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Photochromic Glasses on Shabbos

Dear Rabbi,
Being someone who has developed a light sensitivity over the years, my rabbi back in england ruled that i should use photochromic glasses, even on shabbat. yet, after making aliyah, aeveral well meaning people approached me and told me that it is not so simple for me to wear them on shabbat. can you please explain the issues and if my english rabbi’s ruling still holds true here in israel?
Thank you Rabbi

Answer:

There is no problem for you to continue to wear the photochromic glasses even in Israel.

Although there is a minority opinion that rules stringently, the great majority of authorities are lenient, and it is perfectly fine to follow their opinion.

Sources:

The potential problem of wearing the glasses is the prohibition of tzove’a, coloring — as we find concerning putting on makeup on Shabbos. However, poskim mention a number of reasons for leniency:

1. Dyeing that is forbidden on Shabbos is limited to coloration which results from applying one substance to another, i.e. purple dye upon wool. Coloration caused by exposure to the sun’s rays would therefore be excluded from the prohibition.

2. There is no tangible action being done by the person himself, rather by the sun and shade. The fact that one is actively walking in and out of the sun is irrelevant, as he is not doing any extra activity to accomplish the lenses’ darkening.

3. There is no actual dyeing happening; as soon as the lenses are taken out of direct sunlight they revert back to clear, similar to covering and uncovering an object.

4. There is no concrete change happening to the glasses, only their appearance changes; the chemicals are always inside and their nature is to transform back and forth depending on exposure to sunlight. Furthermore, they are simply shading the eye from the sun.

5. The coloring effect is a temporary occurrence whose existence is continuously dependent upon exposure to the sun.

6. The coloring and subsequent reversion to clearness is part of the lenses’ regular designed function.

Because of different combinations of the reasons above, the great majority of poskim are lenient, including: Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, the Debreciner Rav, Rav Betzalel Stern, the Tzitz Eliezer, Rav Shmuel HaLevi Wosner, Rav Ovadia Yosef, Rav Menashe Klein, the Rivevos Efraim, Rav Nissim Karelitz, and Rav Pesach Eliyahu Falk.

See Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah Chap. 18, note 70, and note to se’if 16; see also discussion in Avnei Yashfei Vol. 2, no. 39, where the stringent opinion of Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv (may he be healthy) is cited.

See also the recently published article of Rav Yehudah Spitz (http://ohr.edu/this_week/insights_into_halacha/5052) on the topic, from which the list of rationales above is taken.

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