Bosch sued: "Shabbos mode" ovens cause chilul Shabbos

An urgent motion has been filed in Jerusalem District Court against BSH Home Appliances, the importer and distributor of Bosch, Siemens and Neff ovens in Israel, claiming that Shabbos-observant consumers bought ovens with a feature called "Shabbos mode" only to discover that opening the oven door during operation shuts off the heating elements, and closing it turns them back on. The plaintiffs say the result is chilul Shabbos by consumers who relied on the feature.

The motion was filed by Benny Landau and Varda Teller as part of a request to certify a class-action lawsuit. The two are asking the court to intervene immediately, before the case is decided, and issue temporary orders requiring the company to inform existing and prospective customers how the "Shabbos mode" actually works.

According to the motion, the very name "Shabbos mode," together with the program's features, creates an impression among Shabbos-observant consumers that the mechanism is designed to allow use of the oven on Shabbos without the user's normal actions, such as opening the door to remove food, activating or deactivating the electrical system. The plaintiffs emphasize that opening the door is a necessary action for taking food out of the oven.

The "Shabbos mode" in question (Photo: Courtesy)

One of the plaintiffs, Varda Teller, stated in an affidavit that she purchased a Siemens oven in December 2023, and that the presence of "Shabbos mode" was a real consideration in her choice of oven and even the deciding factor among the products she examined. She said she understood the feature was designed to allow use of the oven on Shabbos without opening and closing the door causing the heating system to turn on or off.

But according to her claim, she later discovered that opening and closing the door do affect the heating element. In her affidavit she recounts that after she understood this, and after a halachic inquiry she says she conducted, she stopped using the oven on Shabbos.

The motion also includes a recorded conversation with the service manager on behalf of the importer. In the conversation, he explained that there is a European regulation requiring that when the oven door is opened, the heating elements shut off and resume operation after it is closed. On the other hand, the company representative emphasized in the conversation that the company does not advertise "Shabbos mode" as having halachic approval.

The two plaintiffs are now seeking temporary relief even before a decision on the class-action lawsuit. Among other things, they are demanding that the court prevent the sale of the relevant ovens without clear notification to buyers, and require the company to publish within 96 hours a notice on its websites, on service pages, in two daily newspapers, and in direct contact with customers whose details are in its possession.

The plaintiffs emphasize that at this stage they are not asking the court to order replacement of the ovens, their repair, a halt to their sale, or payment of compensation.

We attempted to obtain a response from Bosch, but as of publication no reply had been received.