14 Aug ROOM FOR DEBATE: KEY CONSIDERATIONS

Many people take
their families on a
getaway for Shabbat
Nachamu to refresh
after the challenging
three weeks of Bein
HaMetzarim. When
staying at a hotel, many halachic questions
arise, whether regarding kashrut, minyanim,
modesty, etc. However, Shabbat presents
particular challenges, as many aspects of hotel
life involve the use of electricity, which can be
difficult to avoid.
Therefore, before booking a hotel room, one
should research to determine if the hotel
presents any Shabbat challenges, such as
rooms where the AC turns on automatically
when the door is opened or bathrooms with
automatic flushing systems.
One common concern during these stays,
especially in hotels, is how to enter the room.
Most hotels today use magnetic cards that
operate by opening and closing electric
circuits, which can pose challenges for those
observing Shabbat.
Magnetic key cards work by interacting with
the door’s electronic lock system, which
involves opening and closing electric circuits.
The card contains a magnetic stripe or chip
that, when swiped or inserted, communicates
with the lock’s reader. This process sends an

electric signal that either allows or denies
access, effectively opening or closing an
electric circuit.
To avoid issues, find a hotel that uses traditional
hard keys. However, the Tzomet Halacha
Institute notes that many of these keys still
interact with the door’s electric system and
may not fully resolve the problem. If such a
hotel isn’t available, prevent the door from
locking by placing strong tape over the latch or
filling the lock hole with tissues or cotton.
Keep valuables in the safe.
If none of the above options are possible, the
next issue is whether it’s permissible to ask a
hotel worker to assist. The challenge with this
is that most poskim consider the use of
electricity to be a Torah prohibition. One can
only ask a non-Jew to perform an action if it
involves a rabbinical prohibition, known as
shvut deshvut—where both the action and the
involvement of a non-Jew are rabbinically
prohibited. However, since many view
electricity as a Torah prohibition, shvut
deshvut does not apply in this case.
Some poskim have advised leaving something
in the room that might attract the interest of the
worker, such as a can of soda or cookies. When
one wants to enter the room, they should offer
the item to the worker but explain that they
cannot enter the room themselves. If the
worker wants the treat, they should open the

door, allowing the Jew to enter once the door
is open and the worker has taken the item.
However, this advice may not be practical in
many places, as hotel workers are often not
permitted to accept anything from guests, and
surveillance cameras in hotel corridors could
easily get them into trouble.
Another idea to solve the issue was to
condition the rental of the room on the ability
to access it as needed. This would involve
telling the hotel clerk that the room can only
be rented if the door is kept open at the
necessary times, given that the magnetic card
cannot be used. The permissibility of this
approach is based on the fact that the hotel
benefits from renting the room, so they would
open the door to serve their own interest.
However, this is not practical today, as most
bookings are made online without the
opportunity to speak to an agent. Even if one
does speak to an agent, such a request often
seems ridiculous to them, and hotels are
generally not in such a desperate position that
they would fulfill every request made.
The last and most advisable approach is to hint
to a worker whenever we want to enter the
room, making sure not to ask them directly.
For example, we might say that we can’t enter
the room because we can’t use the card today,
hoping they will assist by opening the door.
This approach also has its challenges, as the

worker might send us to the front desk to prove
our identity. If that happens, we are permitted
to answer all their questions, even though they
will check things in the computer, as they are
doing so on their own initiative without our
request.
When doing so, we are allowed to enter the
room and benefit from it. Although normally
one may not benefit from a Shabbat violation
performed by a non-Jew on our behalf, this
situation is different. The benefit here is the
use of the room, and opening the door is
considered merely removing a blockage rather
than a direct violation.
Another important point to mention is that the
magnetic card is muktze, and one may not
carry it on Shabbat. Therefore, when asking
hotel workers and management for help, one is
essentially instructing them to use their own
card rather than their own.