Movinglife ATTO: Manual Operation for Shabbat

SHABBATTO STAR-K offers users the ability to activate an external mechanism, that deploys 2 principles to make it permissible for use on Shabbos: the Grama Principle and the existing current modulation technique.

The SHABBATTO motor operates in “crawl” mode throughout the Shabbos, consuming minimum power. This halachic principle is known as “continuous current modification.” According to this principle, instead of turning the engine on to drive, the user is only adjusting the level of an existing current to move and modify speed.

The fact that the motor is turned on before Shabbos and operates continuously in the background is a breakthrough that makes the SHABBATTO STAR-K more halachically enhanced, allowing user to operate the scooter without fearing the desecration of Shabbos and sets it apart from the other Shabbos-approved scooters in the market.

Get to shul easily on Shabbos? Load the scooter into the car’s trunk and drive to the children for Shabbat? Fly to a fun vacation abroad? With a SHABBATTO mobility scooter, anything is possible! It features an integral “mehudar” mechanism, and therefore doesn’t require tricky and costly installation, as in other scooters

- Rabbi Menachem Perl, Head of Zomet Institute

The scooter may be used only by one who is designated to be a choleh, in that he or she is unable to engage in normal Shabbos activities due to mobility issues. An Orthodox Rabbi must be consulted to decide whether a particular person meets that criteria.

No. It can be used on Shabbos only where there is a kosher eruv.

No. Poskim of some communities may feel that it is inappropriate for a choleh to use a scooter on Shabbos, or they may take issue with the halachic argument to permit its use. Therefore, the scooter may be driven on Shabbos only in communities in which the poskim condone its use, and driven to shul only if the rabbi permits.

Some melachos are forbidden mi’d’Oraysa (by the Torah) on Shabbos, while others are forbidden mi’drabanan (by Talmudic decree). One is not allowed to perform an action which will immediately result in the occurrence of either a melacha d’Oraysa or a melacha d’rabanan. Moreover, barring extenuating circumstances, one is not allowed to perform any action which will result in a melacha d’Oraysa taking place even at some later time.

However, to meet the specific needs of cholim on Shabbos, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l allowed for the custom building of devices that result in a melacha d’rabanan occurring after a brief delay. The halachic term for this delay is grama. The Shabbatto’s Shabbat Mode mechanism relies on this principle of grama. When the scooter is in Shabbat Mode, it will not start moving immediately upon engaging the throttle; any movement is preceded by a few-second delay.

The scooter will stop immediately upon the application of the hand brakes, and there will not be any time delay. When in Shabbat Mode, the brakes work mechanically, similar to the brakes on a bicycle. Since the brakes are mechanical and not electric, this is permitted on Shabbos.

On Shabbos, a person driving the scooter must place a sign on the back of the scooter stating that the user is a choleh due to impaired mobility, to mitigate the impression that he is disrespecting Shabbos. A STAR-K approved sign is provided along with the Shabbos mechanism.