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To be fair, if the law itself is what is important you can see the logic in doing this. It is a way of thinking that is not my own but it has a certain internal consistency.

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Well ya the prohibition is about creating fire, why wouldn't you step on the elevator if it's just going to be going up and down anyway?

This is a common misconception, but the prohibition against using electronics on Shabbat has nothing to do with fire; it has to do with completing a circuit since "completing a construction" is one of the 39 specifically banned activities

It seems that both justifications have been used.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activities_prohibited_on_Shabb...

"Many poskim ground their prohibition of operating electrical appliances in this melakha."

ooh

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