Perhaps my understanding of Sabbath violations differs from others but what constitutes a violation would seem to me to be a matter of what minhag had been established for the parent organization. If, for example, driving to services on the Sabbath is required for there to be services, then the minhag would reflect that condition as a necessity for services to be in place and the time that such services would be held. If preparation for an luncheon oneg, following such services, requires the labor of the membership, then the minhag would reflect that condition as well. It is not necessary to pigeon-hole each separate act, how you behave is a reflection of the accepted minhag and if changes are considered necessary then, and only then, does the particular act need to be addressed. Small, and isolated Jewish communities that strive to exist in places where they are the out-liers in faith have a need to make their minhag such that respect for both the past and the present needs are considered. The reason we Jews have a portable faith is related to the erection of the mishkan and the loss of a sacrificial site. Our G-d is everywhere and certainly if you need to travel to get to those Friday nights and Saturday services then checking out a book at those time is surely no more a Sabbath violation than the act of driving to begin with.
"This above all, to thine own self be true. And it shall follow, as the night follows day, thou canst not then be false to any man." --- On Wed, 4/18/12, Donald Weinshank <[email protected]> wrote: From: Donald Weinshank <[email protected]> Subject: [ha-Safran] Violation of Sabbath with paperclip ID or card id To: "Hasafran" <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 2:09 PM Alex wrote To my mind, public and open violation of Shabbat is NOT the way to bring more Jews to study! It the other way around: those in visible “Jewish” positions must demonstrate their respect for Jewish laws to encourage serious attitude to the study of Jewish beliefs, culture, history, laws, etc. Let me tell you a story Many years ago, we spent Shabbat in Bayit V'gan with lifelong [O] friends. Their shul honored me with an aliyah. The gabbai had a card with a sliding paperclip. Gabbai kamma? Me kamma mah? I don't remember exactly what he responded, but I got the idea and named a figure in NIS. I was delighted to do so. Motzei shabbat, I left the contribution with my friends. I saw nothing wrong then and see nothing wrong now with the various check-out systems. Given that prayer and study are inextricably linked, I would love to see fellow Jews check out books to read Shabbat afternoon. [I'll leave aside for the moment the issue of an eruv because that is a much larger issue.] NOTE: I receive mail on [email protected] but send mail from [email protected] -- ___________________________________________ Dr. Don Weinshank Professor Emeritus Comp. Sci. & Eng. 1520 Sherwood Ave., East Lansing MI 48823-1885 Ph. 517.337.1545 FAX 517.337.1665 [email protected] http://www.cse.msu.edu/~weinshan Anybody who is not paranoid about PHISHing is crazy. -----Inline Attachment Follows----- __ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [email protected] To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: [email protected] Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list [email protected] https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran
__ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [email protected] To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: [email protected] Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list [email protected] https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran
