[bell-cot]

> ...visit a friend in Washington DC ... an apartment complex could never be occupied by an Orthodox Jew like me (since I cannot use my phone on Shabbat and the holidays), because at every turn the most essential tasks are accomplished with a smartphone.

IANAL, but that sounds like some sort of lawsuit and/or PR disaster just waiting to happen.

[danielbln]

While I agree with the general sentiment of over-use of smartphones and useless apps, someone who won't use their phone because someone scribbled something about not doing work on certain days on some parchment six thousand years ago is not someone we should cater to. To each their own delusions.

[bluGill]

To each their own. Governments should try to accept every belief system someone has no matter how absurd. Eventually we have to say "no you can't" (ritual murder/human sacrifice used to be somewhat common, as were various other forms of abuse), but in general we should accommodate beliefs.

When I work with Muslims I don't cook with pork for the office pot luck. When I cook with meat I always mark that on the dish so that vegetarians know not to eat it. (To my knowledge I've never worked with someone Jewish - but given some places where I've lived I think I have without knowing, while I have known about some Muslims I've worked with).

[normalaccess]

7 Day cycles are not an abstract invention but a fact of biology.

Link to research: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27830946/

Link to full PDF: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309898157_Seven-day...

[danielbln]

Biology doesn't mandate avoiding technology on specific days. Last I checked, circadian rhythms don't prohibit elevator buttons or smartphones.

[bdcravens]

Additionally, varying interpretations would say you shouldn't use the lights, elevators, etc, so modern living in any manner may be incompatible with orthodoxy.

[buildsjets]

Many modern appliances come with a "Sabbath Mode" which allows observant users to schedule their operation in advance of the Sabbath. For example, many ovens can be pre-programmed to turn on before the Sabbath and turn off sometime during the Sabbath, as well disable their automatic door-lights, to allow the users to comply with the ancient restriction of not starting a fire on the Sabbath.

Similarly, observant users may use artificial light, they just may not turn it on or off. So there are Sabbath lamps where the bulb remains lit but a shade can be lowered to block out the light.

Are these modern cheats to allow observant users to benefit from the convenience of technology while ignoring the tenets of their faith? I'm no reliogiologist, but if these are cheats, they are ancient ones, not modern ones. For example in past times, people would cook before the sabbath then leave the food on a warm hearth with insulation for later consumption.

[bell-cot]

One old-time work-around for that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabbos_goy

[hidroto]

there are workarounds for that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabbat_elevator