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On Yom Tov, we are allowed to adjust fire (i.e. change the strength of the stove) so long as we do not completely turn the stove on or off.

Therefore, if a room’s lighting has a dimmer switch, would it be allowed to change the intensity of the light in the room so long as we are not either turning on or completely turning off the light?

DonielF
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1 Answers1

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Newer dimmer switches work by a computerized circuit: pushing the switch causes a circuit board to relay to a motor to adjust the resistance on the wire, where more resistance translates to a dimmer light, and vice versa. Other models involve applying electric currents through a coil, which moves the resistor. These would clearly be a problem whether you left the light on or not, as you’re activating this circuit regardless of how bright the light currently is.

Older switches work by directly adjusting the resistance, with the switch being on a slider; sliding it one way increases the resistance, and sliding it the other way decreases it. While there might not be an issue of lighting a fire, there are several other potential prohibitions involved with electricity on Yom Tov, and some of them, like Boneh and Minhag, couldn’t be circumvented in the manner you describe, as they’re not permitted on Yom Tov in the first place.

DonielF
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  • Motor in a light dimmer? Source?? – user6591 Apr 25 '19 at 12:04
  • @user6591 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimmer – DonielF Apr 25 '19 at 13:10
  • If you mean to point to the coil rotation dimmer, nobody you or I know will ever use one of those in their life. You can't say modern dimmers use that technology. – user6591 Apr 25 '19 at 13:36
  • @user6591 There’s multiple types of dimmers there – DonielF Apr 25 '19 at 13:47
  • Your opening statement 'Newer dimmer switches work by a computerized circuit: pushing the switch causes a circuit board to relay to a motor to adjust the resistance on the wire, where more resistance translates to a dimmer light, and vice versa. Other models involve applying electric currents through a coil, which moves the resistor.' has no relevance to the average modern dimmer anybody will be using. – user6591 Apr 25 '19 at 13:56