Driving on Shabbat in Jewish law

According to halakah, the operation of a motor vehicle constitutes multiple violations of the prohibited activities on Shabbat. Though Jewish law is based on texts that existed long before the existence of the automobile, various writings prohibit during Shabbat the actions that take place as a result of driving. The Torah thus prohibits driving on the basis that a labor is being performed by the act of operating a motor vehicle. The vehicle's ignition combusts fuel, which is considered to violate one of the 39 prohibited activities on Shabbat, as well as creating a spark, which is likewise in violation of a related rabbinic (or possibly biblical) prohibition ("igniting a fire").Isaiah 58:13-14 speaks out against travel during Shabbat Modern vehicles also have many other electrical components, such as lights, that are continually turned on and off during the course of a vehicle's operation, often without the driver's awareness. Besides, the laws of Shabbat place limits on the distance one may travel beyond the city/town where one is spending Shabbat, regardless of the method of transportation.

However, Jews of varying backgrounds have taken differing views on the matter, either finding various interpretations to permit and justify at least some driving on Shabbat, either solely for synagogue attendance or for other personal reasons as well, or else by disregarding the Jewish laws altogether.

Some feel that driving involves less effort than walking. Others feel that those who live too far from a synagogue would be cut off from religious life altogether if they do not drive to reach the synagogue, and the benefits outweigh full Shabbat observance.

In Israel, some ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods are barricaded on Shabbat to prevent driving. In Mea Shearim, residents have been known to throw stones at those driving through their neighborhoods on Shabbat. In Jerusalem and some other Israeli cities with large Orthodox populations, public buses do not operate during Shabbat. Part of the reason public funding of religious education is justified is that part of the population views it as "sinful" to drive on Shabbat, and is annoyed by those who drive through their neighborhoods on the Shabbat.

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