Remember that putting out a fire is one of the primary
categories of work, just as lighting a fire.
So what about this kind of indirect extinguishing. After
all, the primary purpose is to make a barrier, not to put out the fire. It was
not the plan (intention) that the vessels burst.
Our Rabbis taught: If a lamp is on
a board, one may shake [tip up] the board and it [the lamp] falls off, and if
it is extinguished, it is extinguished. The School of R. Jannai said: They
learnt this only if one forgot [it there]; but if he placed [it there], it [the
board] became a stand for a forbidden article.
Again, intention.
Another example:
A Tanna taught: If a lamp is behind
a door, one may open and close [it] naturally, and if it is extinguished it is
extinguished.
Rab cursed this [ruling].
While there is disagreement, it seems that the indirect is
permissible as long as it is not used as an excuse to intentionally do
something forbidden, and reasonable precautions (i.e. using fire-resistant
vessels) are taken.
Oh – and by the way:
If one has the [Divine] Name
written (temporarily) on his skin, he must not bathe nor anoint [himself] nor stand
in an unclean place.
Bathing is not the intention to erase the Divine name. But
it is an inescapable consequence.
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