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From: hbb@hou5a.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: Shabbat electricity (what is work?)
Message-ID: <612@hou5a.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 22-Oct-84 11:15:41 EDT
Article-I.D.: hou5a.612
Posted: Mon Oct 22 11:15:41 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 23-Oct-84 05:05:09 EDT
References: brl-tgr.5198, <348@wxlvax.UUCP>, <1588@ucf-cs.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ
Lines: 27

>Incidentally, when God causes rain on Shabbat, does he contravene
>His own Torah (watering grass)? If so, which is imperfect, God or
>Torah?  Am I alone in thinking that some  of  these  notions  are
>carried  out  mechanically  to  ludicrous  extremes? It sometimes
>seems that these rules are applied mechanically without  the  use
>of  the  brain,  without  questioning their real basis, validity,
>authority, etc?

The same question could be similarly applied to an extreme  case,
such  as  murder.   If  we contend that G-d causes people to die,
then ought we take that as evidence that the Bible is  wrong  and
that we should consider murder as a reasonable course of action?

I suppose the author of the article  would  contend  that  murder
comes  under  the  category  of  "use  of  the  brain" ("mitzvote
sichliote") and, therefore, forbidden. Watering  of  one's  lawn,
however,  would  be  deemed  lacking  in  "use  of the brain" and
permitted - Rabbinic ordinances notwithstanding.

The Rabbinic ordinances are legitimate as well as those that  are
written  in  the  Bible. The Bible itself gives legitimacy to the
Rabbinic ordinances in  the  middle  of  the  book  of  "Devarim"
(Deuteronomy,) the beginning of "Parshat Shoftim" (sorry, I don't
know the chapter.)
-- 
Harlan B. Braude
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