I was talking to my husband this morning about the controversy concerning The Kosher Switch. The Kosher Switch is a product proposing to replace a standard light switch with an innovative device that would enable switching on and off lights on Shabbos.
While some have hailed the proposed product as a groundbreaking invention in accordance with halachah, others have condemned it as antithetical to Shabbos observance and decidedly not kosher.
Rabbi Eliyahu Fink posted a thorough examination of both sides of the issue on his blog.
I’ll leave the halachic arguments to the likes of Rabbi Fink and other Torah scholars who can more accurately debate the halachic merits and disadvantages of the Kosher Switch. The area of the Kosher Switch saga that interests me is the vitriol being heaped upon its technological creator.
It is one thing to feel that the technology isn’t sound regarding halachic requirements for Shabbos use, it’s quite another thing to lambast another Jew and accuse him of knowingly creating a product that will cause shomer Shabbos Jews to desecrate the Sabbath for financial gain.
On one forum, a poster wrote –
“HAVE YOU ALL LOST YOUR MIND? Kosher switch? This is nothing but a scam, sham, trick, loophole or a hundred other things. One thing it is not is “kosher”. This is not some CC T&C’s you are trying to justify. Who do you think you are fooling here? You think you are going to pull a quick one on your creator? Good luck with that one.”
Can’t we at least be dan l’chaf zechus that the inventor simply wanted to create a product to make it easier for Jews to observe Shabbos with no other nefarious motive? Now that the tide seems to be turning against this product, rabbis who seemingly gave previous endorsements are now distancing themselves from their initial recommendations.
As my husband and I discussed the Kosher Switch and the ensuing debate, I wondered how the discussions about the invention got so personal so quickly. My husband asked me if the irony in timing over the issue had occurred to me. We are now in the period of Sefiras Ha’Omer, where we count down the 49 days from Pesach to Shavuos. These are days when we spiritually ready ourselves for commemorating Hashem giving the Torah to the Jewish people at Har Sinai. These are days of judgement and mourning.
In the Gemora, we are told that during this same calendar period:
“Rabbi Akiva had 12,000 pairs of students…and all of them died in one period of time because they did not conduct themselves with respect towards one another…they all died between Pesach and Shavuos…and they all died a terrible death. What was that it? R’ Nachman said “As’kerah” (a death from suffocating, from a croup-like illness).”
Furthermore, Rabbi Yehuda Prero explains:
“The students, as the Gemora tells us, did not treat each other with respect. Because they did not treat each other with respect, no one student viewed any other student as “anything great.” Because they did not accord each other respect, when the first student died, the others did not gain any inspiration, as they did not acknowledge the greatness of their comrade, and hence did not make the a fortiore as to their own mortality. The students, therefore, did not refine their character and did not start treating each other with respect. The students, therefore, caused their own death. Because of their failure to accord respect, not only were the students punished, but they passed up an opportunity to repent for this flaw. The students, therefore, truly died “because they did not conduct themselves with respect for one another.”
As far as I can tell, the creator of the Kosher Switch didn’t pull his halachic reasoning out of thin air. He consulted halachic authorities while developing the device to ensure compliance with the laws of Sabbath. While the ultimate ruling might be that the invention isn’t acceptable for Shabbos usage, does this opinion permit the disparagement of one who tried to create something positive for the Jewish community?
Today, if we were put to the same test as Rabbi Akiva’s students, would we fare any better? It’s one thing to learn about our history from an academic perspective, it’s another to internalize history’s lessons in practice.
