Robert wrote:

I find them pretty amazing and very intelligent people, even if they
are different. Like the guy with the powered barn. He has lights in
the barn, but is not allowed to use them in the house. The house uses
coleman lanterns and oil lamps, and they heat their hot water outside
in a homemade wood fired heater, and have to carry the water indoors
with pails. Yet this same guy is allowed to have a modern propane
water heater in the barn, but not in the house.

It's okay to fool God.

Consider the observant Jew's understanding that flipping an electric switch
is akin to starting a fire and starting a fire is prohibited on the Sabbath.
So, what's an observant Jew in Israel do if he lives on the 27th floor of a
high-rise and wants to attend the synagogue on the Sabbath? Walk down (then
back up) 27 flights of stairs? Don't buy an apartment that high up?

No, there's the "Sabbath Switch." On Friday afternoon, somebody flips the
switch. Thereafter, the elevator cycles continually, stopping on every
floor. The apartment dweller merely waits patiently and eventually the
elevator will arrive and carry him to the lobby.