Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz

So any time a new Malacha is happening on Shabbos, even if the system was set up before Shabbos, that would be a violation of Shvi Saskelem.

So it would follow that according to Rav Schechter, setting up a coffee machine or a digital photo frame would be Aser.

That it would be Aser.

So Rav Schechter does not like it.

He does not like these digital photo frames.

So again, in short, almost all poskim are mekil, Rav Shechter is not mekil.

Okay, question number two.

What is the halachic ruling regarding the Manhattan Erev?

I'm not an expert in Erevin at all, and I'm not an expert in the history of the Manhattan Erev, but even I know that it is a complicated history.

There was, in the early part of the 20th century, there was a major movement to try to get an Erev established,

in Manhattan, and the core issue about whether or not you can have an Erev in Manhattan, or anywhere for that matter, is whether that area, it constitutes a Rosh Hashanah Rabim mida or raisa.

In the Siman Reshman Hay in Ar Chaim, the Shulchan Aruch goes through the definition of a Rosh Hashanah Rabim, and quotes two deos, two opinions, whether part of the definition of a Rosh Hashanah Rabim is that there needs to be 600,000 people there.

If you do not need to have 600,000 people there for something to be a Rosh Hashanah, that is a chumrah.

If you need to have 600,000 people there for something to be considered a Rosh Hashanah, that is a kula.

So the Mishabur writes, we don't like that kula.

We don't like the suggestion that something is not a Rosh Hashanah just because it doesn't have 600,000 people there.

But we cannot make a macha'a against those who do rely on that suggestion.

Now, so Rav Moshe and all the others would not have had a problem with it, would not have had a problem with it, I mean they may have had a problem with it to rely on it themselves, but they certainly would not have publicly said anything probably if it didn't have 600,000 people there.

Because then at least you're relying on the opinion that holds that it's not a Rosh Hashanah if it doesn't have 600,000 people.

Problem is Manhattan does have 600,000 people.