On Mon, 3 Oct 2011 13:13:59 -0700 (PDT), "Dr. Sunil"
wrote:

On Oct 3, 1:01*pm, The Revd wrote:
On Mon, 3 Oct 2011 11:59:29 +0100, "Recliner"





wrote:
wrote in message

On Mon, 3 Oct 2011 11:02:31 +0100
"GT" wrote:
This is silly - removing the button doesn't help them to avoid
breaking their law: The religious law prohibits them from using
electricity or operating machinery on the Sabbath. What exactly do
they think the green man is powered by?!!

Good point, I hadn't thought of that!

I think they're not supposed to *cause* work to be done, but can take
advantage of things that are happening anyway.

For example, I was once in a hotel in Jerusalem and on a Friday night,
headed for the lift to go down to the lobby. I noticed a crowd of people
waiting by another lift, but once I hit the button, they were happy to
join me in 'my' lift. Apparently, one lift runs an all-floors stopping
service on the Shabbat, but the others work normally. If a non-Jew like
me pressed the button for one of those lifts, they had no trouble taking
advantage of it. Apparently it's OK for non-Jews to cause work to be
done that benefits Jews, but not for those same Jews to cause it.

It's even OK to employ a "shabbos goy" to do things which they aren't
themselves allowed to do.

And, of course, the use of technology to circumvent the spirit of the
law while keeping to the letter of the law is also OK, as in the use
of ovens with 'shabbos' settings.

When all else fails, they set up an "eruv" like the one in Golders
Green where all kinds of shabbos violations are permissible within its
borders.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Why do the Orthdox believe that Almighty God needs to "rest" on the
7th day? That surely is a mortal attribute?

I don't think it means "rest" in the mortal sense.

And as for the Sabbath itself:

“Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the
things that are God’s." (Matthew 22:21)

Quite so.