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From
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/84nep3l" eudora="autourl">
http://tinyurl.com/84nep3l</a><br><br>
<h2><b>New decree forbids use of any kind of elevator on the Sabbath
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<a href="http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&where1=JERUSALEM&sty=h&form=msdate">
JERUSALEM</a> The Jewish day of rest has become a bit more
labor-intensive for Yosef Ball. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
<Snip><br><br>
<b>Debate over elevators reignited</b> <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
<Snip><br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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