[Avodah] Electricity

[D&E-H Bannett]

Re: <<When the timer is off and the appliance isn't plugged 
in, you just have a circuit that is broken in two places. 
once you plug in the appliance, until the timer ticks (if it 
is a mechanical timer for sure and even an electrical timer 
probably) the circuit remains broken and should not be 
considered boneh.>>

Many years ago, I questioned Harav Elyashiv about an alarm 
system someone was selling which used the "broken in two 
places" idea.

His reply was that. If closing both connections are required 
for the system to operate, the first connection might be 
considered gramma.  In the alarm system, however, closing 
the second switch is not what makes the device operative. 
Closing of the first switch makes the system operative and 
ready to disclose the intruder who closes the second switch. 
This, said Rav YSE, is an exact example of CI's boneh, and 
not what some say it is. Closing the first switch makes the 
system alive and doing it's job. That's the boneh. So I 
recommended to the one who had questioned me that he should 
not buy that alarm system.

R' E Turkel said something similar to this about the CI's 
boneh in his posting a day or two days ago.

I also just discovered that RSPick quoted additional 
information from RSZA's Kovetz Ma'amarim b'inyan CHashmal. 
This reminded me that I had not supplied a source in my 
previous posting on RSZA's issur or lack of issur  on 
chashmal.  The same source, pages 21 and 54.

To help clear up the various ideas being posted about CI 
boneh, I think I should quote the exact words of the CI. 
"od yesh bazeh mishum tikkun mana mikivan shema'amido al 
tekhunato lizrom et zerem hachashmal bitemidut karov hadavar 
d'zeh mimlekhet boneh min haTorah k'oseh kli"

Pls note the CI's "weak" terminology:  mishum, karov 
hadavar.


David