Re: Proposal To Curtail Commercial Activity on Shabbat in Israel

Andy Katz <amkatz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:3qe452dl3f2i83eqr223rc2dr188vppdvp@xxxxxxx:

On Fri, 28 Apr 2006 13:13:54 +0000 (UTC), "Asher_N"
<compguy666@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Sorry, I just have to ask, but among these religious entrepreneurs
are there individuals who would shrug and cite "yoke of halacha"
when someone such as Asher asks why he can't attend his gentile
father's church funeral?



Please kindly leave me out of this.

This is why I should avoid breaking my own about citing readers not
directly involved in the discussion.

Apologies, Asher.

I honestly believe this is why arguments such as the marit ayin vs
modern times vs halachic requirement occur. Religious and their
secular allies try to sell a law such as this to the secular
majority by pointing out the non-religious benefits of working fewer
hours, spending more family time, etc.. In short, it's like selling
kashrus as more healthful or modest attire as a means of avoiding
sun damage to the skin. To characterize mandatory Shabbat observance
as "pro-family" is inherently dishonest and potentially hurtful to
those who don't have families or whose families really need those
extra hours of pay to put food on the table.


Those numbers are more indicative of either the lack of or the
unwlingless to enforce effective legislation conserning the numbe of
hours a worker can work. OTOH, if the proposed legislation will start
that ball rolling, so be it.

Hmmm .... perhaps you ought to have followed your first instinct and
stayed out of this. The above makes no sense. There's nothing about
limiting the number of hours a worker can work, only that none of them
transpire over shabbos.

Andy Katz



Part of what you sniped made refeence to stats on hours worked, and
numbers of workers that end up working 7 days a week if they have to work
on Shabbat and how enforcing a closure would help with that. It seems
that legislation of working conditions is lacking. Pehaps the discussion
of forcing closure can lead to a discussion of simply limiting the number
of hours or consecutive day one can work.
.