Sheet metal (stove cover)

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The sheet ( Yiddish בלעך ), a special metal stove -Abdeckung serves religious law-abiding Jews to during the Sabbath rest that while keeping food warm rules of Halacha to comply. Depending on the design, the hotplates or, at the same time, the cooker controls are completely covered by a sheet metal.

Orthodox Jews do not do any activities on the Sabbath that are defined as work according to the Halacha set of rules. You therefore avoid operating a cooking fire, preparing food or operating a switch during the holiday . However, it is allowed to keep pre-cooked food warm. To do this, the stove is switched on with one or more plates and then covered with the sheet. Then the pots with the prepared food are placed on top to keep them warm, where they will remain until the end of the Sabbath. Covering the heating point avoids the direct effect of the cooker on the food, prevents the view of the heat source and prevents people from cooking.

There is a simple sheet made of different metals as well as a water (or un) sheet with a covered, flat water reservoir.

The term comes from the Yiddish language and is also used as a loan word in the English language .

A sheet of copper covers hot hobs that are switched on to keep food warm for the Sabbath meal

use

According to Rabbi Fishel Jacobs The Tin Book — The Complete & Illustrated Guide To Shabbos Hotplates, the following requirements apply:

  • The food, including water, should be fully prepared.
  • The gas burner or the electric regulator of the cooker should be switched on. The sheet is placed on top. As an alternative, a special Sabbath heating plate can be used without temperature setting, which does not require a sheet.
  • The pot with the food is placed on the tray. It is allowed to stack another pot on it.
  • The pot on the sheet or the other pot stacked on it may be covered with a towel, cloth or blanket for thermal insulation. One side of the pot should remain partially uncovered.

During the Sabbath, pots may be removed from the tray as needed. They can then be placed back on the sheet under the following conditions:

  • Pots should be removed from the tray with the intention of putting them back afterwards. They have to be held the whole time without placing them on another surface. A heavy or unwieldy pot may partially stand on another surface while it is being held, unless otherwise possible.
  • The completely prepared food must remain in the same pot and must always retain at least part of the original warming.

There are different views on the permissibility of the sheet and the exact way it is used, for example with regard to reheating pre-cooked food. Regardless of this, tin and its alternatives are still widespread among devout Jews.

Alternatives

A non -sheet or English water sheet is also used to keep pre-cooked food warm, but from the point of view of Jewish law is to be viewed differently than a simple sheet. It consists of a flat, level water container and another metal plate that covers it and on the surface of which the pots stand. From the Halacha's point of view, it is to be evaluated as a container for hot food (here: water). The surface temperature is limited to the temperature of boiling water, while a simple sheet metal can develop higher temperatures.

Other alternatives for the sheet are slow cooker ( "slow cooker") with ceramic inserts, which also enable a long keeping warm food, electric hot plates or heating cabinets. These devices work independently of the normal kitchen stove. Preference is given to devices that cannot be regulated or those in which the controllers can be covered or removed. In order to keep food warm in the oven , many modern appliances have a Sabbath mode , which enables safe continuous operation after a few hours without the usual automatic switch-off.

Accidents and Fire Safety

Most stoves are not designed for continuous use or for use under a cover. In addition to the risk of fire due to overheating, there is also a risk of gas leakage. Cloths and fabrics that are placed on baking trays or hot plates to cover food can catch fire.

In 2015, seven children were killed in a fire caused by keeping food warm on the Sabbath in Brooklyn , New York City . In the previous 15 years, there were at least four other Sabbath fires caused by food warming devices or candles that were also left burning because of Sabbath laws. After the fire in 2015, the New York City Fire Department distributed a leaflet to devout Jewish citizens to raise awareness of fire safety and to encourage the purchase of smoke alarms . This led to an increase in the prevalence of smoke and fire alarms among Brooklyn's Jewish population. The American Association for Fire Protection (NFPA) has also issued a leaflet with warnings about protective measures during the Sabbath. The Israeli energy ministry warns against the use of the sheet metal .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bernhard S. Jacobson: The Shabath and Labor: Awodah and Malakhah haGalil , accessed on June 28, 2017
  2. ↑ a b c Hebrew Institute od White Plains (Ed.): A Warm Environment and Warm Food on Shabbat . Version 2: March 2015 edition. ( hiwp.org [PDF]).
  3. ↑ Jacobs, Yerucham Fishel, HaLevy .: The blech book: the complete & illustrated guide to Shabbos hotplates . Campus Living & Learning Shuls, Inc, South Royalton, Vermont 2007, ISBN 978-0-9673481-7-9 .
  4. ^ Proper Use of A Blech and Hot Plate on Shabbat. Retrieved January 20, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Giora Shimoni: What is a sheet metal? about.com, accessed May 22, 2010 .
  6. ↑ Fire breaks out in Jerusalem yeshiva. Retrieved January 20, 2018 .
  7. ^ NFPA: Shabbat Fire Safety. Retrieved January 20, 2018 (American English).
  8. ↑ Energy Ministry: Don't use a 'blech'. Retrieved January 20, 2018 .