zev@hou2a.UUCP (Z.FARKAS) (10/25/84)
before I leave the net, i thought i might try to start one more discussion, even though i probably won't be able to see much of the message traffic. it seems to me that a fairly large number of otherwise orthodox jews make use of hot tap water on the sabbath. a few years ago, I asked rabbi elazar m. teitz of elizabeth, NJ (my hometown) about the permissibility of hot tap water on the sabbath, and he confirmed my own intuitive feeling that it is prohibited, under the category of cooking. a quick look at how an ordinary home hot water heater works should make it evident that every time you draw hot water, you are adding cold water to the heater tank. also, using even slightly warm tap water is really using a mixture of hot water and cold water. this is especially troublesome with the single-lever "joystick" type faucets that are becomming popular. in a test on such units in my own home i found that even when set on full cold, some hot water may leak through. of course, this will be a function of the design and condition of the individual faucet. does anyone know of a valid reason to allow the use of hot tap water on the sabbath? is this simply a matter of ignorance? I hope that this note will at least get a few people to ask their halachic authorities about this matter. (in my own house, i turn off the hot water valves under the sinks every friday before sunset.) zev farkas hou2a!zev 201 289 2553
hrs@houxb.UUCP (H.SILBIGER) (10/25/84)
You should be careful in using water on the sabbath. If you live in a house with a well, it will cause the pump to come on. Thus it is better not to wash or flush the toilet. Even using the public water supply is suspect, because youmay cause a pump to come on in the pumping station.