Turning Off Car Alarm Overrides Shabbat, Rabbi Says

Alarm went off on Shabbat? Rabbi Yuval Sherlo has a solution:The head of the Petah Tikva Hesder yeshiva and one of the leading rabbis in the religious-Zionist community has ruled that for the public's welfare it is acceptable to turn off a car alarm that goes off during Shabbat.

 

Rabbi: Car alarm overrides Shabbat
Prominent Religious Zionism rabbi rules that car alarms that go off on day of rest can be turned off if public welfare is at stake
Ynet

Alarm went off on Shabbat? Rabbi Yuval Sherlo has a solution:The head of the Petah Tikva Hesder yeshiva and one of the leading rabbis in the religious-Zionist community has ruled that for the public's welfare it is acceptable to turn off a car alarm that goes off during Shabbat.

Rabbi Sherlo published his halachic ruling following a responsa he received from someone who observes the Shabbat and was forced to turn off his car alarm by giving out the code and the keys so that the alarm may be turned off, after it bothered the neighbors in the middle of the night.

"The car alarm went off in the middle of the night (2 am) and we didn't hear it. A neighbor called the police and they in turn asked us to turn off the alarm." When the man explained to the police that he was religious and couldn't turn the alarm off "they said – give us they keys and code and we'll turn it off for you."

The inquirer asked Rabbi Sherlo what Jewish law states should be done in this case, when there is no "Shabbat Goy" to be found.

In his ruling Rabbi Sherlo states that "due to the fact that the harm we cause the public (for it is our car alarm) we can't prevent the person from requesting the keys to turn off the alarm himself."

Among other things, the rabbi bases his decision on the fact that the prohibition on using electricity in this case is based on rabbinical commandments (Mitzvot d'rabbanan) not to be confused with Commandments of the Law (Mitzvot d'oraita) which are far more serious.

"More importantly," continued the rabbi, "this is our duty and we must ensure that it is carried it in the correct way, i.e. – if there is no "Shabbat Goy" available, turn off the alarm but not in the usual way 'Be Shinui' or in any other available method."

The rabbi noted that "halachicly speaking, the serious prohibition on depriving sleep from the public outdoes the rabbinical commandment – and this is what should be done in the case at hand.

Comments

[YbM]

hamchabbeh et haner ..... o mippenei hacholeh sheyeeshan patur.

[Isa]

""""turn off the alarm but not in the usual way """

I get it, a couple of rounds from an Uzi or a Galil is permitted too!

[ruthie]

o.k. i'm sure g-d understands common sense...good call rabbi

[Chatz]

There is nothing remarkable in this psak. Similar answers have been given to this type of question over many generations.

For example, if the lights are accidentally turned off in the synagogue making it difficult to pray, a Jew can turn on the lights (with a shinui, like using his/her elbow to press the switch).

In general, for the sake of communal need (not private need, in most cases), rabbinic prohibitions may be violated when done with a shinui.

The only difference here could be that one might be able to argue that turning off a loud car alarm is more than merely a rabbinic prohibition. I assume that Rabbi Sherlo is competent to determine that point.

[tooclose2detroit]

here's a crazy concept-how bout installing alarms that stop ringing after a few minutes if there is no movement of the car?-that extremely advanced technology has existed for over 30 yrs.

[Dave]

It always makes me laugh how some rabbis insist that all the laws (rabbinic laws or laws explicitly stated in Tanach) are equally important. Then, when they feel it merits it, they say "well x is a Torah law, so that's more important than a rabbinic law". So they're contradicting themselves.

[Maven]

and the scandal here is?

[YbM]

and the scandal here is?

Maven, why do we need a scandal?
are we short of them?
:-)
these are questions we all ask ourselves about every now and then.
In this particular type of case however, I wouldn't bother a Rabbi, I would turn off the alarm by remote to avoid chillul hashem, plus the causing the neighbour to alert a car of cop/s, the neighbour calling the police station, the operator etc...

[Yochanan Lavie]

Finally a rabbinic ruling that makes sense.

[Loveandlivethetorah.blogspot.com]

--

hamchabbeh et haner ..... o mippenei hacholeh sheyeeshan patur.

Posted by: YbM--

Exactly my thoughts.

[ah-pee-chorus]

Finally a rabbinic ruling that makes sense.

Posted by: Yochanan Lavie

so true. its amazing how long it is between reasonable rulings and how quickly one new chumra follows another.

[Ali]

It took a rabbi to tell a decide what the right thing to do here is? Oh, I forgot, these people are incapable of discerning right from wrong on their own. They would undoubtedly rape, steal & murder without a rabbi telling them not to.

Ali

[Adam Neira]

MESSIANIC BULLETIN BOARD

8:35 pm Saturday March 26th, 2011

Current Issues Requiring Decisions by the Rabbinate, Scholars, Sages of the Jewish people. Rated by degree of halakhic difficulty, i.e. Amount of commonsense, health, faith, tanach study, intelligence and life experience required to make the correct decision.

(1) The car alarm/shabbat dilemma.

0.002/100

(2) How to create the conditions whereby Gilad Shalit is released safely.

70/100

(3)Whether the Sephardi counter-clockwise way of wrapping tfillin is more divine than the Ashkenaz clockwise way.

Who cares !

(4)To explain the divinely mandated plan for the Temple Mount, Holy Land and Planet Earth for the next thirty nine years.

99/100

[Adam Neira]

To Dave,

Of course the 613 mitzvot are not equal in importance or relevance. Maimonides did not include all of the mitzvot contained in the Pentateuch. He states quite clearly that not all mitzvot apply to all times and places. There are far more than 613 actually listed if you go through the five books with a fine tooth comb, which is what I did in my intense study period of 2002. As an example, the mitzvot to have a beard is not as important as the prohibition against murder, rape, child sexual abuse etc. Another example. There is much conjecture and debate over the kashrut laws due to the obscure nature of the writings and definitions in Leviticus.

The words of the Pentateuch and Tanach have been used and abused by all and sundry throughout the last three millennia for various purposes. What does history show us about the wisdom of these interpreters of the divine ?

The interesting thing now is that there is so much information, words, ideas and plans out there that no-one knows how to sift the gold from the dirt. With G-d's help this state of chaos should clear up.

Confusion often precedes understanding.

There is a way for all the religions to come together if agreement is reached on various fundamental laws and conceptions of the universe.

I know how to do this.

[ad'd'loyada]

adam is arois fun zinen

[Adam Neira]

To ad'd'loyada,

My Yiddish is virtually non existant, so could you please translate for me ? Are you suggesting I am like a character in the Wizard of Oz ?

Anyone else who can offer a translation is welcome to comment.

Thank you.

[Dr. Dave]

It means you are out of your mind.

[Adam Neira]

To Dr.Dave, Thanks for the translation. I quite like my mind. Such asides is like water off a duck's back.

[Adam Neira]

Correction..."asides are..." Typing on an I Phone is not always easy.

[Yitz]

"hamchabbeh et haner ..... o mippenei hacholeh sheyeeshan patur" - that only applies in a case of pikuach nefesh. how are you sure someone was going to die because of the fire alarm?

[Yitz]

*car alarm