Amira L’Nachri: This past Friday night, we had a blackout, No lights and no heat…

 

Question:

This past Friday night, we had a blackout, No lights and NO HEAT, the upstairs tenant has little kids, so we tried to get a goy to call Con Edison, but it didn’t work out. In the morning we got a handyman to turn back on the fuses.

Now, we had an urn of hot water which cooled down while the electricity was off. Once the electricity was restored it warmed up again. We did not use the hot water because we didn’t think we are allowed to, but someone said lav-davka.

What is the halacha in this case?

 

Answer:

The water may be used.

P.S. The goy may only be called to turn on the fuse due to the extremely cold weather and need for heating, especially with little children.
He may also be called to turn on lights if rooms are very dark where there are little children. This wouldn’t usually apply during the day.

 

Sources:

ראה אדה״ז רנג, כח אפי׳ כשהניח הגוי המים. (ובכלל שהי׳ והטמנה בקצרה ד״ה אבל תבשיל כתב בפשיטות להתיר ולא הביא חומרא לבענ״פ).

פרטי היתר אמירה לנכרי: במקום שהקור גדול – שו״ע או״ח רעו, ה. אדה״ז שם טו ואילך. הדלקת נר לצורך קטנים – רמ״א רעו, א. אדה״ז ו. קצות השולחן קלד בבדה״ש יח.

 

 

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