[Avodah] electronic key card

[Micha Berger]

On Sun, Feb 15, 2026 at 08:02:07AM -0500, Akiva Miller via Avodah wrote:
>> https://torahinmotion.org/classes/electricity-and-shabbat-the-views-of-rabbi-nahum-rabinovitch
>> and any other parts of the discussion you care to comment on.

> Disclaimer: That's a 75-minute video, and I watched only the first 6
> minutes. Then I googled "Nahum Rabinovitch electricity shabbat" to *read*
> how he holds, and this post is based on what I read...

One of the foud possible approaches:
> C) Nevertheless, even if we cannot point to a specific reason to forbid a
> given device, ever since these things were discovered and invented, Klal
> Yisrael has accepted - for whatever reason - not to use them on Shabbos, at
> least not l'chatchila.

I would love it if someone could check the citations, as I am giving
over an old memory of something I saw in books I don't currently own.

R SZ Auerbach takes this one step further. He says that just as the
Sanhedrin is meqadeish the chodesh in their role as representing Klal
Yisrael, the same is true for gezeiros. (I do not recall if this applies
only to gezeiros or to taqanos and other legislation as well.)

A gezeirah only has power because it was made by the representatives
of Kelal Yisrael. Which is why it's only binding if KY takes it on when
first legislated. And not "she'ein hatzibbur yakhol laamod bo". (Sorry
for the double negative, but that's how the idiom goes.)

Therefore, RSZA writes (Me'orei haEish; Minchas Shelomo vol 1, 9:7)
since Kelal Yisrael consider electricity to assur, not just as
minhag, it's assur "mideRabbanan". Since that's where rabbanan get
the authority to begin with.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 The true measure of a man
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   is how he treats someone
Author: Widen Your Tent      who can do him absolutely no good.
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF                 - Samuel Johnson