"Shabbat Guard": Adapting Technology for Shabbat, Not Shabbat for Technology

Did you know that opening a fridge on Shabbat can lead to desecrating Shabbat—even if you deactivated the light on Friday? In the past, refrigerators were mechanical and operated with a thermostat. In contrast, in the digital refrigerators and freezers marketed in recent years, opening the door can immediately cause electrical changes and digital recordings in the digital temperature sensor and control board.

Refrigerators are just one example. As technology advances, sensors surround us everywhere. These sensors pose special challenges for Shabbat observers.

The 'Shabbat Guard' organization is one set up to address these challenges. "The organization was founded in 2011, initiated by Rabbi Elyashiv," Rabbi Yechezkel Rozentaller, a member of the organization, tells us. "It was established by Rabbi Elyashiv's student, Rabbi Yitzhak Dezeri, along with Rabbi Eliyahu Beifus. Their purpose was to establish an organization that would act according to the rabbi’s wishes: thoroughly examine the halachic issues involved with various technologies and attempt to propose solutions accepted by most halachic authorities—not partial solutions and not indirect solutions." He further states that the organization later received broad acceptance from leading rabbis.

With Rabbi Nissim Karelitz

Take, for example, the Shabbat switch standard for refrigerators, Rabbi Rozentaller says. "We started with technical research by a team of professionals, followed by collaboration with all the major companies in the market: Samsung, Sharp, Tadiran, and others. Today, there are about 600 refrigerator models that can be adapted for Shabbat use by a Shabbat switch." Not by the same switch," he quickly notes. "We developed 40 different Shabbat switches. Each refrigerator requires a different switch."

Another area the organization focused on is digital water meters. "In Haredi areas, these usually don’t exist since people are aware of the issue, but in other areas, water companies definitely use these meters. With such a meter, as soon as a person opens the water faucet on Shabbat, their consumption is immediately recorded on a computer—a full Shabbat desecration. To solve this, we are working with water corporations on transitioning to a special meter that switches to a mechanical mode before Shabbat and returns to digital measurement only after Shabbat ends. Three water corporations have already adopted this kosher meter."

A Shabbat-observant Jew, Rabbi Rozentaller emphasizes, can encounter such issues at every step. Be it in household products, accessory products, or institutional products. Examples include refrigerators, freezers, inverter air conditioners, water heaters, lighting systems, filtration systems, mini bars, gas-driven stovetops, heating systems, alarm systems, water pumps, water meters, Shabbat elevators, street lights, automatic gates and doors, various systems in hotels, and more.

Nisko kosher water meter

Experiment at Bar-Ilan laboratory

So how do you know if your fridge is Shabbat-compliant? What about your water heater? How do you find out if the water company installed a digital meter for your apartment? And what do you do if you end up in a hotel abroad where the doors only open with an electronic card? And what about the new street lighting installed by the municipality on your street—lighting with sensors that only turns on when detecting passersby? 'Shabbat Guard' runs a telephone hotline to answer such questions. "We receive hundreds of calls a day. This is our third department. We have the technical department that checks the technical aspects of devices and developments, we have the halachic department that clarifies the issue, and there is the telephone hotline that shares this information with the public."

'Shabbat Guard' managed to find solutions to problems that initially seemed very complex, Rabbi Rozentaller attests. "Take, for example, the issue of emergency buttons for the elderly. Several rabbis approached us to assist in this matter. It's not always that when a person presses it to ask for help, it's a life-threatening situation, but assistance is still needed. The solution we found is based on an optical fiber light that is constantly on under a cover, and the person merely lifts the cover to trigger the distress call without activating any electrical component."

Besides research and development, Rabbi Rozentaller emphasizes, 'Shabbat Guard's' primary focus is raising public awareness of the many Shabbat observance issues modern technology presents. "Many times, people simply do not understand how dynamic and changing the world is, and how vital it is to ensure that halachic observance remains intact. We are not looking to take people back to the past, but we want perfect halachic solutions. Our goal is to adapt technology to Shabbat—not Shabbat to technology."

Machine printing digital cards for devices

Image of water meter inside

Technical halachic meeting