Rosh Yeshiva Responds
Rabbi Linzer answers halakhic questions from rabbis and community members
A basement bathroom has a grinder pump that goes off every time the toilet is flushed. Can the toilet be used on Shabbat?
If it happens every time, then it is a pesik reisha denicha lei of a grama. The actually issur being performed is really only electricity. I can’t think how grinding waste fits into any category of a melakhah. So there are many reasons to be lenient:
Can one ask a non-Jew to turn off a propane tank on Shabbat? Effectively turning off the fire. Are you really benefiting from it other than safety?
There are two issues with amirah legoy, one is directing a gentile to do a melakhah for you regardless of any benefit, since you are causing the melakhah to be done. The other is a problem of benefit, which is a problem even if he does it on his own, as long as he is doing it for you (Chazal forbade
Rosh Yeshiva Responds
Rabbi Dov Linzer will be answering shailas from YCT rabbis and community members on video each week.