Calling all engineers: We need better Shabbat elevators - opinion

Here is a troubling trend facing Shabbat-observant apartment residents in Israel that needs to be solved by rabbinical and engineering technical prowess.

The Shabbat elevator was a practical solution to allow people to go to their synagogue, visit and do other community activities on Shabbat and holidays when using machinery is usually prohibited. The practicality of Shabbat elevators was self-evident in Israeli cities when the prevailing building height was six to nine floors.

Today, it is common to see residential buildings of 20+ stories all over Israel, from Beit Shemesh to Ashkelon to Jerusalem. In fact, Jerusalem recently announced a 40-story project. And this growing trend is only accelerating.

Tall buildings answer the need for affordable housing in a limited space. Yet there is not enough room for every religious person (or families with religious relatives and friends) to live on low floors. And then there are those who just like the view of higher floors. Also, there are people or family members/friends with disabilities and baby carriages, who obviously cannot use the stairs.

Unfortunately, these 20+ story residences create a new problematic situation for any Shabbat-observing person or family.

The problem: In a six-to-nine-story building, as was the more common residential apartment building height, a one-way trip up or down in a Shabbat Elevator was time manageable. And if one just missed the elevator, the wait for it to cycle back was also reasonable. However, this is not the case in tall buildings that, at 20+ stories, are more than two to four times the old number of floors, creating travel time periods that are impractical and interminably long.

Here is an example: Assume a 21-story residential building with a main entrance at level zero and another entrance at minus one. Assume this building has set the Shabbat Elevator to go up stopping at every fifth floor and down stopping at every floor.

If the elevator has just arrived at the main floor (zero), it will wait in the open-door position longer than on other floors. It then moves down to floor minus one and stays there for the preset normal floor time, upon which it returns to zero. At zero, the elevator will wait again in the open-door position longer than on other floors.

The elevator now begins its ascent. With travel and waiting time for every five floors, it takes the elevator 4.2 minutes time to reach the 21st (top) floor. After waiting on the top floor for the set time, the elevator begins its descent. It will take 10.8 minutes for the elevator to reach the zero level if you are in sync with the elevator.

Here are the data:

Decent (from top to bottom floor): 32.5 seconds per floor (travel and waiting) = 20 x 32.5 = 650 seconds (10.8 minutes)

Zero = 106 seconds (1 min and 46 seconds) wait time [going down]

Minus One = 32.5 seconds wait time

Zero = 106 seconds (1 min and 46 seconds) wait time [going up]

Ascent (from bottom to top): stops at floors one to five, six to 10, 10 to 15 = 38.9 seconds (30.5 seconds open + 8.4 seconds travel times three stops) = 116.7 seconds (1.9 minutes); plus for floors 16 to 21 is 40.7 seconds (30.5 seconds open + 10.4 seconds travel) =127.1 seconds (2.1 minutes) for a total of 243.8 seconds (4.1 minutes).

Two scenarios: Leaving and Entering 

WITH THIS data in mind, imagine living on the 13th floor, not too high, not too low. Let’s look at two scenarios, one leaving and one entering.

Scenario 1: Assume you live on the 13th floor. Leaving for the synagogue or going out to visit or having one’s guest leave after a meal/visit. You’ve just missed the elevator, which is now on 12 and going down. The total time you will wait to exit the building is 24.5 minutes, plus the walk to the beit knesset or other destination.

Scenario 2: Assume you have arrived at your building, just returning from the synagogue or from a visit, again using the 13th floor as an example. You’ve just missed the elevator as it has just reached floor one on its way up. The total time for you to reach your apartment is 24 minutes added to your time walking home from the synagogue or a visit.

Even if we reset the elevator for odds up and evens down, the amount of time waiting and riding would still be unwelcome. Scenario 1 (above) would be 19 minutes. Scenario 2 (above) would be 20 minutes.

This data representative of a 21-story building. Imagine the increased length of time in taller buildings

The Zomet Institute is a well-respected nonprofit, public research institute dedicated to seamlessly merging halachic Judaism with modern life. Two of their ground-breaking rulings have together and separately changed religious life for the better.

Specifically, the grama switch is applied to scooters for mobility and light switches for hospitals, allowing their functionality on Shabbat and holidays. (A “grama” is a loophole that allows for indirect activation of electronic devices on Shabbat.)

However, the world and Israel, in particular, are changing. Perhaps we can combine the technological solution of grama switches and electric scooters to solve the Shabbat elevator dilemma.

Some ideas to begin with

Here are some proposed parameters for one solution from someone (the author) who is admittedly not an expert in halachic law:

When one enters the Shabbat elevator, every floor indicator light is either on or off. The person presses the desired floor, which causes no obvious change to the indicator. The elevator goes to the chosen floor.

To call an elevator to either zero or desired floor is admittedly a bit more complicated. The Shabbat elevator light on each floor might have to be modified to be a call button. Obviously, when active it is always lit and pressing it does not change any indication but the elevator goes to that floor. Once inside the elevator, the person uses step A above.

As can be seen, the amount of time used to travel in currently designed and approved Shabbat elevators can be a tremendous deterrent to participation in religious and community activities. As our environment changes, our needs call for change.

The challenge for a solution has been issued. Time is of the essence for new building installations and/or to easily retrofit existing ones. Are there any electrical and/or mechanical engineers out there willing to propose a halachically acceptable solution to the proper religious authorities?

The writer, who made aliyah in 2015, is a former NYC advertising agency and marketing executive. He is a recently retired professor from Rutgers University’s School of Communication but still does some consulting. Check out his blog: https://thetruthfulproject.blogspot.com and follow him on Twitter: @DavidsLevine