[NOTE: Please consult your Posek and Rov about the use of any Shabbos elevator]

During a recent Shabbos for “Rabbanei Tzohar” in a Jerusalem hotel, one of the rabbonim checked with the hotel rav regarding the Shabbos elevators and learned of the three elevators, only one of them is actually currently certified for use on Shabbos and a halachic inspection of the elevators has not been conducted for too long.

As a result of one of the many petitions to the High Court of Justice challenging the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the latter has sent a directive to local religious councils explaining they can only remove kashrus certification of a hotel for actual kashrus food violations and not a lack of adherence of Shabbos by a hotel. Hence, only guests can pressure hotels to get their elevators in order, not the Chief Rabbinate.

Rabbi Yisrael Rosen of the Zomet Institute received a number of requests following the Rabbanei Tzohar Shabbos, and he explains he is well-aware that unfortunately, many of the so-called Shabbos elevators in hotels in Israel do not conform with halachic requirements. Citing one example, he stated that an alarm is supposed to sound signaling doors are closing but it did not in this case. However, the electric eye that was supposed to be on Shabbos mode was operating and when someone ran it, it reacted and opened the doors – chilul Shabbos, albeit unintentionally by the elevator passenger.

Zomet Executive Director Dan Marantz explains they usually check and certify an elevator for three years and if any work or changes are done during that period of time, the hotel is supposed to call Zomet to verify the elevator for Shabbos again. He explains at times a technician may unintentionally compromise the Shabbos mechanism of an elevator and no one will be aware of this. Therefore, a Zomet visit must always follow an elevator technician’s visit.

He adds that even more serious is the reality that many hotels do not have additional inspections and the same is true of many new apartment buildings which advertise “Shabbos elevators” to perspective buyers and they do not have the elevator inspected as required to guarantee the halachic integrity of an elevator as must be done.

The Srugim website reports that among 24 kosher Tel Aviv hotels, 20 have Shabbos elevators but only half have had inspections as they should and only three conducted inspections in the past five years.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)