Baseball on Shabbos

October 26, 2007 2 Comments »
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It’s been a dilemma in my household for years now. There is an exciting sporting event on Friday night or Saturday afternoon, and I want to watch it, but shabbos gets in the way. What to do?

Some people might think “shabbos doesn’t get in the way of the sports, sports get in the way of shabbos” and that is a perfectly valid position. However, not being as dedicated as some people, I want to find a way to watch the sporting event, whether it’s the baseball playoffs in October or the NFL playoffs in January, but I don’t want to violate shabbos to do it. So, what do I do?

Well, before two weeks ago, I would do nothing. I’m not going to leave the TV on for 25 hours just for a three hour baseball or football game. However, Time Warner’s new cable boxes allow you to program your TV to go on and off at specific times. Does it violate the letter of the law? Probably not. Does it violate the sanctity of shabbos and the spirit of shabbos? Absolutely. It’s a fine line, and Jewish people all over the world, specifically Jewish crazy sports fans like me, have chosen to come dangerously close to the line.

Discuss.



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  • benji

    Not nearly as exciting as watching something live, is TiVo… But if you are going to use Time Warner’s new deal, then do it… and OWN it. There are many issues that I am close to the line on, and many that I cross. I believe as long as you are aware of what you are doing and making an educated decision, and not diluting yourself into thinking “its ok just because I found a BS loop-hole” you’re alright. Just last weekend I had a conversation with a few Rabbi’s who were talking about the new type of hot water heaters. Now there are ones you can shut off the inflow and heating element on Friday, and use hot water on Shabbat. One rabbi loves it and uses it. The other can’t imagine using hot water on Shabbat “It just doesn’t feel right”. The way I see it, they both researched the issue, found what they were comfortable with, and sleep well at night.

  • Ahron Lerman

    Modern Judaism is all about loopholes. If not, then you’d eat dinner in the dark and eat cold food. The “spirit” of Shabbat changes with the times. I suppose if you could import some people from the 1800s and served them a warm Shabbat meal and had the lights in their room go off automatically, they wouldn’t believe that was in the spirit of their Shabbat. So what really is the Spirit of Shabbat after all?