Reporting a misprint. First sentence: “Everybody knows the Sabbath is the day of rest, and we all think we know what the means.” (Error emphasized.)
This is not an unheard-of occurrence. It happens more often with a light switch that one might turn on by reflex action when entering a room (and many people cover the switch with tape or something to prevent this), but even a tv or something could be turned on if young children can reach the knobs.
Nope, turning it off right away doesn’t fix it. Gotta tolerate it until Saturday night. OTOH, depending on what device we’re talking about, and how sensitive one is about having violated the Sabbath even accidentally (and what happens to be on tv tonight), sometimes it is easier or harder to “tolerate” than other times.
(Translation: I’d put a blanket or something to cover the picture and muffle the sound, but others might take advantage of a rare opportunity.)
BTW, no one else has mentioned this yet, so I will.
HOLIDAY ALERT!!!
Tonight, Wednesday and Thursday until nighttime are a Jewish holiday, with laws similar to those of the Sabbath. So don’t be surprised if there is a sudden drop in the number of posts from observant Jews. Actually, it has already started a while ago in Europe, Africa, and Asia. And it’ll start about 2 hours from now where I am, in the NYC area. We’ll be back in about 2 days or so. Actually, it is a one-day holiday in Israel, so if we have any Israeli Dopers, even the observant ones may be coming back in about 20 hours from now. (The reasons why it is one day in Israel and two days elsewhere gets complicated.)
In various pronunciations, this holiday is called Shavuos or Shavuot, and is sometimes translated as Pentecost, because it occurs 50 days after the first day of Passover. It commemorates the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.
I was going to warn folks that the observant Jews won’t be posting for a couple days… I see Keeve has beat me to it.
I also note that this thread has become almost talmudic in its argumentation, with various “but what if…” thrown at the report. I remind y’all that a Staff Report is not meant to be definitive – there are (literally) volumes and volumes written about sabbath laws. Staff Reports are meant to answer the question at hand for a non-technical readership.
And comments on staff reports are meant to be volumes upon volumes of nitpicky detail. I’d say we’re right on track.
I am still curious about my question.
We had this exchange:**C K Dexter Haven ** *First, let me just note that there are volumes – literally, volumes – written about traditional sabbath observance. The rules are lengthy and complicated.
*
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fear Itself
What are the consequences for breaking a Sabbath rule?
Well… for the last 2000 years or so, the consequences are between the offender and God.
And then I asked “Wouldn’t you have problems with your Orthodox Temple if you started practicing like a Reform Jew?” 
But now I have to wait until Sunday I suppose.
Well… I personally belong to a Conservative synagogue, and they don’t look into my personal practices. In ancient days, the religious rules were the law of the land of Israel, and so violations of sabbath rules were a matter for the court system of that time. Today, the religious rules of sabbath practice are a matter of individual concern, and not enforced by the courts nor by the synagogues.
Possibly, if someone did something outrageous and public in violation of sabbath acts, a synagogue might kick them out. But otherwise, judgement/punishment is left to God.
Well, that’s really what I was asking; what do the faithful believe God will do to them if they break a Sabbath rule? In Christianity, if you commit a sin, and die without repenting, you are cast into a lake of fire. Is there a Jewish equivalent?
There’s some info on that topic in this staff report: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mhell.html
Sorry that I misunderstood what you were asking.
So, is there a Jewish equivalent of hell? Not per se. There are a number of different schools of thought:
- Some (see “Job’s fair-weather friends”) think that punishment happens in this world, and that illness, misfortune, etc are the results of sin.
- Most think that punishment happens in some next world; this gets a li’l tricky. Some posit a hell; most think that there’s some sort of “working out” or punishment, but that it’s temporary depending on the nature and extent of the sins. Everyone has some sins, sometimes even ones that we are unaware of, so everyone needs some period of penance. Following this period of expiation, the soul then enters whatever the next world is.
An interesting combination is the school that says that for the righteous, punishment comes in this world in the form of illness, misfortune, etc so that when they die, their souls enter directly into heaven because they’ve already done their penance in this world. Truly evil persons, however, often receive great material rewards and incredible good fortune in this world, but boy-oh-boy do they get it in the next world. (Thus, explaining why the good seem to suffer and the wicked seem to prosper.)
In short, there’s nothing doctrinal so far as I am aware. I think you can find rabbinic opinion all over the board, although different sects/groups/schools of thought may tell you that their interpretation is the only correct one.
[/start correction that is almost a hijack]
This is not true of the Protestant branches of Christianity. One is saved through “faith alone”. I also don’t believe this is a standard Catholic belief. (try here) ). I have no idea about the Orthodox.
[/end correction that is almost a hijack]
Carry on. This is the most interesting thread I’ve read in a while.
I thought you had to at least ask for forgiveness. So I can rape babies, but if I believe Jesus is the son of God, I can go to heaven? Sadly, I suspect that is true of some Protestant churches.
I will not hijack this thread beyond suggesting that if you are seriously asking a question, then start a thread in Great Debates, the Pit, or wherever seems appropriate.
Just a reminder.
Moderator comment: this thread is about Jewish sabbath laws. A discussion of Protestant vs Catholic views of hell belongs in a different thread. Let’s stick to topic, please.
I still don’t get it. God rested from the act of creation, which is where we get our cue to do the same. Yet it’s okay - nay, a double good deed! - to have sex, which is the ultimate form of creation that humans can aspire to??? Something’s not right there …
vedderhedd, I thought the Staff Report was pretty clear: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msabbath.htm – Jewish tradition interpreted “creative work” as being the acts related to building the tabernacle. Sex was neither required nor necessary for building the tabernacle, hence is not forbidden. Other creative acts that are not forbidden:
- thinking of ideas for your next novel (although you can’t write them down)
- playing chess
- studying biblical texts and coming up with a creative, new interpretation
- giving birth
etc. It’s not “creation” that’s forbidden, it’s “labor involved in the creation of the tabernacle.”
If it’s any consolation, I think the Puritans and their ilk would probably agree with you, no sex on sabbath. For Jews, we are commanded to enjoy and delight in the sabbath, and sex is part of that activity.
When one reads the Pentateuch as inspirational literature (as, for example, most Christians do), then one focuses on the big picture and grand scheme of things, the philosophy and theology. Thus, you can think of “creative work” as including sex. When one reads the Pentateuch as a legal code, one has a completely different focus and a strict understanding of what some vague term (“creative work”) means. Thus, only work related to building the tabernacle.
You might, by the way, similarly look at writing. You might say, there’s creative writing, but there’s non-creative writing (copying down a phone number, say) and so make a distinction, forbidding the one but not the other. Traditional Jews don’t do it that way; all writing is forbidden, whether it’s “creative” or not.
Actually, it is some consolation to me that at least some Purists don’t have sex on the Sabbath, simply because it restores my faith in logic! 
I also understand that the interpretations of the Torah are done by humans, and humans are infinitely fallible. Are there any instances where interpretations (Talmud etc.), decisions or lore have been reversed or overruled, whether it be in the light of recent scientific discoveries or stronger academic / religious arguments?
But even the “creative” interpretation is specifically Jewish. I rather fear the Puritan ideal is better illustrated by the case of the unfortunate 17th-century Scot who was arrested for being observed to smile on the Sabbath.
Actually, from what I’ve read and bearing in mind what I know of the Jewish Sabbath is what I’ve read here, the Puritans seem to have been rather, um, Jewish in their Sabbath practices. (Other than moving it to Sunday, of course.) There were no prohibitions against sex, except for the general one against sex outside of marriage. There were prohibitions against such things as unnecessary travel, etc. (And, apocryphal dour Scot stories aside, none against enjoying yourself.) From my perspective, the biggest difference is that the Puritans were the political authorities and so made their religious beliefs the civic law and enforced it. So, for example, it was illegal not have sex within a marriage, and a man’s impotence was grounds for dissolving a marriage. Also, childhood literacy was a legal requirement.
Which brings me to my question. Is it ok to teach on the Sabbath, if it does not involve writing? For example, to teach someone to read, whether the Torah or something else? Would it be ok to write in the sand or dirt outside with a stick? (Not permanent, in the same sense as making letters by drizzling sand.)