[davemel37]

The OP is mistaken (in my view) about Sabbath mode and its function. The common scenarios are a fridge or oven light that turns on when you open the door. In those cases, opening the door would be no different than flipping the switch to complete a circuit that turns on a light. So, sabbath mode disables that feature and allows you to open the door without turning on a light. Unscrewing the lightbulb or using tape to hold down the switch on the doorframe is the other way to do this. Setting a timer during sabbath, for another time on sabbath would be the same thing as just turning it on directly.

As difficult as it may seem to many people, the "hacks" are grounded in sound but nuanced reasoning...the cases that make no sense logically are typically mistaken application...the talmud is literally rabbis disproving these ideas based on logic all the time.

[NeedMoreTea]

Which was pretty much my starting point from OP's description. It makes sense relating to the sabbath rule as you describe here.

[freedrock87]

The OP is actually correct on function and its name "Sabbath Mode".

The name is a misnomer because the baking function can only be used on Jewish holidays (Passover, Sukkot) when baking/cooking is permitted (okhel nefesh) whereas on Sabbath cooking is forbidden.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbath_mode

[davemel37]

This says exactly what I wrote just discusses other features...in essence it turns off automatic features.