Stove and Oven Use on Shabbat and Yom Tov

The Halakhot of Stove and Oven Use on Shabbat and Yom Tov
By Rabbi Meir Sendor

Our stoves and ovens get a lot of use throughout the month of Tishrei in preparing Yom Tov meals, in addition to our weekly Shabbat preparation. This is a good time to review the halakhot of oven and stove use on Yom Tov and Shabbat, and to correct some common misunderstandings when it comes to the use of ovens with the Sabbath Mode feature.
The Star-K Kashrut organization, pioneers together with appliance manufacturers in the development of the Sabbath Mode setting for ovens, acknowledges that the trade name for this feature is unfortunate and has led to misunderstandings, and has appealed to rabbis to help correct the problem. The real advantage of the Sabbath Mode feature is for Yom Tov, and even here it is subject to halakhic rules that define a very limited set of parameters for oven use.
Let me quote directly from warnings issued on the Star-K website:
The Sabbath Mode does not allow us to turn these appliances on or off on the Sabbath. The Sabbath Mode also does not allow us to use these appliances completely at will on Shabbos or Yom Tov. Rather, it enables us to use these appliances within the guidelines of Halacha…
Ovens with the Sabbath mode on will not shut off after twelve hours of continuous operation. In many cases this mode will prevent the oven light from going on/off as the door is opened/closed. In some models, however, the bulb must be unscrewed or the light left on for the entire period. No lights, digits, solenoids, fans, icons, tones or displays will be activated/modified in the normal operation of the oven.
For these Sabbath mode models, the set  temperature can be raised or lowered on Yom Tov (but not on Shabbos) for cooking purposes at any time, because there is a built-in delay between the request for temperature change and its actual implementation.
The following rules apply to oven use, with or without the Sabbath Mode:
1. No adjustment to the temperature is permitted on Shabbos even in the Sabbath Mode.
2. All food must be fully cooked and placed in the oven before Shabbos. No food (cooked or non-cooked) may be placed in the oven on Shabbos to re-warm or cook. This is true regarding ovens, as well as warming drawers.
3. It is the opinion of Rabbi Heinemann that on Shabbos, for the thermostatically controlled oven that is running (as opposed to one shut off by timed bake), the door may be opened once at any time and all the food removed at that time. The oven may not be used any further for that Shabbos. [This refers all modern ovens, regular and Sabbath mode, and to food  that is fully cooked that was placed in the oven before Shabbos to stay warm].
4. The controls of an oven that is left on for Shabbos (or part of a Shabbos with a timed bake) should be covered with something like a piece of aluminum foil. Caution: Please be careful not to cover the vents.
With these warnings and corrections from Star-K in mind, let's review the rules of cooking and keeping food warm on Shabbat and Yom Tov, and how they apply to ovens and stove tops with the Shabbos Mode feature.





Kol Tuv,
RRW