Fidget Spinners Ruled Kosher For Shabbat
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Naomi Zeveloff May 10, 2017
Rabbis at the leading Israeli center for Jewish law and technology have given a kosher stamp of approval for kids to use popular hand-held spinner toys on the Sabbath.
The Scientific Institute of Technology in Jerusalem, which both reviews and creates technology in accordance with Jewish legal codes, issued a ruling on the use of spinners after rabbis there noticed kids playing with the toy. Several Orthodox individuals had also written to the center with queries about the spinner, according to Israeli news site Ynet.
The rabbis put the spinner through a “comprehensive technological and halachic examination” and determined that it is permissible to use it on the Sabbath. The only caveat is if the spinner has lights. Because the spinner’s movement is what turns on the light, the person doing the spinning would technically be doing work, a no-go on the Jewish day of rest.
Children should not bring the spinner into synagogue, the rabbis noted in their assessment, “in order not to harm the sanctity of the place.”
The inventor of the toy says she created it an alternative activity for Palestinian youth instead of throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers.
Contact Naomi Zeveloff at [email protected] or on Twitter @naomizeveloff
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
