A copper blech covers the lit burners on a stovetop, keeping food warm for theShabbos meal.
Ablech (from theYiddish wordבלעך (blekh) meaning "tin" or "sheet metal", alternatively from Middle High German or Standard German "Blech", meaning tin or sheet metal) is a metal sheet used by many observantJews to cover stovetop burners (and for some, the cooker's knobs and dials) onShabbos (the Jewish Sabbath), as part of the precautions taken to avoid violating thehalachicprohibition against cooking on the Sabbath.
RabbiFishel Jacobs'The Blech Book—The Complete & Illustrated Guide To Shabbos Hotplates[1][page needed] gives the following guidelines:
The food (including water) intended for Shabbos use should be completely cooked.
The stove's gas flames or electric coils are turned on. Theblech is placed over these. Alternatively, the Shabboshot plate, which needs noblech (when it is the type which has no knobs to adjust the heat level) is plugged in.
The pot is placed on theblech. It is permissible to place another pot on this one.
The pot on theblech, or another pot which has been placed on it, may be covered with a blanket, clothing, towel, cloth, etc., to keep the heat from dissipating. One side of the pot should be left partially uncovered.
During Shabbos, the pots are removed according to need. After removal, it is permissible to return the pot onto theblech, following these guidelines:
The pot should be removed from theblech with the intention to replace it afterwards and held at all times, not leaned onto any surface. (A heavy or unwieldy pot may be partially leaned on a surface, while being held, if there is no alternative.)
The food must be in the same pot, completely cooked, and has retained at least some of its original heat.
The permissibility ofblech (and unblech, below) and the acceptable manner of their use is questioned by several modernkashrut organizations;[2] however, the use of ablech to reheat food on the Sabbath remains very popular among observant Jews.[3]
Anunblech, orK'Deira Blech (lit. "potblech", commonly referred to as "waterblech"), is also used to heat up pre-cooked food on the Sabbath, but utilizes different halakhic mechanisms from a standardblech. Anunblech consists of a shallow metal pan filled with hot water and covered by another metal pan, and thus is akin to abain-marie or double boiler for halakhic purposes. As such, it may be more flexible than a standardblech for halachic purposes. However, the temperature of anunblech is limited by the boiling point of water and is not as hot as a typicalblech.[citation needed]
In 2015, a house fire caused by a faulty Shabbos hot plate killed seven children inBrooklyn. The 2015 fire was preceded by at least four otherShabbos fires in Brooklyn in the past 15 years caused by appliances for heating food being left on or candles burning during the Jewish Sabbath in order to comply withOrthodox interpretation of Jewish Law.[4] In 2005, three children died in a fire in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, caused when stove burners were left on duringPassover.[5] After the 2015 fire, theNew York City Fire Department distributed a pamphlet titled "Fire Safety for Jewish Observances" to nearby homes.[6] In response to the fire, many Jewish Brooklyn residents purchased smoke detectors before the following Sabbath.[7][8]
