[Avodah] How do you explain issur of electricity (boneh) to a non-religious person?

[R Davidovich]

Planting a tent peg into the ground constitutes an act of Boneh - Building.

Conceptually, Binyan can be defined as the act of affixing something to the
structure of the ground.  Pitching a tent into the earth.  Putting up beams
to build a house.  (This is only part of the concept of binyan, which could
be more broadly defined as the merging of several single items into a
whole.  I'm still working on a better phrasing.)

An act of physical violence to the ground is not necessary.  Just as
harvesting may be accomplished by lifting a potted plant (with a hole a the
bottom of the plant) from the ground, Building may be accomplished by
rooting something to the ground, even when done without force.  Hence,
plugging an appliance to the wall is in fact connecting it to the entire
infrastructure of the Electrical Power-Grid and buildings that make it up.
Binyan.

By the way, this also justifies the halachic view that plug-in appliances do
not ned to be toiveled. Since they operate only when they are mechubar
l'karka - plugged in, they lose the status of Kli and shed any Tevila
requirement.

That would be my way of justifying the Chazon Ish's view, although many
disagree with it, including R Shlomo Zalman Auerbach.

I safely assume that even barring the boneh concern, other objections would
be found, as they have been by other poskim who reject the Binyan argument.


I look forward to any disagreements with my explanation or choice of
phrasing, or if i got any details wrong.

RD


>   So how do I explain
> the issur of electricity (boneh) Truth is I do not know enough about
> circuits
>
>  and electricity to
> really do it. But the  question will b how
> is turning a light switch on building ?
>
>
> And if one could create a type of device that is not boneh, does
> that mean some lights could be turned on during Shabbat
>
>
>
>
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