This point has been made many times before, eg. by Feynman in Surely You're Joking, where he points out that jewish people seem to value and encourage education more than other groups. For balance, he also shares an anecdote where jewish students ask him whether pushing the button on the elevator should be considered work [a question Feynman considers ridiculous], which is forbidden on Saturday in the jewish religion. (The two stories may not be told together by Feynman, I don't remember.)
I think what they asked him was if electricity is the same as fire, which he then started to explain only to be disappointed that they asked it just to determine if using the elevator is work (apparently starting a fire is work, or something like that).
A tangent: some elevators in Israel have special programming that causes them to open their doors automatically on every floor during the Sabbath (and Yom Kippur). That way you can get up and downstairs without ever having to push a button.
