6473 —הדפסת מכתבי צ"צ והפעלת אניות בשבת

B"H, 5 Elul, 5718. Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

... Regarding what you wrote that you heard someone say that what I wrote about the ships of tzt"z applies only to the old ones and not to the new ones. It is understood that before I wrote about this matter, and certainly before I gave permission to print my letters of tzt"z—which was in the year 5718—I considered the operation and management of the ships at the time of publication and printing of these letters. That is, in these years up to and including 5718.

Additionally, as per the pace of automobile advancement now, it is almost certain that in a number of years ships will be operated by machines called automatic. However, in such a way that many times during a full day they will require human intervention in a manner constituting melachah de'oraisa (a Torah-prohibited labor). Anyone who says otherwise either does not know at all about actual ship operation nowadays or intends to mislead the public—and this is a most serious error. This was printed in Likkutei Sichos Chas Veshalom vol. 16 p. 407. What I wrote regarding ships: see above vol. 16 letter #5988 and as referenced in the notes there.

Summary

The Rebbe emphasizes careful consideration before issuing halachic guidance on modern technology and warns against misleading claims regarding Shabbos observance with new machines; human involvement often still constitutes Torah-level labor.