A worthy perspective from a chashuva talmid chacham, written to out of town kollel members etc.
Lich’vod fellow Roshei V’avreichi Hakollelim shlit’a,
I sadly, on Erev Yom Kippur, af al pi sh’aini kedai, feel compelled to make a statement about the shocking new “invention” making the rounds on the internet, advertising the so-called “Shabbos App”, proclaiming as fools any Rabbonim who will come out against it. It was forwarded to me and shook me deeply, to the core of my being, not allowing me to rest. I feel personally compelled, despite my being far from being one fit to make a public statement, to make a macha’ah, because of the perverted and blasphemous attachment of the holy name of my Rebbe, Maran Hagaon Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurbach zt’l to this advertisement; as if he would approve this thing, as opposed to the opinion of the Chazon Ish. I feel obligated to be mocheh in the honor of his holy name and all he stood for, especially Kedushas Shabbos!
There are plenty of halachic issues one could focus upon, however I feel to do so is missing the point. Much more importantly, it should be clear to any Ben Torah that ever opened a sefer, that one could not imagine a greater Chillul Hashem than Jews texting each other on Shabbos Kodesh. It reminds me of a time in Yerushalaim that the level of skirts of some Yungeleit’s wives began getting shorter, and Maran Harav Shach zt’l called a meeting of all the Yungeleit in Yerushalaim in Binyonei Ha’umah. R’ Shach got up and said, “I’m not a poseik so I’m not going to make any statements about this matter from the standpoint of piskei Halacha. What I do have the power to say, is that IT’S KENEGED KOL HATORAH KULAH!! “
Much smaller, significantly more benign suggested changes to the accepted halachic system brought significant tzaar to R’ Shlomo Zalman, and I have heard him roar with great anger, “kol hameshaneh yado al hatachtonah!!” With regards to shmiras Shabbos, he expressed to me numerous times how much pain he has that the private teshuva he wrote about inviting non-frum on Shabbos became public, explaining that a blanket kulah like that made public is a “churban hados!!” I shudder to even contemplate how Maran zt’l would have reacted if he even heard the suggestion of a “Shabbos app”, let alone if he would have heard that people have actually made it a reality; Hashem Yiracheim.
(Although I don’t want to get involved b’inyonei Halacha, as above: as to the mention of R’ Shlomo Zalman’s disagreement with the Chazon Ish concerning Boneh on Shabbos and k’eilu he would have OK’d this thing against the Chazon Ish: I heard from R Shlomo Zalman on many occasions that, although he personally disagreed with the Chazon Ish, the Halacha for the tzibbur is like the Chazon Ish. This was identical to the opinion of Rav Elyishis zt’l, who said that although he personally disagreed with the Chazon Ish, “k’var horah zakein”).
Woe upon a generation that such a matter has befallen us. If we all stand strong in condemning this desercration of Kedushas Shabbos we will, with much Siyata D’shemaya, prevail that it should not be accepted, although, undoubtably, there will be korbanos on the way. If we all resolve to do so, may it be a zechus for us and Klal Yisroel, that in the zechus of Kedushas Shabbos, we should all be blessed with a gemar chasima tova, leshnas bracha vehatzlacha b’chol ha’inyonim, and the geulah sheleima bimheira v’yameinu.
Rabbi Yerachmiel D. Fried
Dean / Rosh Hakollel
DATA, The Dallas Community Kollel