I thank pashute Yid for a very useful discussion. A change from the trivial subjects.That said, I have to support oomis1105 and TOTALLY disagree with PM. oomis is right in saying that if the pilot remains lit-it is not considered ‘mechabeh”. I mean, this is elementary logic. The flame remains lit!! BTW-PM- your description is wrong. the main light GETS LIT FROM the pilot and it is actually the same flame,it just has expanded. OOMIS is absolutely right that in previous genrations, it was done al lthe time. I suspect that PM is rather young and thinks there is no Torah before 1960.This instance of lowering the flame -or even extinguishing it as long as the pilot light remains lit- was done commonly before chumors became fashionable.
BUT I must take issue with your writing on Rabbi Klass. First-there is a “psechisas hakovod’ in being sarcastic about “Rabbi’ Klass. (another sign of your young age)Rabbi Klass z’l was a talmid of R’Moshe (I believe) and a big talmid chochom. It is no kovod to you-PM- to write that his writing is “Halachic dishonesty”. You would be “over the moon’ to have written hios many columns over a periond of fity years. And, in actuality, what he writes is absolutely correct. When electricity became common, there was a big machlokes between the poskim of that dor what it really was. Sone of the greatest gedolim maintained that it WAS ALLOWED to use elctricity on yom tov. The Brezaner Rov (Maharashdam) who was the greatst Possek in Galicia and Romania -(The grandfather of R’Sholom Shvadron zz’l)was amongst them THAT I KNOW FROM REAL WITNESSES (his talmidim and children)that he thought that electricity was not a “melocho”. so- you are absoluteyl worng thatit was a ‘daas jochid”. The fact is that NO ONE knows how electricity works-not even you, smart man. I will wager a small bet that no one on this website can really explain how it works, so to say, that the Poskim of a hundred years “had little understanding how electricity works” smacks from big chutzpah. What makes yo uthink that the Chazon ish knew better?
There have been various descriptions wof hat kind of melocho it may be, ranging from boneh (Cahzon Ish) to “mavir” to “mevashel” ( the element gets hot- akin to “cooking ” metal) to “makish bepatish”. in ALL of these, there is a Ptur for yom tov and Rabbi Klass was indeed RIGHT in saying that there are meikilim on this matter.
PM- read oomis1105 and what she writes from her posek-it is easy to say “osur’ but it requires a real talmid chochom to be “mattir”.
I’ll be happy to continue discussing thsi matter as long as you-PM- can be mecahebd everyone.