[NAGDU] Sabbath: baggies and babysitters.

[Moshe Segal]

I am receiving the digests, and I find it too hard to isolate just the 
quotes that are relevant, so I am opting not to have any prior quotes.

The problem with leaving a baggie outside is that I do not know the 
exact place the dog is going to relieve.  Beside bringing in and out, I 
am not allowed to move things outside from one place to another a 
distance of more than about 6 to 8 feet,  and even if the dog relieved 
in the right place, I would have to leave the bag in the place it was 
used.  I generally try to get the dog to go on grass, most preferably a 
tree lawn, and particularly on the block nearest home.  The Seeing Eye 
did not address this issue, since when I was there it did not come up; 
the campus was fenced in, which created a situation similar to an Eruv.

To the person that pointed out that having a babysitter is making them 
work, there are two things to take into account.  Firstly, "work" is a 
broad mistranslation of the Hebrew word that is used in regard to the 
Sabbath; "skilled activity" would be a closer attempt, though not 
exact.  There are 39 particular activities, related to building the 
Tabernacle in the desert, that are forbidden on the Sabbath and major 
holidays.  Other activities may be strenuous, and we may call them work, 
but a person could engage in them all day, and although they may be 
violating the spirit of the Sabbath, they are technically not violating 
its legal boundaries.  Supervising and feeding a small child does not 
fall into any of those categories. Secondly, unlike most of the major 
religions, particularly Christianity and Islam, Judaism does not expect 
or even consider right that all the world adhere to it.  Except for 
seven basic ethical laws, all the others of the Old Testament apply only 
to those born of a Jewish mother, or who properly converted.  We are not 
supposed to directly ask those not of the covenant to do forbidden 
activity, because we are not supposed to have it done for us, except 
under certain circumstances, which is beyond the scope of this 
explanation.  I suppose the woman who insisted on not feeding her dog 
had a non-Jew do it for her, which, as I said before is totally unnecessary.

Some people are questioning the rabbis' insensitivity regarding not 
allowing the use of a cane.  As far as it being life-threatening not to 
have one, they would probably say that there is no requirement to go 
outside or to cross streets equal to the prohibition of using a cane.  
Going to the synagogue is fulfilling a rabbinic enactment that is 
trumped by the Biblical prohibition.  The rabbis do not make the laws, 
but interpret those made before them, and use certain principles to 
determine when to be lenient and when to be strict. It is not a matter 
of personal preference.  Would a shoplifter be acquitted on account of 
being extremely famished and not affording to purchase food properly?  
Can one who violates the speed limit get off with an excuse that they 
are pressed for time and were threatened with termination if they are 
late one more time?  As I may have mentioned, there are those that 
permit the use of a cane, and I do not consider those following their 
ruling to violate the Sabbath.  But we are not supposed to shop around 
for the ruling that is to our liking, once we have been issued one.

I myself have been issued a leniency on the Sabbath in another area.  I 
am allowed to use a CPAP while sleeping, even though it uses electricity 
and monitors my use, and respiratory status, because it is 
life-preserving and according to some the use of electricity is not 
literally using fire, and is forbidden only at a protective rabbinic level.


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