Shabbat Laws – Water Pumps; Fridges

Question

This pertains to those who are using WELLS for the water supply. Wells that use ELECTRICITY to draw the water up and into the house.

Therefore, ON SHABBAT: when using the ‘faucet’ or when flushing the ‘toilet,’ electricity is being used in the same way as when ‘switching’ on the light switch, for which on Shabbat there is a special cover to prevent turning on or off, or is on a timer to stay on until whenever.

So, why is this ‘allowable’?

 

2. This pertains to opening and closing the refrigerator and/ freezer door ON SHABBAT:

Although the inside light is unscrewed so as not to ‘come on’ when the door is opened, the compressor (or whatever it is called), which uses electricity, ‘comes’ on (via electricity) when the door is opened. Why is this allowable?

 

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    1. If the drawing up of water into a person’s home uses electricity it would be forbidden to use the faucets on Shabbat unless the electric pump is disengaged before Shabbat. My brother lives in an area in London that has very low water pressure and they have a pump that is used through the week, but before Shabbat he switches it off and they only have minimal water pressure over Shabbat.

    2. Today’s fridges are veritable technological wonders! They are not built as they once were. They are now very sophisticated and have many sensors that detect all kinds of things happening in the fridge, including the opening of the doors and the lights and the different temperature requirements for different parts of the same fridge. Subsequently, simply unscrewing the bulb before Shabbat to ensure that opening the doors will not open the lights is no longer sufficient. That is why there are Jewish companies today that install Shabbat overrides for the entire fridge so that it can be used on Shabbat without any concerns.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team