# Should my aunt have sent an e-mail on Shabbat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 15, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-my-aunt-have-sent-an-e-mail-on-shabbat/119108 "2002-07-15T20:28:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-my-aunt-have-sent-an-e-mail-on-shabbat/119108/161 "2002-07-29T15:19:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SuaSponte \* > \*\ ***Shoshana’s** story raises an interesting question - the students refused to help because the situation was not life-threatening. But at least potentially, an uncontrolled moving car on a hill can threaten life and limb: there may be people below, perhaps people who can’t be seen, or who haven’t entered the street yet. > > So, how direct does a threat of injury, etc., need to be before Shabbat can be broken? > > Sua \*\* Not knowing the situation completely, I can’t say yes or no with regard to the youth’s actions. It could be that they did account for a reasonable chance of a life being lost and saw that that was not the case. Or they could have simply been wrong. I gave some general guidelines back on page 2 of this thread. They were: > [@](#): > > If you think there is a reasonable chance of the patient’s life being lost, do not hesistate and do not waste time looking around for a Rabbi to ask. Simply go to the hospital, call 911 etc. (Of course, if a Rabbi is there, you can ask…) \*\*It is better to err on the side of potentially saving a life than on the side of Shabbos observance. \*\* > > If there is no reasonable chance of the patient losing their life, ask before you do. So, in the above situation, we simply need more information than **Shoshanna** was able to provide. Was there oncoming traffic? If so, I’d say yes, stop the car. Is the rest of the hill vacant and no reasonable chance of anyone being hit by the car? Then I’d say no. Furthermore, maybe they reasoned that the person could hold the car and others would be along shortly to help. Or they could have acted improperly to begin with. In any event, they could have done what **Keeve** suggested (enlist someone else to help). Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-my-aunt-have-sent-an-e-mail-on-shabbat/119108/162 "2002-07-29T15:46:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Truth Seeker \* > \*\ ***Zev** , thanks very much for the insight. > > While poking around, I also ran into this which provides a different perspective on [whether it is permissible to ride a train/bus.](http://www.jewish.com/askarabbi/askarabbi/askr4438.htm) It argues that maybe it _is_ permissible to ride on public transport. However, the answer is by a Conservative, rather than an Orthodox rabbi. On what points does the Conservative perspective differ on this issue? \*\* I looked at the responsa you provided, but have not yet had a chance to really consider it. While the author is correct that if you accept the Manhattan eruv that carrying is not a problem, I’d not convinced that the fare card itself (like money) isn’t _muktzeh_ itself and cannot be moved on Shabbos. In any event, the Conservative takes a more liberal approach to Shabbos, to the extent of allowing one to drive on Shabbos for the purpose of going to (and coming home from) _shul_. The Orthodox postition is that this is forbidden. I don’t know if that factored into the author’s permission to ride on the train. Lastly, as the rabbi himself mentioned, there is the problem of _maras eyin_ (literally: appearence to the eye). This is where one gives the appearence that one is doing something forbidden, even if he is not. The classic example is walking into a non-kosher resturaunt for the purpose of asking for a drink of water. Onlookers will not realize that the person is going in only for water and will think that he is going in to eat at this establishment. This may then cause others to think that eating at this establishment is permitted. A similar problem may arise with regard to this train ride (assuming that riding on a train is permitted at all – the matter was left unresolved on page 2 of this thread). Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-my-aunt-have-sent-an-e-mail-on-shabbat/119108/163 "2002-07-29T16:20:47Z")
My favorite translation of “maras eyin” comes from the Ethics committees which are begin more common these days in both bisiness and politics: “Appearance of impropriety”. It’s not quite literal, but carries the idiom perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2002, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-my-aunt-have-sent-an-e-mail-on-shabbat/119108/164 "2002-07-29T16:23:48Z")
AACK! … which are beginning to become more common … … in both business and … PREVIEW!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-my-aunt-have-sent-an-e-mail-on-shabbat/119108.md?page=8)