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.
