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<font size=3>There has been some controversy regarding the use of Sabbath
mode ovens. See
<a href="http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=19228" eudora="autourl">
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=19228</a> Does the
article below add more to this controversy? YL<br><br>
From
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/849nzd3" eudora="autourl">
http://tinyurl.com/849nzd3<br><br>
</a>A two-year-old gas oven sits, like new, in the kitchen of a residence
<br>
retired pediatrician and neonatologist <br>
<<a href="http://www.courant.com/topic/entertainment/robert-harris-PECLB002234.topic" eudora="autourl">
http://www.courant.com/topic/entertainment/robert-harris-PECLB002234.topic</a>
>Robert <br>
Harris of <br>
<<a href="http://www.courant.com/topic/us/connecticut/hartford-county/west-hartford-PLGEO100100202260000.topic%3EWest" eudora="autourl">
http://www.courant.com/topic/us/connecticut/hartford-county/west-hartford-PLGEO100100202260000.topic>West</a>
<br>
Hartford uses only on Friday nights and Saturdays for the Jewish
Sabbath.<br><br>
It's not the oven he thought he was getting, nor is it one he
wants.<br><br>
Harris, who paid close to $600 for the oven, felt betrayed by <br>
<<a href="http://www.courant.com/topic/economy-business-finance/general-electric-company-ORCRP006396.topic" eudora="autourl">
http://www.courant.com/topic/economy-business-finance/general-electric-company-ORCRP006396.topic</a>
>General <br>
Electric for telling him the oven's Sabbath mode complied with the <br>
needs of Jews observing the weekly Sabbath. Harris, like other <br>
observant Jews, does not start or stop any electrical device, whether
<br>
a computer, phone or oven, on the Sabbath<br><br>
<Snip><br><br>
Harris also cannot cook food on the Sabbath. He is allowed only to <br>
reheat previously cooked food without starting or stopping an <br>
electrical circuit. An oven with a Sabbath mode bypasses the <br>
automatic 12-hour shut-off circuitry built into modern ovens for <br>
safety. He also assumed the Sabbath-compliant oven he bought had a <br>
time-bake feature that could be set before the weekend Sabbath to <br>
turn on automatically to reheat the pre-cooked food.<br><br>
"That assumption," he says, "ultimately proved
wrong."<br><br>
As Harris understood it, this was not a proper Sabbath mode. For the
<br>
past year-and-a-half, Harris has tried to make his point to General <br>
Electric but says he could not find anyone knowledgeable about the <br>
Sabbath mode.<br><br>
<Snip><br><br>
"We believe we comply with what the Sabbath mode should
accomplish," <br>
says GE spokeswoman Kim Freeman. "It may not meet his particular
<br>
needs, but as long as we comply with what Star-K recommends we have <br>
done our job."<br><br>
But GE did more than that. It consulted with its own engineer and, <br>
finally, with Star-K. That's when Harris discovered the variations of
<br>
Sabbath mode.<br><br>
A basic Sabbath-mode oven, certified by Star-K, bypasses the <br>
automatic 12-hour shut-off system to allow Jewish owners to use the <br>
stove continuously on holidays for two or three days. Harris' oven <br>
did not have a time-bake feature that would turn on automatically and
<br>
reheat his food on the weekend Sabbath.<br><br>
"We do not guarantee that an appliance will have a time-bake <br>
feature," says Rivka Lea Goldman, the appliance liaison for Star-K.
<br>
"I was trying to explain that to the doctor. He felt he was misled.
I <br>
tried to explain that the words 'Sabbath mode' are perhaps <br>
misleading. Our organization did not pick that terminology. Sabbath <br>
mode is really for Jewish holidays. But the manufacturers are <br>
obviously printing manuals for thousands of consumers, not just
Jewish."<br><br>
Because Harris assumed he was getting an all-purpose Sabbath mode <br>
oven, he did not notice the qualifications on the Star-K website. <br>
(For a list of appliances certified by Star-K, visit
cour.at/JEq665.)<br><br>
"Who is the culprit here?" says Harris. "I think there is
plenty of <br>
blame to go around. Star-K erroneously allowed GE to claim this range
<br>
as having the full Sabbath mode, which is a misnomer. Star-K does <br>
admit this but told me I should have check with them or their <br>
website. I do have some limited culpability in not doing so. At the <br>
end of the day, I understand what went wrong."<br><br>
<br>
See the above URL for more. YL<br>
From
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/849nzd3" eudora="autourl">
http://tinyurl.com/849nzd3<br><br>
</a>A two-year-old gas oven sits, like new, in the kitchen of a residence
retired pediatrician and neonatologist
<a href="http://www.courant.com/topic/entertainment/robert-harris-PECLB002234.topic">
Robert Harris</a> of
<a href="http://www.courant.com/topic/us/connecticut/hartford-county/west-hartford-PLGEO100100202260000.topic">
West Hartford</a> uses only on Friday nights and Saturdays for the Jewish
Sabbath.<br><br>
It's not the oven he thought he was getting, nor is it one he
wants.<br><br>
Harris, who paid close to $600 for the oven</font></body>
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