(INDEPENDENT) — Adapting modern technology to ancient halacha, or Jewish religious law, is a challenge that Israeli experts have long relished. But the “Shabbat phone” is in a class of its own.
Orthodox Jews do not make or receive phone calls on the Sabbath (“Shabbat” in Hebrew), as the activation of an electric appliance – so that a current is introduced to a device – violates rules against starting or completing a project on the day of rest.
This has posed a problem for key senior military officers and public servants, who are observant or modern orthodox Jews but need to be on call 24/7. The Shabbat phone, from the Zomet Institute has been dubbed kosher as the current continuously runs through it, and increases when the call is made.
