Light sensors cause religious row

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

Story here.

Maybe they should just move?

Perhaps the override switch could incorporate a timer.

Point is though, they should be allowed to make reasonable adjustments for their religious practice - I'd be amazed if they didn't win their case.

I've remembered!
The Beth Din is based in North Finchley, London. The council could ask their advice, and the Orthodox couple should abide by the ruling.
Even if it went against them.

Sorry the Embassy Court Management Company, not the council.

I am fairly certain that movement sensitive and automatic lights are definitely considered NOT 'kosher' as it were

Same story here from The Times

if you set the timer before the Sabbath then it's ok as it's done in advance.Agree with morningpaper.

Is it reasonable though to expect others to walk down an unlit stair?

From the Times story:

"Chanie Alperowitz, the director of Bournemouth Chabad, an Orthodox Jewish group, said: ?On the sabbath there are 39 forms of creative activity which are forbidden. Among them is the prohibition of lighting a fire.

?When using electricity, one causes a fire as there are sparks created by the electricity. "

FFS.

If it's allowed to set a timer before the sabbath to go on on the sabbath then they are clearly used to working around the law when it suits them. They should just do the same thing with the sensors and declare that to be ok.

I don't think you can insist that everyone go along with your religion that way. Suppose another resident's religion required that the lights be turned on by sensors? Or suppose that someone's religion required that the shared hallway be filled one day a week with strawberry yoghurt?

If you require some special circumstances where you live then you need to buy a house and not a shared property.

I didn't know about the sparks thing. In that case if they move at all and cause static electricity they are in trouble anyway.

And do bulbs actually make sparks as such?

I don't think the bulbs are the problem (they glow rather than spark) but DH tells me there's spark when you use a light switch (inside the switch). Not sure about how motion-sensitive switches work, though.

And in any case, a spark in a light switch is hardly "setting a fire".

I think they are just showing off and trying to get top brownie points: 'We are considerably more devout than YOU'.

they could just not go out at all on the Sabbath and thereby avoid the sensors and the lights on the stairwell - a much more sensible solution, no?

So what happens if the Colemans are out for a walk on Sabbath at night, and they walk past premises which have a security light sensor, and they activate it?
I fully understand about not pressing switches etc and the user of timers to get round that. But the "passivity" of simply walking past a sensor seems different IMO.

I would think they might be on their way to synagogue thumbwitch

hmm, good point.
OK then, perhaps they could enlist a neighbour's help to go downstairs in front of them and activate the sensors for them, so that they are already lit by the time they go past?

i'm shocked by how ignorant and intolerant some of you lot are. "superstitions", "showing off", "selfish".

ffs.

Excellent idea, thumbwitch!

Um, I really don't see why thinking it's unreasonable for a religious person to expect the world to bend to their way is "ignorant and intolerant".

They might as well sell up and move - they're hardly going to have jolly congenial holidays in the flat now they've sued their neighbours, are they?

at ninedragons

and at the rest of this thread

Oh someone should just tell them to go and fuck themselves. Special pleading for superstitions should always be greeted with derision when it involves whining for the right to interfere with other people's rights to go about their ordinary business.

Instead of making their neighbours walk downstairs in the dark, they could put blindfolds on before they leave their flat.

This way they won't be able able to see that the automatic lights are coming on and only 2 people out of a possible 70 will have to risk walking down a dark stairwell.

or, (taking inspiration from Flappy's excellent name) they could train up a bat to fly down the stairs in front of them, thus activating all the lights beforehand... and not inconveniencing/endangering any neighbour. Except for them stepping in bat wee of course.

This bat doesn't like flying and only wees in specific places

A wet stairwell would be just as dangerous as a dark one and who would take responsibility for putting out wet floor signs?

Can anyone guess that I've been working on health and safety issues for work recently!!!

It must be a real bugger if they drive a car using indicators.

"Is that light on, darling?"

"Oy vey, just a minute.... yes... no... yes.... no...."