An ancient Torah in a modern world may seem like an oxymoron, but it is anything but. In fact, it accentuates the Divine nature of our Holy Torah and its timeless application and relevance. It may be argued that this is more palpable today than in other times in history. With the advent of technology, the issues abound. Yet the guidance of Torah is always at the helm of dealing with such issues.

One of the areas where this has come to the fore, is the issue of water supply. South Africa, with its unique challenges, has seen many homes installing Jo Jo tanks to ensure continued water supply to their homes, even as the municipality may be unable to assure the same. The purpose of this article is to provide insight into the Halachic issues this presents. It is not intended to be an exhaustive expose of all the issues, and your local Rabbi should be contacted to discuss your personal situation.

BACKGROUND

In order to ensure uninterrupted water supply to one’s house, a Jo Jo tank is installed. The tank is filled with water from the municipal source. (It can also be connected to a borehole, however this presents further Halachic issues, and is beyond the scope of this article). As long as the municipality is providing water to the house, the Jo Jo tank is circumvented. However, when there is no municipal water supply, water to the house is pumped from the Jo Jo tank into the house.

In order to ensure adequate pressure running through the pipes in the house, an electric pump is installed. When a tap is turned on in the house, the pump is activated, sending water into the house as usual.

HALACHIC CONSIDERATIONS

It is self-understood that turning on an electrical pump on Shabbat is not allowed. There are certain Halachic principles that need to be considered when addressing this question, and endeavouring to find a solution.

With regard to Shabbat, the Torah states[1]: “Lo ta’asse kol melacha”, you shall not do any labour. The Talmud[2] infers from the use of the word “ta’asse”, do, that “assiya hu de’assur, g’rama shari”, doing a “labour” is prohibited, but indirect causation is allowed. This creates the precedent known as g’rama, causation, as opposed to action.

Could one argue that, in turning on the tap in the house to allow water to flow, one has not actually turned on the pump? Rather, the flow of the water, caused by the opening of the tap, is what caused the pump to go on? Were that to be the case, then using the Jo Jo tank on Shabbat would be a question of g’rama rather than assiya, and thus possibly permitted (it has to be noted that the presence of a g’rama does not render the act automatically permitted, save for in certain circumstances).

There are however certain caveats to the law of g’rama which would seem to be problematic. Firstly, if the normal way in which a prohibited activity is performed is through g’rama, then the leniency does not apply. This is clearly evidenced by the prohibition against winnowing[3]. This is a biblical violation of Shabbat, which is actually performed by the wind. It entails taking wheat and chaff, throwing it in the air, and allowing the wind to separate the chaff from the grain. Although the wind is causing the separating, the fact that this is the way in which the act is performed, cannot be considered a g’rama, but rather a direct action. Similarly, since the way to activate the pump is by turning on the water, such an action would be prohibited on Shabbat.

There is another reason why this would not be considered as g’rama. The quintessential case of g’rama is where a fire has broken out in a house. In a case where life is not at risk, rather than extinguish the fire by pouring water directly on the fire which is prohibited on Shabbat, one would surround the fire with cups or barrels filled with water (depending on the size of the fire). When the fire reaches the cup, it would cause the cup to melt or shatter, the water to pour out, and thereby extinguish the fire. This would be perfectly acceptable to do on Shabbat. On the other hand, placing a bowl of water underneath a candle to catch and extinguish any sparks which may fall out, is considered a direct act, and thus prohibited. Accordingly, an action which immediately brings with it a prohibited reaction, is not allowed. This can be termed as koach rishon[4], an original force, resulting directly in a reaction, as opposed to an original force causing something else to occur, which in turn results in a consequence which would otherwise be prohibited. Accordingly, the act of turning on a tap would be considered a koach rishon, and thus prohibited on Shabbat.

There is a further complication, known as psik reisha. What this refers to is where one’s actions result in an inevitable prohibited outcome, regardless of whether it was done through causation, would be prohibited due to the inevitability of the resultant outcome. In the case of the Jo Jo tank, this means that since it is inevitable that, through turning on of the tap, the pump will be engaged, the act of turning the tap is itself prohibited. It should be noted that there are opinions who take a lenient position with regards to psik reisha caused by g’rama.

There are other issues as well, however simply in light of the above, using a Jo Jo tank on Shabbat would be prohibited.

SOLUTION

From the above it should be clear, that when an action does not automatically cause a prohibited action to take place, this would be permissible to do on Shabbat. Simply put, if the turning on of a tap did not automatically mean that the pump would engage, this would be permitted on Shabbat.

This could be achieved by installing a pressure tank. Essentially, the pressure tank contains a certain amount of water (depending on the size purchased). This water is pumped into the house through the pressure that is already in the tank. Only when the water depletes to a certain level and the pressure is reduced, does the pump kick in, filling up the pressure tank with more water, while continuing to pump water into the house. Accordingly, when one turns on a tap, the pump may not be required at all. Depending on the size of the pressure tank, and the amount of water used, the pump may only be activated from time to time. The fact that one may not ipso facto, be turning on the pump, is a leniency upon which many rely. (It is important to note that the pressure tank “solution”, is dependent on circumstance. The larger the family, the greater the usage of water. Accordingly a larger volume pressure tank would be needed. A person familiar both with pressure tanks, how to measure home usage, and the Halachic considerations regarding Shabbat, should be consulted in this regard.)

However, in this scenario, it is axiomatic that at some point over the course of Shabbat, sufficient water would have been expended from the pressure tank itself, resulting in the pump being engaged as a result of turning on the water.

To avoid this, ideally one would want the pump to automatically engage from time to time, regardless of the individual’s usage of water. By way of an example, but not a recommended practical solution, one could have an “escape valve” on the pressure tank, causing water to constantly drip out of the pressure tank. This would result in the pump engaging throughout Shabbat at sporadic or even regular intervals, regardless of whether the resident uses the water in the house or not, since the pressure tank is anyhow being depleted. This would provide a further leniency in that the usage in the house need not be the cause which engages the pump. Rather, it could be engaged by the “leak” in the pressure tank.

There are opinions that express concern with this solution, since in actuality, it could be that one’s turning on of the tap may occur at precisely the moment when the pressure tank has been depleted, requiring the pump to engage, as a direct result of the individual’s usage and turning on of the tap.

Even in a situation where the pump may be engaged regardless, turning on the tap during that time may still pose a problem according to some opinions. Though one has clearly not activated the pump, it may well be that the increase outflow of water will increase the output from the pump. This in turn may increase the electrical current flow to the pump. While some are not concerned with increase in electrical current, others consider this to be a problem as far as Shabbat is concerned. Accordingly, turning on the water at times when one is certain the pump is activated, would not satisfy all Halachic opinions.

While all the above, collectively, form a series of solutions mitigating the Halachic considerations, they are nonetheless dependant on adopting various leniencies. Other solutions can be employed which guarantee that at no time will, or can, the actions of the user engage the pump. Nor would the pump create a change in electrical output. A solution of this nature would therefore satisfy all the most stringent opinions regarding g’rama, p’sik raysha, and increase in current, as well as other halachic issues not covered in this article.

To this end, a system was developed, with the guidance of the Beth Din, that resolves all of the issues, and avoids reliance on any lenient opinions in this regard. Accordingly, it is a considered a “Mehadrin” solution[i]. For further information regarding this “Mehadrin” solution, you can contact Moshe Kruger on 084-364-8398.

Conclusion

We hope that in this brief article, we have enlightened the public to some of the halachic minefields that need to be traversed when installing a Jo Jo tank. It is recommended that those wishing to install a system discuss the issues and options with their Rabbi, or consult with one of the Rabbis of the Beth Din for advice.

Footnotes

[1] Shemot 20:9

[2] Shabbat 120b

[3] See Rosh Bava Kama 5:11

[4] See Responsa Achiezer 3:60

[i] Though the Beth Din guided the process of making the “Mehadrin” solution, it does not have any financial investment in the product, nor does it receive any financial benefit therefrom.