Desecrating the Sabbath is permitted when the need arises to defend against cyber attacks, even those that don't target critical national and military infrastructure rather only large financial institutions, the head of the Tzomet Institute, Rabbi Menachem Pearl, determined in a halachic ruling published in Tehumin – a Hebrew-language annual journal of articles about Jewish law and modernity.
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The Tzomet Institute is an Israeli high-tech non-profit organization, based in the community of Alon Shvut in Judea and Samaria, specializing in IT equipment and electronic appliances designed to meet the requirements of halacha, or Jewish law.
After studying and researching the issue in recent months together with experts in the field, Pearl divided the cybersphere into three different levels. The highest level – "critical national infrastructure" – consists of several dozen bodies such as the National Water Carrier, Israel Electric Company, and others.
The second level, which Pearl calls "Group A," comprises several hundred organizations that control critical cyber assets, such as banks, large grocery chains, and insurance companies.
Pearl distinguishes between core damage, when he says it is always permissible to desecrate Shabbat (such as in a war), and clear and present threats, when he says it is also permissible and necessary to take defensive measures, but in a manner that minimizes Shabbat desecration as much as possible – similar to certain actions in the military.
The third level ("Group B"), according to Pearl, consists of many medium-sized businesses that represent some 70% of the Israeli economy, for which desecrating Shabbat is not permissible.
"Although Shabbat should not be desecrated to save property, in some cases damage or theft of property could open the door to mortal peril. Therefore, it is permissible to desecrate Shabbat and act as if you are saving a life even in cases of cyber attacks on large banks, grocery chains, and more," Pearl said.
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