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Moving LED Flashlight on Shabbos

Dear rav,

I bought recently a portable LED lamp powered by batteries.

Could you please tell me if portable LED lamp is muktze and whether I can use it (if it was already lit before bein hashmoshes) and transport it back and forth for yomim tovim and shabbes?

http://varta-consumer.com/en/Products/Flashlights/Professional-Line/4-Watt-LED-Camping-Lantern-3D.aspx#4-Watt-LED-Camping-Lantern-3D

Thank you very much.

Answer:

If the lamp relies on LEDs alone, it will be permitted to move it on Shabbos, certainly where it is being moved for a need (for the purpose of lighting up a room and so on).

Best wishes.

Sources:

Although some electrically generated light sources can be considered a halachic ‘fire’, in particular incandescent light bulbs, this is certainly not the case for LEDs. Since there is no concern for a halachic ‘fire’, the status of the flashlight will be that of other electrical appliances.

Many authorities discuss the status of electrical appliances such as fans, electric blankets, and so on. Diverging opinions are mentioned on the matter (see Iggros Moshe, Orach Chaim 5, no. 23; Piskei Teshuvos 108:4; and see also here), some maintaining that a fan is a keli she-melachto heiter, and some that it is considered she-melachto issur.

There is room for leniency on this matter, and if the flashlight is being moved for its use, even the stringent opinions will agree that it is permitted to move it, because as noted it is at worst a keli she-melachto issur.

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2 Comments

  1. Is it permit to use and move glow sticks on shabbos?
    Is it permitted to wear an led head lamp outside an eruv

    1. Glow sticks seem to be okay (they are made of fluorescent material – right?).
      A head lamp outside an eruv is a problem. The idea of a head lamp is a “convenient way to carry a lamp and have your hands free.” For this reason, it is not considered as wearing an item of clothing, but rather as carrying the lamp, and it is forbidden outside an eruv.
      Best wishes.

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