Tomorrow is moving day

[dragonbat2006]

Too exhausted from packing to be stressed now. Just want this to be over. Burn whatever isn't packed yet. Go to new house. Start fresh. Sigh...

Comments

[dragonbat2006]

I wish! We HAVE moved, but unpacking is taking time too... and parents are coming to visit from Montreal either Thursday or Sunday. (Little Sis lives here in Toronto, too and she's due to give birth any day. Little Sis doesn't have a spare bedroom. We do. So, while they recognize that we're going to be chaotic... fact is,they need to be here. Hotel is out of the question, because they don't drive on the Sabbath and there aren't any within walking distance from me OR Little Sis. And since they're coming in to help her out, yeah. They're going to stay here.) We'll make things work. Somehow.

[biting_moopie]

Sorry for the late response! I hope you guys have had a chance to breathe now and get some rest. It sounds like you've had a really intense time.

I also have a question and I hope it's okay to ask it. Please let me know if it is not. And if you'd rather not reply, no problem. Is driving considered working on the Sabbath? Or is there another reason they don't drive on that day? (I'm only asking because I'm interested in other people's religious practices and the meaning they have for them. But please don't worry about answering if you'd rather not.)

[dragonbat2006]

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.

Hope that helps and isn't too much data!

[biting_moopie]

Thank you so much for explaining, I really appreciate it! This is fascinating. It's so interesting how there are also related activities that are prohibited. It reminds me of the idea that it's best to avoid the little mistakes so you don't make the big mistakes - which probably doesn't make sense, but it's late and the right words just aren't coming to me.

Thank you also for correcting me on the 'work' idea - the only people I've known who rest on the Sabbath/Holy Day were Mormons, and it was a general 'no working on the Sabbath' rule. Making meals for the day was fine, but doing non-essential housework was not.

But now I have so many other questions! And I don't want to bombard you, so I will be doing some internet research tomorrow.

I'm guessing that microwaves also come under 'no fire' rule?

But we do unscrew the light in the fridge so it doesn't go on when we open the door

This made me go to my fridge to see how to do that. But I really love this little detail - I don't know how to explain it, but there's something beautiful about this level of commitment.

We do have a principle that "we live by the laws, we don't die by them."

If only all human beings were so sensible! That's the way it should be. The way I was raised, the rules are there to help us live fulfilling and healthy lives. They're not meant to be millstones around our necks, nor are they meant to be more important than our lives. (But on a lighter note, I'm willing to bet that all of the kids come up with all kinds of scenarios to test the adults: "What if aliens land and they demand barbeque or else they'll destroy the planet, so then we have to dig barbeque pits and light fires, what then????")

Thank you so much for the explanation. I'm not religious myself but I have my own way of connecting with G_d (hope it's okay to write it that way, I wasn't sure whether the full word would bother you or not). It's so heartening to hear about other people's connections and what has meaning to them. And I love learning about other religions, and the different strands of religions as well. My family are Muslim and we did follow the rules that dealt with everyday life, like no eating pig and all the hygiene requirements. But my mother is the one who mostly follows the rituals (such as daily prayer and Ramadan). They bring her comfort. My father's attitude is pretty much that he works hard and provides for his family, and that was good enough for G_d. (We had some people who would come to the door and try to get my dad to go to the local mosque. He would always say, "tell them I'm not home," but loud enough so they could hear him, lol. You're not supposed to proselytise in Islam, but apparently you can judge whether other people are going to mosque enough or not!)

Well, this also got long! Thank you for the explanation, it was so kind of you to take the time to write it all out.