Instructing a Non-Jew to Adjust the Refrigerator
Question
We forgot to set the refrigerator to Sabbath mode. Is it permissible to show a non-Jew where to press? He doesn't understand hints and needs to be shown which button to press.
Answer
Shalom uVracha,
It is forbidden to ask a non-Jew to perform a melacha that is prohibited min haTorah, except in a case of someone who is sick (a Choleh).
Therefore, it would not be permitted to tell a non-Jew to activate the “Shabbos Mode.”
However, one may ask him to switch it in an unusual way (BeShinuy), meaning, not in the normal manner, since that would be considered shvus d’shvus l’tzorech mitzvah, for the sake of being able to eat on Shabbos.
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