OHR SOMAYACH'S ASK THE RABBI 
Issue #259, December 18, 1999 
Parshat Vayigash
=====================================
In this issue:
Y2K DAY               
FOOD FIGHT            
SEA BURIAL             
PEACE
YIDDLE RIDDLE
PUBLIC DOMAIN
=====================================

Y2K DAY

Eliahu Leiba from Israel <eliahu.leiba@telrad.co.il> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,
As we approach the Year 2000, many -- especially in the computer 
field -- will be asked by their management to provide round the 
clock support during the transition from December 31, 1999 to 
January 1, 2000.  This transition occurs Friday night, on Shabbat.  
In many companies, an argument will be presented to the 
employees that their support is a matter of "pikuach nefesh" (life 
and death).  Some employees will be told that the software they are 
knowledgeable about provides a vital service either in Israel or 
abroad (e.g. telecommunications, infrastructure, aircraft 
monitoring systems, water supply, etc.).  Much pressure will be 
placed on the employee in an attempt to convince them to work 
that Shabbat.  Please provide a general checklist of halachic 
criterion as to what constitutes pikuach nefesh with respect to 
requiring desecration of Shabbat.  This would enable your 
readership to respond in a respectful and intelligent way when told, 
"We would like you to work on Shabbat, since if your software 
breaks, so and so can happen and it is a matter of life and death."

Dear Eliahu Leiba,

	It is a commandment to break Shabbat in any and every 
manner for "pikuach nefesh" -- saving a life.  Even in a case of a 
shadow of a doubt of a doubt.  Example:  A building falls, but 
chances are it was empty; and even if someone was inside, chances 
are he's already dead; and so on.  Even so, we must dig out the 
rubble, even on Shabbat, in order to possibly save the life of 
someone who may be buried underneath.

	If someone has the chance to save a life, but refrains from 
doing so because he fears breaking Shabbat, he is called a 
murderer.  Certainly, then, if a person's services are needed to 
prevent possible loss of life, he is indeed required to work even on 
Shabbat.

	But what constitutes a life-threatening risk in regard to 
the so-called Y2K bug?  Is your job one that requires your 
presence at the turn of the "millenium?"  And if so, are there ways 
to do your job just as well while minimizing the Shabbat 
desecration (for example, writing "macros" before Shabbat which 
minimize the amount of buttons that need pushing)?  This is a 
complex issue with many factors.  If you think your job requires 
your presence the night of Dec. 31, there's still time left to consult 
a rabbi who is a qualified halachic authority.  The rabbi, after 
consulting technical experts in the field, will decide each case 
based on its own individual merits.

	It's interesting to note that, besides being the millenium 
on the Christian calendar, this year is a millenium of sorts from a 
Jewish perspective too.  This past Tisha B'av marked 1930 years 
that Jews have been living in the shadow of the destruction of the 
Second Temple.  Add to this the 70 years of Babylonian exile 
between the First and Second Temples, and you get exactly 2000 
years that the Jewish nation has lived without a Holy Temple.

************

FOOD FIGHT

AnonymousTeacher@yahoo.com wrote:

Dear Rabbi,
I am a teacher in the [withheld] school system, and I have a rule in 
my class that my students may not eat.  If I do catch a student 
eating, may I take away the food -- without returning it, or is this 
stealing?

Dear Anonymous Teacher,

	Best would be to obtain permission from the parents for 
food confiscation.  Otherwise, it would be an improper 
punishment.  To punish with food confiscation, without such 
explicit permission, is a negative means to train a student.

Sources:
*	Igrot Moshe II, 103

************

SEA BURIAL

Alter B. Raubvogel from Cincinnati, OH 
<alterbentzion@juno.com>

Dear Rabbi,
Hi!  A few of us were discussing the recent Egypt Air crash, and 
the question arose:  Is there a Jewish concept of burial at sea?  Is 
there an obligation to retrieve and bury the remains of someone 
who has died in a shipwreck or plane crash at sea, G-d forbid?  
May we only have "healthy" problems! And may your staff of 
rabbis be eternally blessed for the service you provide to your 
people.

Dear Alter B. Raubvogel,

	The Jewish concept of burial is only in the earth.  There's 
no "burial at sea."  If someone died at sea, there would be an 
obligation to try to find him and bury him, if possible.

Sources:
*	See Beit Yosef, Yoreh Deah 375:7

************

PEACE

Ramona Freedman<moneoli@hotmail.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,
I am wondering where it is written that the notion of internal peace 
is like a peaceful home.

Dear Ramona Friedman,

	In Eichah Rabba there is an interesting parable which 
perhaps alludes to internal peace vis-a-vis a peaceful home.  A 
king was in a rage, and walked out angrily from his palace.  When 
he was outside [and calmed down], he kissed the wall of his palace 
and said, "Let there be peace inside my palace; peace inside my 
kingdom house.  Peace inside my dear home.  Let there be peace 
from now on; let there be peace..."

Sources:
*	Eichah Rabba, Petichta 25

=====================================

YIDDLE RIDDLE

	With everyone focused on the "Year 2000" computer 
bug, not much attention is being given to the "Year 2100" Prayer 
Book bug.  The year 2100 marks a change, which will make 
almost every current English siddur (Jewish Prayer Book) outdated, and 
require that they be changed.  What is the "Year 2100" Prayer Book 
bug?
Answer Next Week

=====================================

The Public Domain
Comments, quibbles, and reactions 
concerning previous "Ask-the-Rabbi" features

If I Were a Rich Man...

	Hi.  My name is Richie Tockar.  I appreciate your 
comments and answer to my question that I sent to "Ask the 
Rabbi."  I will cherish your words.  I think your info is a 
wonderful facility -- and I look forward to further contact.  Thanks 
for the help and sincere effort you have made.  I will be 
contributing by making donations to your worthy cause.  I am 12 
years old, not earning money as yet, but will save my pocket 
money and then give to tzedakah.  Regards.

                               Richie Tockar <tockar@ozemail.com.au>

Re: Testing G-d (http://www.ohrnet.org/ask/ask255.htm#Q3):

	Regarding your comment that one is allowed to "test" G-
d in the matter of tzedakah (charity) and giving tithes.  I am trying 
to set aside ma'aser (a tenth) of my money.  When I do so, and 
forward it to an actual worthy cause like a fund that feeds the poor 
on Shabbos or Pesach, I have noticed what I considered to be 
positive reactions, although I never asked for them.  In one case, I 
sealed the envelope and got a phone call about a job (I freelance.)

                                                       Name@Withheld

Re:  Tekoa 
(http://www.ohrnet.org/tw/5760/bereishi/vayeshev.htm#LL):

	In a recent "Love of the Land" you wrote about the city of 
Tekoa.  Another fact regarding Tekoa is that King David's teacher, 
Eira Hayairi, was from this city.  (Chagiga 2b)

                                                        Name@Withheld
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