Sivan 5768 saw a pronouncement of leading poskim in both Israel and North America forbidding pressing buttons on Sabbath-mode ovens on Yom Tov. A permissive ruling previously had been issued by Rav Moshe Heinemann, the rabbinic administrator of the Star-K certification service. We shall present the basis for Rav Heinemann's ruling (as I understand it) based on both Hebrew and English language articles available from the Star-K website and the reasoning of the many poskim who strongly object to his approach.
Background - Grama
Since Sabbat-mode ovens allow for raising and lowering the temperature in an oven by means of grama, indirect action, it is necessary to review the application of grama in the modern environment.
The Torah (Shemot 20:10) states "lo ta'aseh chol melachah," “Do not perform melachah”on Shabbat. The Gemara (Shabbat 120b) infers that “performing” a melachah is forbidden, while indirectly causing melachah is not forbidden. Despite this seemingly all-encompassing permission, we shall see that leniencies based on grama have been created only in limited circumstances
Earlier, we explored the issue of grama in the context of refrigerators. We presented the ruling of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach permitting the opening of a refrigerator door even when the motor is not running despite the fact that opening the door inevitably will trigger motor activity earlier than if the door had not been opened. In short, Rav Auerbach ruled that the impact of opening the door on the motor is indirect, and grama is not prohibited when one does not intend to cause the result. Since one who opens the door intends to take food and not to trigger the motor, indirectly causing the motor to go on earlier is not prohibited on Shabbat or Yom Tov.
There are cases, however, where grama is permitted even when one's intention is to cause the resulting act. For instance, the Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 334:22) permits one to place barrels of water in the path of a fire so that the heat will burst the barrels, causing the water to surge forth and extinguish the fire. The Rama (ad. loc., based on the Mordechai Shabbat 399) cautions, however, that the permission to intentionally perform an act of grama is limited to cases of avoiding great loss, such as putting out a fire. The Bei’ur Halacha (ad. loc. s.v. DeGram Kibui) clarifies that this rule applies to all of the 39 melachot (forbidden activities) of Shabbat and not only to mechabeh (extinguishing).
The Rama understands that Chazal created a rabbinic prohibition to indirectly cause Melachah on Shabbat in situations other than a case of great need. Danger to life is not required to permit grama; rather, great need is sufficient cause. In other words, grama is permitted for essential needs even if they are not life-threatening needs. This restriction seems to stem from concern that if grama was permitted in all situations on Shabbat, Shabbat observance would be eviscerated, as all work could be accomplished on Shabbat indirectly. The Ramban (commentary to VaYikra 23:24) notes that due to this concern, Chazal forbade a host of activities, such as engaging in business deals and asking a non-Jew to perform melachah on one's behalf. Chazal wished to avoid one who on the one hand does not technically violate Shabbat but on the other has not observed a meaningful Shabbat.
Contemporary Applications of Grama
The Gemara (Sanhedrin 77a) presents a situation referred to as "sof chamah lavo," a case where one ties up another individual in the desert during the night and the sun rises the subsequent day and the victim dies due to the heat. The Gemara classifies this as an act of gram retzichah (indirect killing). Rashi (ad. loc. s.v. Kofto and s.v. Oh ShePara) explains that because the killing agent was not present at the time of the perpetrator's action, the murder is classified as indirect.
The Chazon Ish (O.C. 38:4) applies the sof chamah lavo principle to solve the problems involved in milking cows on Shabbat.95See Gray Matter 1:200-214. He permits attaching the milking-machine pipes to the cow's udder before the electric flow begins. The machine can subsequently be turned on by a timer, and the one who attached the pipes to the udder is considered to have milked indirectly. Since the electricity is not flowing when the pipes are attached, it is analogous to the sun not being present when the individual tied up another person in the desert. The Chazon Ish permits this due to the great need to milk cows on Shabbat resulting from both the suffering of the cows and the severe financial strain on dairy farmers.
Another application is the Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah‘s permission (13:25) to adjust certain timers to turn on a light earlier than scheduled in case of great need. Once again, since the electricity is not flowing when the timer is adjusted, it is comparable to the sun not being present at the time when the victim is tied up.
The Zomet Institute, produces many items that operate using the sof chamah lavo principle for use in highly essential, non–life-threatening situations. These gadgets include wheelchairs, hospital equipment, and vehicles for patrolling areas in Israel that are not exceptionally dangerous.96For an explanation of why grama is preferable to amirah lenochri, instructing a non-Jew to perform melachah, see Rav Yaakov Ariel's essay in Techumin (19:343-348) and Rav Shmuel David's Teshuvot MeiRosh Tzurim (36). Avi Levinson notes that these mechanisms seem to run counter to the Rosh (Bava Kama 6:11; cited earlier in the chapter discussing refrigerators) that a routine system cannot be classified as grama. Even according to Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach who believes that the Rosh applies only when one intends to create the resultant action, it would appear that all of the contemporary systems that are set up to be routinely run via grama are no longer regarded as grama.
One could respond that the Rosh applies to systems used routinely in ordinary circumstances. For example, the Even HaOzeir (O.C. 328) applies the Rosh to a water powered mill and Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky (Teshuvot Achiezer 3:60) applies the Rosh to a conventional electric light. However, the Chazon Ish and those following in his footsteps are dealing with activities such as milking cows and using an electric wheelchair that are not usually performed via grama.
A popular Zomet product is their "grama phone," which operates in a similar manner to their other products. When one raises the receiver, no electric circuit is completed (unlike in a conventional phone). Instead, an electric pulse is sent out by the phone every ten seconds or so to detect if the receiver has been lifted. When it detects that the receiver has been lifted, the circuit is completed. Yet again, the absence of the pulse when one lifts the telephone parallels the sun that is not at hand when the tying is completed. Rav Ovadia Yosef endorses the use of the grama phone for essential needs in a brief responsum printed in Techumin (1:518). The grama phone is used in many venues in Israel, especially in the Israel Defense Forces, which has purchased hundreds of these phones for use in essential, non-critical situations on Shabbat. Grama phones have greatly enhanced Shabbat observance in the IDF, as a grama phone is used instead of a regular phone except in case of a full-fledged emergency.
We should note that Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (cited by Rav Hershel Schachter in his B’Ikvei HaTzon pp. 44-45) does not subscribe to the Chazon Ish's application of the sof chamah lavo principle. Rav Soloveitchik argues that since the electricity is operational when one performs his actions, it is not analogous to the classic cases of indirectly extinguishing a fire or sof chamah lavo where the "active item" is not present when one acts. One may respond97See my essay printed in Yeshiva University's Beit Yitzchak (35:382-383). that in the classic cases, the natural forces are moving the fire and the sun (from a common-sense perspective) are extant when the action is performed, just as the electricity moving the timer is present at the time when one acts. Accordingly, it would be accurate to say that the timer itself parallels the classic fire and sun rather the electricity driving the timer. The electricity parallels the natural forces that drive the sun and fire.
Rav Heinemann's Application to Shabbat-Mode Ovens
Rav Heinemann argues that grama is permitted in all situations on Yom Tov. He bases this on a ruling of the Rama (O.C. 514:3) that on Yom Tov, one is permitted to place a candle in a location where the wind is not currently blowing but a strong wind later will come and extinguish the fire. The Magen Avraham (ad. loc. 5) questions why the Rama does not limit this ruling to a case of great need as he did in the aforementioned context of extinguishing a fire on Shabbat. The Sha'ar HaTziyun (514:31) cites the Ma'amar Mordechai, who writes that "perhaps" Yom Tov differs from Shabbat in that only on Shabbat does the Rama limit grama to a case of great need.98The Vilna Gaon (Bei’ur HaGra O.C. 514:3 s.v. Umutar) seems to permit grama on Yom Tov even not in case of great need and the Taz (O.C. 514:6) permits grama on Yom Tov in case of “some need” even if it is not a great need. On Yom Tov, though, the Rama agrees that grama is permissible in all situations. Rav Heinemann understands the Sha'ar HaTziyun as a full endorsement of this distinction99Avi Levinson notes that Mishnah Berurah (514:25) seems to support Rav Heinemann’s understanding. .
Rav Heinemann applies this to an oven that is modified with a "Sabbath-mode" adjustment with a random time-delay feature. He permits pressing keys on a keypad, since nothing happens when one does so. Instead, the oven will randomly check the settings and adjust the temperature accordingly. There is an interval of between fifteen and twenty-five seconds before the heating element is activated in such specially-modified ovens. Rav Heinemann permits pressing the keys in all circumstances on Yom Tov, since he believes that grama is permitted in all circumstances on Yom Tov.
Criticism of Rav Heinemann's Ruling
Rav Heinemann’s ruling spawned a flurry of rulings from many top-level poskim in Israel and North America forbidding pressing buttons on Yom Tov. These authorities include Rav Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, Rav Moshe Shternbuch and Rav Shmuel Wosner in Israel as well as Rav Yisroel Belsky, Rav Feivel Cohen, Rav Shmuel Fuerst, and Rav Mordechai Willig in the United States. In addition, those who follow Rav Soloveitchik's definition of grama certainly do not subscribe to Rav Heinemann's approach, for according to Rav Soloveitchik, electricity does not fall under the purview of grama.
Rav Shternbuch in particular seemed very concerned about the use of grama on Yom Tov, especially since there are so many electronic items that can be operated using grama. For example, if one were to follow Rav Heinemann's ruling to its logical conclusion, one could routinely use a Zomet grama phone on Yom Tov, an obviously intolerable situation according to all opinions.
Moreover, the idea that Halachah grants unfettered license to perform melachah using grama on Yom Tov does not seem to be supported by contemporary poskim. Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah (13:27,33) does not grant blanket permission to grama activities on Yom Tov, and the Zomet Institute does not sanction use of its grama products on Yom Tov for non-essential activities.100The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (98:25) does not permit grama on Yom Tov. See Piskei Teshuvot 514:9, who cites a list of other poskim who do not permit grama on Yom Tov. Hence, intentionally performing grama is permissible on Yom Tov only for highly essential needs and not simply to raise and lower the temperature in one's oven.
Conclusion
Rav Heinemann and the Star-K certification agency are highly respected. However, for the reasons articulated above, his ruling appears not to constitute the mainstream halachic viewpoint and should not be relied upon in this specific instance.