KosherSwitch

The KosherSwitch (aka "Kosher Switch", "Shabbos switch", "Shabbat switch") is a patented[1] wall switch marketed to the observant Jewish market and institutions servicing this market, as a means of controlling electricity on-demand on Shabbat and Jewish holidays in a manner that is permissible according to several Orthodox authorities,[2] though others reject it.[3] It is manufactured by KosherSwitch Technologies headquartered in New York City and invented by Andy Menashe Kalati.

A KosherSwitch unit shown installed alongside a traditional Shabbos clock/timer. The switch is in Sabbath Mode, and may be used, since a green status light is visible.

Background

The use of electricity on Shabbat is restricted in many ways, leading a typical Shabbat observant individual to utilize various innovations such as the Shabbos clock and the Kosher Lamp. The KosherSwitch seeks to improve upon existing innovations by allowing light fixtures to be triggered on or off as needed. According to the manufacturer, the switch is based upon "un-grama"[4][5] (non grama, thus making it suitable for general consumer use) technology, and several reputable Orthodox rabbis/poskim have ruled as such.[6][7] Others, however, have reached the opposite conclusion.[3]

Launch

In April 2015, the KosherSwitch group launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign seeking to raise $50,000 USD in support of their product. The campaign was successfully concluded with $70,715 USD total funding, and several thousand KosherSwitch units pre-ordered.[8] Their launch video, featuring founder Andy Menashe Kalati, went viral among Jewish viewers and had received over half a million views within the first few days post-launch.[9]

In October 2015, the company announced[10] that all pre-orders had been shipped and that sales of the product would shift to retailers and Amazon.

Debate and controversy

Shortly after the KosherSwitch launch on Indiegogo, fervent halakhic debate ensued. Many rabbis have issued rulings against use of the switch,[3][11][12][13] or have ruled in favor of its use for exigent purposes only, while others continued to back its use for general consumer use.[14] Yet others encouraged a less emotional and more calculated analysis of this paradigm-shifting invention.[15][16]

The KosherSwitch group also faced unsubstantiated allegations of misrepresenting rabbinic positions by doctoring their letters of endorsements and/or their endorsement videos.[17] However, the KosherSwitch group, has denied such wrongdoing and has stressed their policy of presenting letters and videos unedited and in their entirety.[18]

Several rabbis who had initially endorsed or offered their blessings for the product found it necessary to backtrack and retract their original endorsement. Those retractions have also been published by KosherSwitch on their website.[2] Adding to the confusion, in some cases these retractions seem self-contradictory, even at the expense of the KosherSwitch group’s reputation, and such hypocrisy has been decried by impartial bystanders.[19]

See also

References

  1. "US Patent US7872576 - Switching device and method". 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Endorsements/Blessings". KosherSwitch -Control Electricity on Shabbat!.
  3. 1 2 3 "2 Rabbis Prohibit 'Kosher Switch'". Chabad Online. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  4. "KosherSwitch 3D Tour". 13 April 2015.
  5. "How Does It Work?". KosherSwitch -Control Electricity on Shabbat!.
  6. "Rabbi Noach Isaac Oelbaum KosherSwitch". 13 April 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Responsum Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Shapiro" (PDF).
  8. "KosherSwitch - Control Electricity on Shabbat!". Indiegogo.
  9. "The Jewish Standard - Timeline Facebook". www.facebook.com.
  10. "Updates". Indiegogo.
  11. "Is Kosher Switch really kosher for Shabbat?". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2015-04-16. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  12. "The KosherSwitch – Were Rabbonim Misled? And A Halachic Analysis". Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  13. "The Kosher Switch Part II Follow Up". Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  14. KosherSwitch (2015-04-25), Rabbi Eliyahu BenHaim KosherSwitch 4/24/2015, retrieved 2016-07-14
  15. "When Mass Hysteria Attacks". Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  16. "Both Sides on the Kosher Switch Debate and Some Commentary". Finkorswim.com. 2015-04-24. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  17. 1 2 "New York - Shedding Light on KosherSwitch". VosIzNeias. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  18. KosherSwitch (2015-05-04), Zev Brenner KosherSwitch Radio Interview, retrieved 2016-07-14
  19. KosherSwitch (2015-05-08), Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi Hypocrisy & KosherSwitch 4/28/2015, retrieved 2016-07-14
  20. KosherSwitch (2015-04-13), Rabbi Noach Isaac Oelbaum KosherSwitch, retrieved 2016-07-14
  21. "R Chaim Tzvi Shapiro letter".
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