[Avodah] Rabbinical ruling causes havoc on elevators

[Prof. Levine]

 From http://tinyurl.com/84nep3l


New decree forbids use of any kind of elevator on the Sabbath

<http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&where1=JERUSALEM&sty=h&form=msdate>JERUSALEM 
­ The Jewish day of rest has become a bit more labor-intensive for Yosef Ball.

The Orthodox Jew and his wife are no longer using 
elevators custom-built for the Jewish Sabbath, 
ever since a rabbinical ruling last month 
outlawed them. Instead, they have been hiking up 
seven flights of stairs to get home each 
Saturday, lugging with them their five young children and a double stroller.

<Snip>

Debate over elevators reignited

The ruling last month by one of Israel's leading 
rabbis, calling the elevators a no-go, has 
reignited a vigorous debate over the lifts, 
forcing Orthodox Jews living on top floors to 
decide if they're up for the steep hike home from synagogue on Saturdays.

The decision stretches far beyond Israel's 
borders. Buildings with Shabbat elevators are 
common in Orthodox communities around the world, 
and residents in places as far away as New York 
are now struggling with how to interpret the ruling.

Jacob Goldman, a real estate agent in an Orthodox 
neighborhood in Manhattan's Lower East Side, said 
residents are not rushing to change their 
routines. Landlords and building managers have to 
think about the decree's possible implications 
but aren't likely to take any drastic measures.

<Snip>

Hospitals and hotels catering to Orthodox Jews 
have also had to weigh how to address the 
elevator decree. The plush David Citadel Hotel in 
Jerusalem said it will leave it up to visitors to 
decide whether to use one of the four Sabbath 
elevators, but expects religious guests to 
request rooms on the lower of its 10 floors.

Jerusalem's 10-floor Shaare Zedek hospital said 
it has not received any directive on the matter 
and will continue operating its Sabbath elevators as usual.

See the above URL for the rest of this article.   YL
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