<div dir="ltr"><div>R' David Riceman asked:<br>> The question came up over Shabbos whether Rabbi Karelitz,<br>> who prohibited opening and closing (as they say in modern<br>> Hebrew) an electrical circuit on Shabbos because of binyan<br>
> and stirah, said the same thing about a water circuit (e.g.,<br>> opening or closing a tap in the sink). We could think of<br>> no logical distinction between the two cases.</div>
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<div>I fail to see the parallel:</div>
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<div>In electricity there's a circuit ("A path or route the complete traversal of which without local change of direction requires returning to the starting point.") which the electricity seems to flow around in.</div>
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<div>Where is the circuit with water? It flows in from the river/Kinneret, through the pipes and out down the drain.</div>
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<div>In electricity you seem to be making/breaking this circular route.</div>
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<div>In water you are simply preventing/causing the Kinneret to empty out.</div>
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<div>(That said, I heard Rav YY Neuwirth (the ShShK) say (some 25 years ago in shiur) that RSZA (who was still alive) would have permitted (non-Bishul) electricity but felt incapable of disagreeing with the CI.)</div>
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<div>- Danny</div></div>