Pesach's Notes: October 2012

BIO (2024)

BIO: Pesach Steinberg is a community Rabbi in Melbourne Australia and is married with five daughters and two sons-in-law. He is involved in the kashrut industry, is a prison chaplain, author & publisher, sits on industry boards for ethics in human research, has worked in Synagogue administration and has been the Rabbi of a Synagogue. He graduated from Mount Scopus College and Monash University and received semicha from HaRav Zalman Nechemiah Goldberg zt’l. Pesach is also the Australian Ambassador for Sar-El Israel, which places volunteers on IDF bases throughout Israel. (as at 1/1/24)

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Laws of nature don't rest

Shavua tov l'kulam.
In today's and tomorrow's Daf (Shabbat pgs.18&19) I welcome your thoughts regarding the topic 'use of inanimate objects for the purpose of work on Shabbos & Erev Shabbos'.
In particular, both Beit Hillel & Beit Shammai agree that you can set a beam to squeeze out the last parts of oil from crushed olives erev Shabbos, so that the last minutiae of oil oozes out OVER Shabbos.
Being that i am an amateur physics buff, I find this curious. It occurred to me that it seems the 'laws of nature' (in this case, gravity) are not given allowance to rest on Shabbos.

One of my thoughts...
It would seem this Shabbos law conforms to the Newtonian principle that objects in motion [should] stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force...?
e.g.
- you can use fire but cannot 'alter' it,
- a water wheel can turn as long as it is not grinding
- a beam can press the olives but cannot be moved.

Love
Pesach