who observe the Shabbat (Sabbath) have the practice of refraining from turning electricity on or off during Shabbat. In most cases they also abstain from making adjustments to the intensity of an electrical appliance as well.
Authorities of Jewish law have disagreed about the basis of this prohibition since the early 20th century. Turning on an incandescent light bulb violates the Biblical prohibition against igniting a fire according to a nearly unanimous consensus of authorities.
However, the reasons for prohibiting the operation of an electrical appliance that does not produce light or heat, such as a fan, are not agreed upon. At least six substantive reasons have been suggested, and a minority believe that turning on an electrical fan is prohibited only because of common Jewish practice and tradition (minhag) but not for any substantive technical reason.
Although directly operating electrical appliances is prohibited, several indirect methods are permitted according to some or all authorities. For example, Jews may program a Shabbat clock on a timer before Shabbat to operate a light or appliance on Shabbat, and in some cases they may adjust the timer on Shabbat.
Unintentional activation of an electrical appliance may be permitted if the activation is not certain to occur or if the person does not benefit from the automatic operation of the appliance. For example, most authorities permit Jews to open a refrigerator door even though it will eventually cause the motor to turn on; however, they prohibit opening the door if a light inside will automatically turn on. They also permit one to walk past a house with a motion-sensitive light bulb if the street is already well-lit, but not if it is dark.
Some uses of electricity are especially controversial in the state of Israel because of its large Jewish population. The use of automated machines to milk cows on Shabbat, an activity that is prohibited if done by hand, is disputed because the farmer derives economic benefit from the milk. The use of electricity from power plants operated by Jews in violation of Shabbat is also controversial because it is normally forbidden to benefit from an action another Jew did in violation of Shabbat. However, because of communal need and other halakhic factors, most authorities in Israel permit these uses of electricity in practice.
Though Orthodox Jews consider the laws pertaining to electricity on Shabbat to be applicable to all Jews, they are mostly followed by Orthodox Jews. Others forms of Judaism, such as Conservative Judaism, take a more lenient view.
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