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Every "sabbath feature" appliance is a bit different. In general, what it means is that when the door opens, the temperature controls won't automatically turn on, the light won't turn on, and any electronic readouts won't change. Also, any automatic shutoff feature will be disabled.

Jews are not allowed to cook on the Sabbath, for separate reasons than the use of electricity. Warming precooked foods up is not a problem (though many authorities believe that this should not be done in an oven - most Orthodox Jews will use a warming tray or a metal sheet over their burners (called a blech) for this - which can absolutely be a fire hazard, especially with a gas stove, but we try to be careful), and anything that is put into the oven before the Sabbath starts can continue to cook through the Sabbath to be eaten Frday night, or Saturday - so long as it wasn't tampered with (stirred, removed and checked, basted, etc.) during the cooking process. So we use the Sabbath mode on our oven for cholent (a stew that cooks overnight - but as Mordechai mentioned is often cooked in a crock pot), and on Jewish holidays when cooking is permitted but using electricity is not. It's a convenience - before ovens were electronic, the Sabbath mode was unnecessary, because opening an oven didn't automatically trigger all sorts of bells and whistles. Now, even many refrigerators have sabbath modes, to keep the lights turned off and the auto-temperature steady when the door is opened - but most Orthodox Jews simply use the low-tech method of taping over the light-controlling lever inside the door. Since the holidays are often two days long, and occasionally come before or after the Sabbath, having a timer that automatically shuts your oven off stops being a convenience and instead makes it impossible to cook or warm food throughout the holidays. So now that the shutoff feature is becoming standard, the Sabbath feature is starting to become a necessity for Orthodox Jews when it comes to buying a new oven.

As for the commenter who says that it's unnecessary to most of the population - you have a point. But the free market is consumer-driven and not interest-group driven. Jews may only make up 2% of the US population, and religious Jews a smaller percentage of that, but we also upgrade our kitchens frequently, buy more than one of every appliance for kosher purposes (it's not unusual for an Orthodox family to have two dishwashers and two ovens, plus an extra freezer for storage - and some wealthy families have a separate Passover kitchen in their basement as well). I agree that braille or talking controls would make more sense if you were looking at population figures, and I am certain that whatever company decided to add that feature would make a killing among blind consumers. But in the meantime, companies are not offering the Sabbath mode feature for no reason - it drives sales, and when you have small profit margins, anything that builds your customer base is seen as a worthwhile addition.

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I just bought a new GE range and there’s a Sabbath feature…?

As I understand, it’s a feature to have the oven bake at a specific temperature for an indefinite amount of time and when you program it, you cannot hear any signal and you cannot see any display. I also know that Jews cannot use electrical appliances on the Sabbath, unless they’re already...

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GE Sabbath Mode Feature on Cooking Products Meets the Needs of Observant Jewish Consumers

Hi, the Shabbat has just ended (i am in the UK). I am not sure which appliance specificaly you are refering to. I will tell you though, we Jews have hot (and probably t he most delicious) food on the Shabbos. There have been various appliances created that serve us very well. Ovens have timers that you can program it what tim eyou want it to go off.

Typicaly in jewish house, friday night, they will have a roast chicken with potatots or Kugel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kugel), ncessitating an oven to be on only for friday night. The oven will be programmed to go off after about 3 hours into the shabbat.

Staurday day (the Jewish Shabbat begins sunset on Friday, and ends nightfall Saturday), we eat a stew called Chulent (there are about a million ways of making Chulent, but basically it is made from potatos, beans and meat, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chulent), will be cooked for almost 24hours on a low flame or a slow cooker (it is delicious, we dream of it the whole week).

As to the specific appliance you are inquiring about, i am not sure what it is, but we Jews have mannaged for 000's of years, and we have been always eating hot food, without the concerne that the house will burn down.

Who says you can't turn on a gas stove? How much work is involved? The point with the Sabbath is NOT to quantify it, but, to examine it spiritually. The point of he Sabbath is to spend time with the LORD on HIS holy day. Kindling a fire during Moses' time was hard work. Turning a stove on, electric or gas, takes seconds. Besides, the person that was killed for kindling that fire in the Old Testament should have built the fire ahead of time. He had six days to start the fire. Instead, he waited until the Sabbath. This is why GOD says: Ezekiel 22:26  Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. GOD bless

My Shabbos mode can stay on for unlimited days...It's great for Yom Tovs.

Hint - read your pamphlet, or ask someone that has a similar oven. For the security timer feature, I found out that if I did NOT set a timer, my oven is on until it is MANUALLY turned off.

Michelle stated it...there are many different brands on the market.

What Is Sabbath Mode

It's a timer feature. You can set the timer ahead of time and the oven will turn itself on, reach the right temp, and then turn itself off when the amount of time has been reached.

It's hard to believe a feature that probably appeals to .001% of the population would even be included on an oven. Why don't they also include brail on the controls? There are more blind people that use ovens...

My former neighbors were Hasidic Jews. They would turn the stove on Friday evening before sundown and leave it on until sundown Saturday.