No worries. There are 39 activities ('work' is a bit of a mistranslation) that are forbidden in the Torah, but there are a whole slew of other activities that are prohibited because they appear too close to the forbidden action. So, for example, anything to do with planting/farming/harvesting is prohibited. Digging a hole to plant a tree is forbidden, but digging a hole because you need the earth is prohibited because it looks like you might be intending to plant. Plowing is forbidden; therefore, no half-lifting/half-dragging a bench along the ground, because that too will turn up the soil.
Kindling a fire is forbidden (which includes more modern forms of heating). We're allowed to turn on the oven and start heating food before Sabbath starts, and take out the food on Sabbath, but we can't turn it on once Sabbath starts. We can't adjust the heat or turn it off. And once food is off the heat we can't return it unless it's on a warm surface too cool to cook the food further. (General rule is that if you can rest your palm on the surface for five seconds without pain, it's fine. So... I make a stew in my slow-cooker for Sabbath lunch and put side dishes on the lid of the slow cooker on Sabbath morning so they'll be warm for lunch.)
And here's where we get to your question. Obviously, combustion engines/electricity aren't mentioned in the Bible. But they do fall under the general prohibition against lighting fires. (Again, we don't unplug the refrigerator. But we do unscrew the light in the fridge so it doesn't go on when we open the door.)
Now. We do have a principle that "we live by the laws, we don't die by them." Which means that if someone has an injury/illness that you suspect could be life-threatening, don't dither, don't ask 'is it really necessary?' If you would drive the patient to a doctor/hospital/emergency room on a weekday, do it on Sabbath too. Some things depend on the patient. I wouldn't consider driving a kid with a scraped knee to the emergency room under normal circumstances. However, if the kid was a hemophiliac, that's a different story. Coughs and colds normally don't warrant it. If the patient has a compromised immune system... oh yeah.
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Date: 2013-10-13 08:46 pm (UTC)Kindling a fire is forbidden (which includes more modern forms of heating). We're allowed to turn on the oven and start heating food before Sabbath starts, and take out the food on Sabbath, but we can't turn it on once Sabbath starts. We can't adjust the heat or turn it off. And once food is off the heat we can't return it unless it's on a warm surface too cool to cook the food further. (General rule is that if you can rest your palm on the surface for five seconds without pain, it's fine. So... I make a stew in my slow-cooker for Sabbath lunch and put side dishes on the lid of the slow cooker on Sabbath morning so they'll be warm for lunch.)
And here's where we get to your question. Obviously, combustion engines/electricity aren't mentioned in the Bible. But they do fall under the general prohibition against lighting fires. (Again, we don't unplug the refrigerator. But we do unscrew the light in the fridge so it doesn't go on when we open the door.)
Now. We do have a principle that "we live by the laws, we don't die by them." Which means that if someone has an injury/illness that you suspect could be life-threatening, don't dither, don't ask 'is it really necessary?' If you would drive the patient to a doctor/hospital/emergency room on a weekday, do it on Sabbath too. Some things depend on the patient. I wouldn't consider driving a kid with a scraped knee to the emergency room under normal circumstances. However, if the kid was a hemophiliac, that's a different story. Coughs and colds normally don't warrant it. If the patient has a compromised immune system... oh yeah.
Hope that helps and isn't too much data!