{"id":2763,"date":"2018-02-28T19:05:29","date_gmt":"2018-02-28T19:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oukosher.org\/passover\/?p=2763"},"modified":"2018-03-07T20:47:21","modified_gmt":"2018-03-07T20:47:21","slug":"ge-shabbos-keeper-ou-kosher-certified-not-grandmothers-refrigerator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oukosher.org\/passover\/articles\/ge-shabbos-keeper-ou-kosher-certified-not-grandmothers-refrigerator\/","title":{"rendered":"The GE Shabbos Keeper \u2013 OU Kosher Certified Not Your Grandmother\u2019s Refrigerator!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Refrigerators of decades past utilized only three primary electric functions that made them muktza:<\/h2>\n

1) opening the door activated a switch that turned on the fridge light, 2) a mechanical thermostat activated the compressor that regulated temperatures and 3) a timer triggered the heating element that defrosted the freezer.<\/strong> According to many poskim, merely deactivating the door switch or removing the bulb made refrigerators permissible for use on Shabbat; normal use did not affect any of the refrigerator\u2019s other functions. Most of today\u2019s high-tech refrigerators include a multitude of sensors that regulate a variety of functions. For example, electronic counters monitor the number of times refrigerator doors are opened. Frost sensors monitor refrigerator moisture levels, while these and other instruments determine when the defrost heating element turns on and off. Many compressors run continually but at variant power levels. These functions are often directly affected by each and every opening or closing of the fridge door. Switches that could be circumvented before Shabbat are now commonly replaced by sensors that cannot be avoided. According to Darin Franks, Chief Engineer at General Electric, today\u2019s refrigerators have \u201cas many as seven or eight computers onboard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GE<\/p>\n

In response to interest from Jewish consumers, GE (using technology from ZmanTech and HalachicTechUSA) has developed the Shabbos Keeper, which interfaces
\nwith more than 100 models of GE\u2019s 36-inch French Doors line. \u201cWith this device, we are able to meet the needs of the Jewish community in a way I don\u2019t think anyone has been able to do before,\u201d declared GE CEO Kevin Nolan. \u201cThis technology works seamlessly and takes the worry out of refrigerator use.\u201d<\/em> The Shabbos Keeper is preprogrammed with Shabbos and yom tov dates for the next 30 years, and automatically disengages any of the technology that creates Shabbos concerns. There is no need to cover switches, unscrew bulbs or activate a Shabbat mode. OU Kosher, through its Halacha and Technology Division led by Rabbi Tzvi Ortner, is excited to endorse this product, which automatically resolves all Shabbat and yom tov issues associated with Shabbat refrigerator use according to even the most stringent halachic opinions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With its Halacha and Technology Division, the OU seeks to help provide products and solutions that make the use of technology both worry-free and in full observance of halacha.
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KEY FEATURES<\/strong><\/p>\n