Can You Use TV, Internet, or Computers on Shabbat? A Halachic Guide

Shalom, I understand that on Shabbat it is forbidden to perform melachah (creative labor) that creates a new reality, which is why it’s forbidden to turn on lights, etc. But if the internet, computer, or television are already on before Shabbat begins, is it permitted to use them throughout Shabbat?

Shalom. Using a computer that was turned on before Shabbat is absolutely forbidden, because every click and every page opened activates new data, electrical signals, and entire systems. This constitutes a violation of Shabbat.

A television left on in one place without switching channels — if no additional systems are activated on Shabbat, still involves benefiting from melachah that was performed in violation of Shabbat, which is strictly forbidden.

Part of the values of Shabbat include distancing ourselves from dependence on the thought-patterns and values of television producers, and resting from the constant pull toward material distractions. By observing Shabbat properly, your spiritual fortune will rise manyfold.

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I’m a woman returning to observance, but my parents aren’t observant. They turn on the television on Shabbat when I’m home, and I hear it… Is that a sin? I’m doing everything I can but I don’t want to fight with them and violate the commandment of honoring parents. What should I do?

Shalom and blessings. You are not doing anything wrong as long as you hear the television but do not actively listen or engage with it. You are acting correctly by not pressuring your parents.

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I strengthened my observance and have kept Shabbat joyfully for 3–4 years. I moved abroad to work and I’m staying with an uncle who is not observant. I daven alone and spend Shabbat learning Torah, Tehillim, etc. They watch Israeli TV, which means that in Israel Shabbat is already over, but here abroad it is still Shabbat. May I watch with them? The content is not problematic — like a soccer game. They will watch whether I come or not. I know that once I live alone or return to Israel, I will not watch TV on Shabbat at all.

Shalom and blessings. You may not benefit from the television broadcast, since it was turned on in violation of Shabbat, in addition to several other halachic reasons for prohibition.

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I’ve started a career in TV advertising and acting. I signed with an agency and will soon appear on television. Is there a halachic problem with being an actor?

Shalom. Practically speaking, it is very difficult to be a Torah-observant actor in mainstream television. Most productions revolve around themes of romance, infidelity, physical interaction, and immodest situations. Halachically, one may not hug, kiss, or even shake hands with a woman who is not one’s wife — even for acting.

There are also issues of Shabbat, kashrut, modesty on set, and causing others to stumble by presenting immodest content. Some people who returned to observance report that the blurred boundaries in the acting world also affect real life.

The answers above were given by Rabbi Menashe Israel and Rabbi Binyamin Shmueli, compiled and edited from the Q&A section on the Hidabroot website.