what is bishul follow up

Asked by alex · October 28, 2003 · Shabbat

Question

Please correct me if I misunderstand. In http://www.kashrut.org/forum/viewpost.asp?mid=4756, you wrote: “Bishul is when you have a fire on the stove and you take raw chicken and you put it into a pot onto that fire, and it cooks and an hour later you have delicious cooked chicken.” Since the prohibition of bishul (cooking) on Shabbat is not benefiting from food cooked on Shabbat, as I had previously thought, but rather when I actually do the cooking, then the reason that many forbid the practice of timed cooking is because they learn it would desecrate or lessen ‘mezzalzel’ the spirit of Shabbat, while you learn that timers don’t lessen the spirit of Shabbat. Is that more or less accurate? Thanks

Answer

Answered by Aaron Abadi

Often when people realize that the law that they thought was a law, actually is not, they put it into a category of "it lessens the spirit of Shabbat." If you don't keep the laws then it lessens the spirit of Shabbat. The Halachah will tell you what is not permitted for these type reasons. Or a qualified Moreh Hora'ah (Posek) can tell you these things. Watching a game on TV with the family, is certainly not in the spirit of Shabbat. Leave these decisions to the Poskim. We use timers for air conditioners, lights, and other things, but when it comes to dishwashers or crockpots, we suddenly have a problem. Because we are not used to it. It isn't an issue of spirit of Shabbat. It is that we are not used to this. Ok. You don't need to do it, if it makes you uncomfortable, but let's not add restrictions. (i'm speaking to all people in general) AA