Sunday, December 27, 2015

Travelling On Dangerous Roads


Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon

Question: My family has a bat mitzva celebration in Gush Etzion. Am I allowed to travel there at this time, or is this perhaps forbidden because of the danger involved?

Answer: The specific question involves the dangers of travel in Gush Etzion and the roads of Yehuda and the Shomron, but at first glance the question should possibly be expanded to ask how we are allowed to ride in a car in Tel Aviv or other places in the country. After all, there is a constant danger of traffic accidents (which have caused many more injuries than terrorist activity). We can also ask about many other dangers.

The Talmud teaches us that a person should never enter into a dangerous situation and rely on being saved by a miracle:

"A person should never put himself in a dangerous place and say that a miracle will take place for him, perhaps the miracle will not happen. And if it does occur, it will be detracted from his merits." [Shabbat 32a].

On the other hand, in five other places the Talmud allows going into a danger because of the principle that "G-d watches over the innocent ones" [Tehillim 116:6]. In two sources, the Talmud adds that since "many people have walked in a place" one is allowed to go there (Shabbat 129b; Yevamot 72a). That is, one is allowed to go into danger in places were most people often go. This would imply that since tens of thousands of people (and perhaps more) ride on the roads of Yesha every day, the matter is covered by the above verse and the people are protected.

Can one Decide to be stringent and Avoid the Danger?

Is one allowed to be stringent and not rely on the verse, "G-d watches over the innocent ones"? The fact that G-d provides protection can be understood in two ways (this seems to be the subject of a dispute among the early commentators, but we will not go into details here).

(1) It is possible that a measure of danger exists but since many people ignore it one is allowed to do the same, because of the decree that "G-d watches over the innocent ones." That is, the Holy One, Blessed be He, takes care of the majority of people and He does not demand that we act in a way that is different from most other people.

(2) Perhaps the fact that "G-d watches over" the people does not mean that one is allowed to go into danger, but redefines this situation as one where there is no danger!
One possible difference between these two outlooks involves the possibility of being stringent with respect to entering a danger. If we understand that the danger has been removed, there is no reason to attempt to be stringent, since the situation is no longer dangerous at all. (This is what seems to be implied by Rashi, Yevamot 12b – "Meshamshot.")

However, if the danger remains but we have been given permission to ignore it, perhaps one who wants to act in a stringent manner can choose to travel by train or bus (and thereby substantially reduce the danger of accidents). This principle seems to be implied by the Ritva (Yevamot 73b). It is written in the Talmud that one should not perform a circumcision on a cloudy day, and the Ritva adds:

"'G-d watches over the innocent.' For this reason, one who does not want to do a circumcision on a cloudy day is allowed to delay, and it is good that he does not rely on this verse." The Ritva gives credit to the Rambam for this ruling.

This implies that whenever the rule that "G-d protects the innocent" is invoked, a danger still exists but we have been given permission to ignore it. Therefore a person can decide not to ignore the danger, and he can even delay the mitzva of a circumcision in order to avoid this level of danger. It would then be correct not to perform a circumcision on Shabbat under these circumstances. This would imply that a person who prefers not to travel to Gush Etzion at this time is allowed (according to the opinion of the Ritva) to refrain from the trip, and he is not considered as not showing a proper level of faith.

Facing Danger in Order to Support Settling the Land

It is possible that with respect to a trip to Gush Etzion there is another factor, in addition to permission to do something that might be dangerous. Tosafot discuss the fact that a husband can force his wife or a woman can force her husband to move to Eretz Yisrael (Ketuvot 110b). According to what they write, in their time one could not force another to move to Eretz Yisrael because the route was fraught with danger: "This ruling is not in force today since the roads are dangerous." Thus, they write that one should not put himself in danger in order to move to Eretz Yisrael.
However, Rabbi Yehuda Halevi writes that for the purpose of moving to the land even greater dangers are permitted:

"And if the man who rises up to Eretz Yisrael puts himself into greater dangers because of his yearning and his hope of being forgiven for his sins, he has a good reason to expect to be forgiven for putting himself in danger ... He knows that this path of his is better than the path of men who put themselves in danger in order to wage war..." [Kuzari, Section 5, 23].

In addition to these words of Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, we know of many great men of Yisrael who did indeed put themselves into danger in order to move to Eretz Yisrael. One example is the Maharam of Rottenberg.

How could Rabbi Yehuda Halevi allow a person to put himself into great danger for Eretz Yisrael? Perhaps the matter stems from the laws of war and conquest of the land. According to the Minchat Chinuch (Mitzva 425), since in every war there is mortal danger (always leading to some casualties), the very command to fight against the Seven Canaanite nations takes precedence over the rules of mortal danger. Perhaps every trip in the land is part of the process of settling Eretz Yisrael and helps in the effort to keep the land in our possession. However, it is more reasonable to suggest that all of this is relevant only when an actual war is taking place.

It is therefore more reasonable to explain the matter as follows: The nation of Yisrael accepts a much higher level of danger than usual for the act of rising up to the land, because we understand that a true Yisrael-like life is only possible in the land, and that we must go through a process so that in the end the nation will live in this land in a stable and safe way. Thus, for matters involving settling the land, the level of danger that is allowed because of the rule that "G-d protects the innocent" is increased over the normal level, and it includes greater danger than the normal situation.

Therefore – since in any travel in Gush Etzion and similar places we are giving added strength to the people who have been watching over these sites in Eretz Yisrael for many years, such travel is included in the positive value of settling the land (with respect to the matter of G-d "protecting the innocent").

In addition, since the travel is secured by the defense forces, this level of danger is allowed, and we should not avoid the trip.

In Practice

We are allowed to travel in the areas of Eretz Yisrael, including Yehdua and the Shomron, since many people travel throughout these areas, and the nation of Yisrael commonly accepts this level of danger for matters related to taking possession of Eretz Yisrael. It goes without saying that we should take the routes that most people recommend, and we should take proper precautions when we take dangerous roads.