question - especially since it doesn't appear on Protocols where people who might have an answe would read it - my understanding is that the most comprehensive guide to the laws of electricity on shabbos is found in: "Shabbat and Electricity", by Rabbi LY Halperin. It may be out of print, but probably could be found. And while I'm not an expert in halacha or in electricity, I think the prohibition is not of creating a fire, but of boneh, which is building.
