The Shabbos App is a proposed

Android app Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of de ...

that is claimed to enable

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

s, and Jewish Sabbath-observers, to use a

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

on the Sabbath. The App was supposed to appear in late 2014. Some argued from the outset that this project was nothing more than an elaborate hoax, or prank, of some kind.

Development

The app's developers, YidTec, Inc., initially stated that the application would be released on

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sy ...

on December 1, 2014, and then on November 16 indicated that they were running behind schedule. A team of ten software developers at YidTec, Inc., including Yossi Goldstein, Yitz Appel, Yehuda Levi, and other programmers, were working on the app. On October 22, 2014, its developers stated on the Shabbos App website that they were planning to release the app with full functionality on December 1, 2014, on

. In this announcement, the developers also stated that the application is legitimate, and not a hoax or a joke. The developers announced on November 16 that they were running behind schedule. As of March 2017, the Shabbos App website is no longer available, and the app is not available for download via the Google Play store.

Purpose and function

Under Jewish law, as interpreted by mainstream Orthodox Jewish rabbis, Jews are not allowed to work on the Sabbath, which is a day of rest, and

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...

s do not turn electricity on or off on the Sabbath. An exception to these prohibitions is those situations that involve saving lives. The developers say that the Shabbos App is built in a manner that avoids and resolves the Jewish law problems related to using a smartphone by texting on the Sabbath, allowing observant Jews to text on the Sabbath. The screen stays lit for the entire day, texts can be automatically deleted, and an indicator lights green when plugging in the phone will not immediately trigger charging it.

Controversy

The app was controversial in some Orthodox Jewish circles. Rabbi Moshe Elefant of the Orthodox Union and Rabbi Yair Hoffman both spoke out against the app. The Orthodox Union ran two opinion pieces against the app as well as another piece by Rabbi Ari Kahn which was also run by Aish.com. Rabbi Dr. Raphael Zarum, Dean of the

London School of Jewish Studies The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and training to the wider Jewish community. Since 2012 LSJS also offers rabbinic ...

wrote that the Shabbos App developers:

"have found solutions to the halachic challenges of typing-writing, screen illumination, sound generation and battery drainage and charging.... I have no doubt that all major halachic authorities will come out against this, except for use in emergency situations. However, the real issue will be how many people, despite their rabbis, will download this new app, open it weekly and feel a bit less guilty about their Shabbat phone habits."

Elie Klein said the Jewish community should use the app's introduction as an opportunity to examine how the meaning of Shabbat is being communicated to the next generation. Another commentator focused on the benefit of just disconnecting for a few hours, rather than using the app. Rabbi Yaakov Menken wrote in early October 2014 that while it was true the Shabbos App had attracted a great deal of attention and discussion, he was pretty sure the app is a hoax, "designed to make Orthodox Jews look bad by demonstrating their focus on … what, precisely, I’m not sure ..." intended to "mock attempts by serious, committed Jews to face the new challenges presented by modern technology". According to one of the developers, several rabbis are on board with the project whom the developer described in September 2014 as "Orthodox and knowledgeable in Torah and halacha", though he declined to name them. Rabbi Steve Bar-Yaakov Gindi, a long-time rabbi who received

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform v ...

from the

Chief Rabbinate of Israel The Chief Rabbinate of Israel ( he, הָרַבָּנוּת הָרָאשִׁית לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate C ...

and administers a

Jewish education Jewish education ( he, חינוך, ''Chinuch'') is the transmission of the tenets, principles, and religious laws of Judaism. Known as the "people of the book", Jews value education, and the value of education is strongly embedded in Jewish cu ...

al website, notes that laws for observing the Jewish Sabbath have changed slightly over time to accommodate technological developments. He noted: "Today, there are security cameras everywhere, and no rabbis forbid walking in front of them. That is a good example of how ''

halacha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

'' has adjusted, in a perfectly legitimate way, to answer the needs of society using a new technology. To my mind, this is very similar." Others explain that there is specific halachic leniencies that are applicable in such a scenario (ccvc cameras), in most instances, and are not at all a product of 'adjustment to the times'.

Facebook page Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of t ...

s were created both in favor of and against the app. Jewish Business News listed it as # 2 in its article "Top 20 Tech Stories of 2014 With Jews in Them".

References

External links

Official website
archived fro
the original
2015-09-20
"The Shabbos App"
''

The Jewish Press ''The Jewish Press'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York, and geared toward the Modern Orthodox Jewish community. It describes itself as "America's Largest Independent Jewish Weekly". ''The Jewish Press'' has an online ...

'', cartoon by Asher Schwartz, October 27, 2014
"The Shabbos App Tragic Commentary"
by Rabbi Eliyahu Fink, Fink-or-Swim, October 2, 2014
"The Shabbos App (Yes it is Real)"
by Rabbi Eliyahu Fink, Fink-or-Swim, October 1, 2014
"The Shabbos App"
by Rabbi Yair Spitz {{DEFAULTSORT:Shabbos App Shabbat innovations Laws of Shabbat Judaism-related controversies Judaism software Mobile software Android (operating system) software

Development

Purpose and function

Controversy

See also

References

Further reading

External links