Parshas Mishpatim 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- Feb 19
- 2 min read
Monetary, Interpersonal Laws and Din Torah (27)
Tefilas Haderech in a Car. Passengers sitting in a vehicle can recite Tefilas Haderech while the car is moving. However, there is a preference to stop the car, if they can do so safely, and say it while standing (1). The driver should not say it while driving and should not listen to it being said to be yotzei while driving. If it is dangerous to stop or the delay will put disturbing pressure on the driver, he may say it while driving since it is a short prayer. In this case, it might be better to be yotzei from another (2).
Traveling by Car for Tefillah B’tzibbur. A person walking to shul is obligated to walk up to one mil [a Talmudic measure] which is about three-quarters of a mile and takes about eighteen minutes to walk (3). The Shulchan Aruch writes (4) that the same is true if one wants to eat bread and has no water to wash; he must walk the above distance to get water if he knows that water is available within that distance. If no water is available he can cover his hands and eat bread without washing. If a person is anyway walking in that direction, he must go up to four mil. There is a common question about one who is traveling by car. Do we obligate him to do eighteen minutes of car travel in order to find a minyan, or can he rely on the fact that the distance by car is more than a mil and thus he does not have to go? Regarding washing for bread, the Biur Halacha (5) says we apply the time factor and not the distance factor. However, in Mishna Berura, regarding tefillah [water for tefillah and presumably for a shul minyan] it seems that one riding an animal goes after the distance factor, and not the time factor (6). This looks like a contradiction.
Opposing Approaches of Two Gedolim. Shevet Halevi (7) writes that the M.B. means to be strict by bread washing because it involves an act of issur - eating bread without washing. Regarding tefillah with a minyan, where no act of issur is done, and he is davening, just not with a minyan, he is lenient to go after distance, not time. He also brings a quote from the Shoel Umeishiv to support this leniency. R’ Chaim Kanievski zt”l in a letter (8) however, differentiates between traveling on an animal with its unique hardships and traveling in a train or car, which is certainly much easier, and thus he must travel the eighteen minutes. We have no clear ruling on this and whatever one does, he has upon whom to rely. Certainly one who is strict and does the car travel up to eighteen minutes to a shul is praiseworthy.
(1) משנה ברורה קי:כג, ערוך השלחן קי:א (2) ע חוקי חיים (רב בלייר) ב:נג:ג (3) כמבואר באו"ח צ:טז (4) או"ח קסג:א (5) קסג:א (6) צב:יז (7) ט:לז (8) מובא באשי ישראל ח:ע