Re: Proposal To Curtail Commercial Activity on Shabbat in Israel
- From: Andy Katz <amkatz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2006 06:10:58 +0000 (UTC)
On Sat, 29 Apr 2006 21:09:31 +0000 (UTC), "YM"
<bar_kochba132@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
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.
I frankly don't have the faintest idea what you are talking about
here. What is "dishonest" about advocating Shabbat observance
on these grounds? I don't care what the motiviation is, so long
as they do it, it is beneficial for everyone.
You're not advocating Shabbat observance. You're advocating a law that
would compel Israeli businesses to close on Shabbat. Big difference.
Shabbat observance DOES strengthen family
interaction, if someone wants to promote this for that reason
instead of jumping straight to "Shabbat observance was
mandated by the Torah", so what?
Because it's dishonest. If you try to sell mandatory Shabbat
observance as a means to strengthen family observance then you ought
to allow business owners who don't have families to avoid compliance.
As I wrote before, selling a law to force businesses to close to
Shabbat because doing so will improve family interaction is like
selling universal kashrus because the food is healthier, or modesty
because it reduces sun damage to the skin.
Regarding your complaint that my using this argument is
"hurtful", all I can say is that I left the US almost 20 years
ago, and I obviously am not aware of how much Stalinistic
political-correctness has come to dominate discourse.
No. Creating a law such as you propose is potentially hurtful to those
who don't have families. It's one thing for a solitary individual to
be shomrei shabbat because doing so is mandated by the Torah. In that
case s/he's no different from someone with a large, loving family. But
if you sell mandatory shabbat closing as a kind of Super Family Day,
then you're leaving a lot of people out and isolated for no good
reason, because shabbat, as it's been explained to me, is not a family
day. It is what it is.
Now, we can say that you are "hurtful" also when you disagree
with anybody about anything (I didn't even criticize anybody, but
you still claimed I am being "hurtful"). If you are advocating
that we all "shut-up" which will stifle all discussion of everything
(e.g. If I mention that I eat meat, is that "hurtful" to animal-rights
or vegetarian activists?)
then that is the end of all discussion and we might as well
close down this newsgroup.
That's not what I meant.
I think Jay already shot down the Stalinist analogy quite effectively,
suffice to say that telling someone he has to shut his business on a
certain day each week because he has to spend more time with his
family reeks of Soviet style disinformation. I realize that's not the
intent. You're not a Stalinist. But then, neither am I;-)
Andy Katz
.
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