Wednesday, September 18, 2013

The Jacksonville Florida Tragedy and Halacha by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

Five Towns Jewish Times   The recent incident this past Yom Kippur involving a woman in Jacksonville, Florida who was killed while crossing an intersection with dangerously fast cars was very tragic indeed.  It not only left the sixteen year old daughter who was with her with life-threatening injuries, it left her orphaned r”l. This young lady had lost her father many years earlier.

The tragedy, however, brings up a halachic question.  In an area where the traffic light poses a danger in crossing because it is timed for too short a time to cross safely, would it be permitted to ask a gentile to press the button? [...]

When this author presented the case to permit asking a gentile to press the crosswalk button to some leading Poskim, the Poskim agreed to the underlying rationale.  They also agreed that the leniency can be promulgated in their name.  The Poskim were Rav Moshe Heinemann Shlita from Baltimore and Rav Shmuel Fuerst Shlita from Chicago. [...]
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8 comments :

  1. jackSeptember 18, 2013 at 4:41 AM

    And why would you even have to ask a SHAILA ?,just use your God given brains to figure out the PSAK

    ReplyDelete
  2. AriSeptember 18, 2013 at 5:43 AM

    Please help support this young girl: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/dbKLa?psid=d7747b1368f6481f9d88381b4afda045

    ReplyDelete
  3. DanielSeptember 18, 2013 at 9:50 AM

    and if there are no gentiles around? Can you could press it yourself? Clearly, if there is a danger...

    ReplyDelete
  4. MiMedinat HaYamSeptember 18, 2013 at 6:14 PM

    about thirty years ago, after a mugging on leil shbbat in crown heights, there was halachic discussion to permit carrying "mug money" (a token amount of cash to give a mugger to have him leave.)

    rav meir kahane, hy"d mentioned that if its permitted to carry mug money, it is permitted to carry a gun.

    2. those buttons never work, anyway. in new york. other cities around the world got rid of them a long time ago.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2013 at 6:25 PM

    R' Heinmann's shul worked out with Baltimore City to coordinate and to lenghten duration to allow more time for crossing the main road in front of his and other shuls/sides of the orthodox neighborhood. Others can replicate with their own jurisdictions

    ReplyDelete
  6. ShuaSeptember 18, 2013 at 7:58 PM

    Who asked them to go this way..? Furthermore they have no obligation to go to shul in the first place. So we are being matir chillul yom kippur for nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. observerSeptember 20, 2013 at 12:41 AM

    R' Heinmann's shul worked out with Baltimore City to coordinate and to lenghten duration to allow more time for crossing the main road in front of his and other shuls/sides of the orthodox neighborhood. Others can replicate with their own jurisdictions

    ReplyDelete
  8. Student VSeptember 22, 2013 at 8:09 PM

    I don't understand. Does pressing the button make the walk signal last longer? If so, what is the shaila? Couldn't you press it yourself on Shabbat?

    ReplyDelete

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