64 JEWISH ACTION Summer 5767/2007

With the affluence and increas-ing mobility of the contem-porary Orthodox world,

frum Jews are traveling to places theirancestors had never even heard of.Orthodox Jews can be found taking acruise to Bermuda, going on a safari inBotswana or embarking on a multi-dayhike in Nepal.

Traveling does, of course, pose sig-nificant challenges for the kosher travel-er. From determining zemanei tefillah tofinding appropriate kosher cuisine, theexperienced kosher traveler knows thatto be prepared, he must learn the rele-vant halachot and plan ahead.

Below, we offer you, Jewish Actionreaders, a brief quiz to find out howmuch you really know about koshertravel. Good luck—and don’t forget to

rate yourself at the end!

Spiritual Heights

1. Can you pray while sitting whenflying on a plane?a. Maybeb. Sometimesc. Absolutely notd. Yes

Answer: dAccording to Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, theneed for proper concentration (kavanah)outweighs the need to stand. Since on aplane it would be difficult to concentrateproperly if you were to stand while pray-ing, you may sit. You should, however,take the necessary three steps forward whenbeginning Shemoneh Esrei and three stepsback when finished (Iggerot Moshe IV,no. 20).

2. When should you say TefillatHaderech on an airplane?a. One hour before takeoff.b. One hour after takeoff.

c. Upon surviving the airline meal.d. As the plane is taxiing down the run-

way immediately prior to takeoff.Answer: dMost airplane accidents occur either dur-ing takeoff or while the plane is landing.Thus, both of these are considered timesof danger. An ideal time to say TefillatHaderech is therefore during takeoff.Furthermore, it is halachically preferablethat one be at least seventy amot out ofthe city when reciting this prayer. If yourecite it immediately prior to takeoff, bythe time you finish the tefillah, the planewill already be well past the seventy-amot requirement.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

3. What is the International Date Line?a. An imaginary line on earth that sepa-

rates two consecutive calendar days.b. Where the US Navy practices various

maneuvers. c. Where young frum singles from the

US and Israel meet.d. None of the above.

Rabbi Epstein directs the Asian Desk of the OU’sKashrut Division’s New Companies Department.He is married with six sons, and lives inBrooklyn, New York. He is the author ofHalachos for the Traveler (Jerusalem, 2000),which addresses the specific problems that con-front the kosher traveler.

T r a v e l T a l k :

Test Your Kosher Travel I.Q.By Donneal Epstein

KosherKopy

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Answer: aThe International Date Line is an imagi-nary line that runs through the PacificOcean, 180 degrees away from the primemeridian. To the east of the Date Line, byinternational agreement, the calendar dateis one day earlier than to the west. Thislocation was chosen because of conven-ience; the Date Line passes through oceansand never runs through a landmass.Otherwise, bizarre results would occur.For example, for someone on one side of

the street it could be 1:00 p.m. on Sunday,while for his neighbor across the street itwould be 1:00 p.m. on Monday!

The Date Line is necessary becausethe day must “start” somewhere. Is NewYork three hours ahead of Los Angeles or isit twenty-one hours behind? The need fora date line first became obvious 500 yearsago when Magellan’s crew members, whohad kept a meticulous log, returned toSpain and discovered they were one dayahead of everyone else. From this incident,it became evident that a person travelingwestward would gain a day, while onetraveling eastward across the Pacific Oceanwould lose a day.

4. Does the International Date Linehave halachic significance? In otherwords, does international agreementaffect the halachic calendar day?a. Of course—“dina demalchuta dina,”

the government has the right tomake laws, and according tohalachah these laws must berespected.

b. Of course not.c. It depends on what time you go

to sleep.

d. According to most halachic authori-ties, no.

Answer: dClearly, the location of a halachic DateLine cannot be based on convenience. Thisis especially true since the InternationalDate Line has changed several times—boththe Philippines and Alaska “switched sides”in the nineteenth century. According to theChazon Ish, who based his opinion on agemara in Rosh Hashanah 20b, the DateLine is ninety degrees east of Jerusalem, i.e.,at 125 degrees east longitude, and runsthrough Australia, China and Russia.However, he also contends that the DateLine can’t split a landmass. In the cases of

Australia and Asia, although parts of thesecontinents are technically located east of theChazon Ish’s Date Line, they are halachi-cally considered west of it, and Shabbat inthese places would be observed as usual,that is, the day the local residents considerSaturday. However, in New Zealand andJapan, which are east of the Date Lineand therefore one day behind, accordingto the Chazon Ish one must keep Shabbaton the day the residents in these countriesconsider Sunday!

Basing his ruling on a midrash thatstates Jerusalem is “the center of theworld,” Rabbi Yechiel MichelTukitchinsky, also known as GesherHachayim after his work, puts the DateLine at 145 degrees west longitude. Thisline runs from the Gulf of Alaska throughthe Pacific Ocean east of Hawaii, placingHawaii on the other side of the Date Linefrom the United States. Thus, accordingto this opinion, in Japan, Shabbat wouldbe the day that the local population con-siders Saturday, while in Hawaii,Shabbat would be the day the residentsconsider Friday.

Several posekim, most notably the

CANADA

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Bnei Tzion, are of the opinion that thehalachic Date Line runs through the mid-dle of the Pacific Ocean at 177 degreeseast longitude, close to the universallyaccepted Date Line. (There are severalother opinions, but it is beyond the scopeof this article to record all of them.)

It is important to discuss these issueswith your rabbi during the planningstages of any trip that would entail passingthe halachic Date Line. It is highly recom-mended that one avoid being in a doubt-ful area on Shabbat, and many posekimdecry the practice of taking a vacation insuch a place.

5. If you flew over the halachic DateLine into a new day on a fast day, doesthe fast end automatically? a. Yesb. Depends how hungry you are.c. Depends where you (or your rabbi)

believe the Date Line is located. d. Depends which direction you are

flying.

Answer: cThere is room for leniency. Some halachicauthorities contend that when the issueconcerns a rabbinic law—such as fastingon a minor fast day—minority opinionsas to the location of the Date Line shouldbe taken into account. For example, ifyou were to depart from China for Japan(which is a day behind, according to theChazon Ish) on Asarah Betevet, wouldyou have to fast the next day? Dependingupon your rabbi, the answer may be thatsince there are halachic authorities whomaintain the Date Line is, in fact, thou-sands of miles to the east of the interna-tionally-recognized one, the next daywould not be considered Asarah Betevetin Japan, and you are therefore exemptfrom fasting.

6. If you donned tefillin in the morningand davened Shacharit, and subse-quently flew westward into a new day,should you put on tefillin again?a. Of courseb. Absolutely not, it might be a

berachah levatalah (a blessing saidin vain).

c. Only if you are sitting in coach.d. Yes. You should put tefillin on again

and say the Shemoneh Esrei again asa tefillat nedavah.

Answer: dThere is a disagreement among posekimregarding the obligation of tefillin andprayer. What creates the obligation: theactual calendar day or the daily phenome-non of sunrise? Most posekim maintainthe latter. Thus, in this case, while accord-ing to most, you would not be obligated toput on tefillin again because you did notpersonally experience the natural phenom-

enon of a sunrise and a sunset—a newphysical day—there is no restrictionagainst donning tefillin more than once aday. Should you want to be stringent, youmay opt to recite a tefillat nedavah, aprayer that is recited to replace a missedone. Even one who knows for certain thathe has fulfilled his obligation may say atefillat nedavah if he so desires, as long astwo conditions are met: One, that he con-centrates fully on the prayers and two, thathe adds something “new” in the prayer,e.g., an additional request for himself. Aperson who is uncertain as to whether hehas fulfilled his prayer requirement may

What to Do in a JamWhat do you do if you are driving to a weekend getaway on a

Friday afternoon in July and you suddenly find yourself stuck in a trafficjam? As the time passes, you realize in horror that you will not be able tomake it to your destination before sundown.

If you are driving through a dangerous neighborhood where vio-lent acts are known to take place, you can continue driving past shekiyah(sundown) until you reach a place where you are out of danger.However, while driving, you should try to minimize the melachot thatyou do. For example, you should refrain from using electronic turn sig-nals and should instead use hand signals. Once you have left the danger-ous area, you must immediately stop driving. Ideally, you should try toget a non-Jew to turn off the engine. If this is not possible and you areafraid your car will be stolen, you can turn the engine off yourself usinga shinui (doing something normal in an unusual manner in order todelineate between Shabbat and weekday).

Once the engine is off, you may hire a non-Jew to continue drivingyou during the period of bein hashemashot (twilight, between sundownand nightfall). After this period has ended, there is no longer a blanketdispensation for amirah le’akum (prohibition against asking a non-Jew todo work for a Jew on Shabbat). Therefore, asking a non-Jew to driveafter nightfall would only be permissible in the following circumstances:

1. To prevent significant monetary loss.2. You are in a place where you lack even the most basic necessities

for normal living (e.g., if you would have to remain in your car theentire Shabbat).

3. There is someone in the car who is ill to the point that hewould normally be bedridden.

4. There are young children in the car (up to nine years old).

If there are no cooperative non-Jews around and you do notbelieve yourself to be in danger, with the advent of nightfall, you shouldget out of the car and start walking to a destination where you can findShabbat hospitality.

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say a tefillat nedavah even without meet-ing these two conditions but should makea stipulation that if he is not obligated topray, the present prayer is a nedavah,whereas if he is obligated to pray, then theprayer should fulfill the obligation.

Shabbat on the Road

7. When a married man is away forShabbat, should he light candles?a. No. He can rely on his wife’s lighting,

but only if she is home. If she isaway, she can’t fulfill the obligationfor him.

b. Yes, he must light his own candles. c. No. He should just make sure

to have all the lights in hisroom turned on.

d. Maybe. Depends onwhether or not hehas candles.

Answer: aA married man does nothave to light candles becausehis wife’s lighting exemptshim from the obligation. Heshould, however, keep a lighton in his hotel room to makeShabbat more enjoyable for him-self, thereby fulfilling the halachicrequirement of ensuring there is a serene,tranquil environment on Shabbat (thehalachic obligation of shalom bayit). If,however, his wife is not home, and there-fore will not light candles in the house, herlighting elsewhere does not exempt himfrom having to light candles. This isbecause there is a halachic obligation ofkevod Shabbat (creating an exalted anddignified atmosphere on Shabbat), whichapplies to both husband and wife. If nei-ther of them is in the house, they musteach fulfill the obligation by lighting sepa-rately (Chovat Hadar 88, note 20).

8. When a single man goes away forShabbat, should he light candles?a. He can rely on his mother.b. He can rely on the moonlight.c. He should light his own candles. d. He should recite the prayer

Bameh Madlikin.

Answer: cHe must light candles himself and may notrely on his mother. This is because “ishtokegufo,” only a wife and husband arehalachically considered to be “one person.”

9. What should you do if you are stuckin a place where there is no wine avail-able for Kiddush on Shabbat? a. Use bread.b. Use chamar medinah (a formal drink).

c. Let bygones be bygones.d. For the Friday night meal, use bread.

For the Shabbat morning meal, usechamar medinah.

Answer: dSome Rishonim are of the opinion thatchamar medinah may never be used forKiddush. Since Friday evening Kiddush isBiblically mandated, we abide by thestringent opinion and do not permit theuse of chamar medinah. Shabbat morn-ing Kiddush, however, is rabbinicallymandated, and one can, therefore, belenient. Thus, chamar medinah can beused for Shabbat morning Kiddush(Shulchan Aruch 272: 9).

10. May you carry in a hotel onShabbat if you are staying in a citywithout an eruv?a. Nob. Only in Hotel California.c. Yes, provided that the hotel has valid

mechitzot (halachic walls). This wouldexclude ranch-style motels wherethere is no common hallway.

d. Depends on whether or not you usethe eruv in your own community.

Answer: cYou may carry within a hotel since it isconsidered to be the private domain ofthe owner or owners. (As a privatedomain, it does not have the halachic

status of a chatzer, which is communal-ly owned and would require an

eruv chatzeirot.)

11. What should you do if youcheck into a hotel late Fridayafternoon and realize that therooms all have electric doorlocks?a. Stay in your hotel room all

Shabbat.b. Ask for room service.

c. Sleep in the hotel lobby.d. Ask a non-Jew for assistance.

Answer: dIt is permissible to ask a non-Jew to openthe room door because you are allowed toask a non-Jew to do something that is rab-binically forbidden for the sake of yourenjoyment of Shabbat. However,lechatchilah you may not rely on amirahle’akum—the prohibition against asking anon-Jew to do work for a Jew on Shabbat(Mishnah Berurah 255:1). This meansthat you should not purposely makearrangements to stay at a hotel with elec-tric door locks and assume you will relyupon non-Jews for assistance over Shabbat.

12. If you get to the hotel right beforeShabbat, can you ask a non-Jew to helpunload your luggage from the car inorder to get ready for Shabbat?a. No, of course not.b. Yes, of course.c. Depends if your luggage is muktzah.

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d. Depends how distressed you will be without your lug-gage all Shabbat.

Answer: bDuring bein hashemashot (twilight, between sundown andnightfall) you may ask a non-Jew to perform any melachah aslong as it is necessary for Shabbat (Shulchan Aruch 261:1).This is because halachically bein hashemashot has the statusof a doubtful period; that is, it is questionable whether it isday or night. Because of its doubtful status we can be lenientconcerning rabbinic prohibitions such as amirah le’akum.

Kosher on the Go

13. Can you eat in a vegan restaurant without a hechsher(kosher certification)?a. Yesb. Only if you really dislike meat. c. Nod. Only on Rosh Chodesh.

Answer: cThere are many halachic problems that arise when eating insuch an establishment. For example, bishul akum (foodcooked by a non-Jew); insect infestation, et cetera.

14. What kind of hechsher can you rely on whenyou travel?a. Any certificate with Hebrew letters.b. Any hechsher is acceptable since when you are

traveling, it is halachically considered a sha’at hadchak(pressing time).

c. Just take your own food.d. It depends.

Answer: dIt is imperative for you to do your homework before setting offon a journey. There is a wide range of hechsherim and mostpeople are blissfully unaware of the differences among them.You should try to contact the rabbi where you will be visitingas well as the Chabad house to find out about local certifica-tions and appropriate places to eat.

Additionally, before trying to discern distinctionsbetween hechsherim, you should first be aware of your ownstandards. Discuss this with your rabbi before you leave onyour trip. �JA

How did you score?3 -5 correct: Go back to yeshivah.

5-10 correct: Not bad. But don’t go to Thailand withoutfirst brushing up on your kosher travel skills.

More than 10 correct: Excellent. Go find your passport!

Summer 5767/2007 JEWISH ACTION 69

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