From the Rav’s Desk: Alexa bathroom smart system on Shabbos

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Alexa bathroom smart system

  1. Question:

How can one use a bathroom on Shabbos if the door is connected to an Alexa bathroom smart system which notifies them if the bathroom is occupied by turning on a smart plug light on the outside. When the bathroom door is closed, it notifies Alexa, which notifies the smart plug to turn on, which turns on light. When the door is opened, the light turns off. Now for Shabbos, we set it up that Alexa doesn’t turn on the plug with the light. But the sensor would still be working when you open and close the door. Is this a problem?

 

Answer:

This enters the subject of a Rabbinical Melacha Shelo Nicha Lei, of which many Poskim are lenient, although some are stringent. I would thus say that one should initially unplug the sensor from before Shabbos, although if it was not unplugged one may be lenient to use the bathroom, assuming the light will not turn on as a result. This follows a similar ruling of Admur regarding applying the rules of Lo Nicha Lei to a cloth that is wrapped around the pipe of a barrel.

See here for details of this matter: Piskeiy Teshuvos 277:8; Lo Nicha Lei: https://shulchanaruchharav.com/halacha/squeezing-liquid-from-cloths/ Halacha 3C

About The Author

Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein is a 6th generation descendent of the famous Chief Rabbi of Izhmir, Rav Yehoshua Avraham Krispin, who authored a number of Sefarim, and was a colleague of Rav Chaim Falagi, and father in-law of the Pesach Hadvir. He currently lives with his wife Shayna, and twelve children K”H, in Tzfas, Israel. Rabbi Goldstein received Semicha from Rabbi Schneur Zalman Labkowski of the Tomchei Temimim headquarters in 2005 and served as a chaplain in the Lotar/Kalatz and K9 unit of the IDF from years 2005-2008. He is also a certified Shochet, and has performed Hashgacha work in slaughterhouses. Rabbi Goldstein is the director of Shulchanaruchharav.com, the world’s leading web-based Halacha database, and is the director of the Home Study Semicha Program, a self-study web-based Semicha program. He is a prolific author of over 50 Sefarim studied by a wide range of readers throughout the world, which is used regularly in Semicha programs around the globe. He is a world renowned Posek, answering questions to a web-based market, and serves as a local Posek, Rav, and Lecturer, in the Tzemach Tzedek community Shul in Tzefas, Israel. His many classes can be heard both from his website, Vimeo and YouTube channel. Students can join live to classes given in the Tzemach Tzedek Shul, through the “בית חבד צפת Chabad Tsfat” YouTube channel.

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