Ha-Rav
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Automatic Door on Shabbat
Q: If one is
"trapped" in a hotel or hospital on Shabbat because there is an
automatic, electric door, is it permissible to go through the door if it is
opened by a Jew violating Shabbat?
A: One should find an
alternative exit or walk through it after one who is fulfilling a medical or
security role. It is forbidden to go
through after someone violating Shabbat on account of having benefit from
Shabbat by violating and desecrating Hashem's Name (Shut Igrot Moshe, Orach
Chaim 2:77. But some permit it in a
pressing circumstance when there is no alternative, since one is not actually
benefiting from a forbidden labor of Shabbat, because the door opening is
merely the removal of a stumbling block.
Shemirat Shabbat Ke-Hilchata 18:63 in the name of Ha-Rav Shlomo Zalman
Auerbach).
Arab Children Killed in Gaza
Q: Isn't there an ethical
problem that Arab children were killed in Gaza during the "Pillar of
Defense" military campaign?
A: War is war. And we did not kill them - the evil ones who
used them as human shields killed them (And this is the ruling in Amud
Ha-Yemini, end of #16 and in Sufa Be-Midbar of Ha-Rav Yonah Metzger #35 which is
at the end of Shut Mi-Yam Ha-Halachah vol. 3).
Furthermore, three pictures were distributed by Hamas of children who
were killed, and it was discovered that two of the pictures were from the civil
war in Syria and one was of an Israeli child (the person helping him was
wearing a vest with "Kiryat Malachi" written on the back).
Medicine with Gelatin
Q: Is it permissible to take
medicine which contains Gelatin?
A: Yes. Many authorities also permit Gelatin from a
non-Kosher source, since its form has completely changed. But even those who forbid it, permit medicine
which contains Gelatin, since it is not food and lacks taste (see Shut Har
Tzvi, Yoreh Deah #83. Shut Minchat
Yitzchak 5:5. Shut Tzitz Eliezer,
introduction to vol. 4).
Waiting for One's Family to
Light Chanukah Candles
Q: Should one light Chanukah
candles right away at nightfall or wait for one's spouse?
A: If one lights inside the
house, he should wait. If one lights
outside, he may wait as long as there are passersby (The Chafetz Chaim’s rebbe,
Rebbe Nachumke of Grodno, once waited several hours until his wife returned
home before lighting the Chanukah lights.
The Chafetz Chaim asked him why he waited, and his teacher explained
that if one can buy either Chanukah candles or Shabbat candles, we rule that he
should buy Shabbat candles, since Shabbat candles are for "Shalom Bayit"
- peace and tranquility of the home (Shabbat 23b. Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 678:1). If Shabbat candles takes precedence over
Chanukah candles because of "Shalom Bayit", then I should all the
more so wait for my wife, since if I don't wait for her, she may be distraught. Ha-Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv explains,
however, that this conduct of Rebbe Nachumke only applies outside of Israel
where people light Chanukah candles inside, and since the lighting is
publicizing the miracle to his family, we therefore take "Shalom
Bayit" into consideration. But in
Eretz Yisrael, where we light outside, and we must light as long as there are
passersby to publicize the miracle to them, and if it is too late, we do not
fulfill the Mitzvah, we therefore do not take "Shalom Bayit" into
consideration. Peninei Chanukah, pp.
172-173).
Operation during Chanukah
Q: Is it permissible to
undergo surgery during Chanukah even though he will not be able to light
Chanukah candles?
A: Yes. It is permissible for a person to put himself
into a situation where he will be unable to fulfill a Mitzvah on account of
Pikuach Nefesh (preserving life). See
Ha-Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv brought in Ashrei Ish, p. 233.
