24 Aug HALACHOS FOR THE AIR TRAVELER (PART 2)

Bentching with a

Knife on the Table

The minhag is to cover

knives that are on the

table before bentching.

There are two reasons

given for this: 1. The

seforim say that barzal

is something which

kills, and a mizbe’ach

is something that gives

life. Since our tables

are compared to a mizbe’ach, the knives should

be covered during bentching. 2. The poskim

relate that someone was bentching, and when he

reached U’vinei Yerushalayim he took a knife

from the table and killed himself out of anguish

over the loss of the Bais Hamikdash. According

to this second reason, one would have to

completely remove the knife from the table and

covering it would not be enough. Although this

is what some poskim suggest, the custom is to

just cover the knives. Some have the custom to

cover the handle of the knife as well. One who

is traveling on an airplane is usually given

plastic knives with his meal. One does not have

to cover a plastic knife before bentching.

Birchos Hagomel

The Gemorah in Berochos states that one who is

saved from any of four occurrences should

bentch gomel. The poskim discuss whether

flying in an airplane falls into any of these four

categories, since some say flying is not such a

danger. Some poskim hold that birchos hagomel

is not recited after flying. Horav Moshe

Feinstein zt”l (and others) says one bentches

gomel even if the airplane only traveled over

dry land without passing over any water, since

there is danger in any case. Others argue with

this and say one only bentches gomel if he flew

over water. The minhag of many is not like

Horav Moshe zt”l. The minhag is that when

traveling from New York to Florida no gomel is

recited although most of the trip is made over

the ocean and it could be that it should be no

different than any other cross-ocean trip. When

one travels from America to Eretz Yisroel one

bentches gomel. One who makes a stop over for

a couple of hours does not bentch gomel until he

reaches his final destination. Many times people

on a group flight all arrive at one destination

i.e., a Yeshiva. In this situation, one person can

bentch gomel for everyone. The one who

bentches should have in mind to exempt

everyone, and the ones who are listening should

have in mind to be exempted.

The Beracha Recited on Oceans

Chazal said one who sees an ocean that was

around since the six days of creation, recites the

beracha of osei massei bereishis. When seeing

the yam hagodol one says osei eis hayam

hagodol. The Shulchan Aruch says the yam

hagodol is the Mediterranean. However, many

poskim disagree with this, and hold the yam

hagodol is the Atlantic Ocean. According to

these poskim the beracha on the Atlantic Ocean

would be osei eis hayam hagodol. The beracha

on seeing the Mediterranean is osei massei

bereishis according to these poskim. One who

made a beracha of osei eis hayom hagodol on

the Atlantic was yotzei b’dieved. The beracha is

only made once in thirty days. Furthermore, in

order to recite the beracha one has to be

mesmerized by the sight. One recites the

beracha at night if the aforementioned

mesmerization is present; however, this is not

usually the case. One who lives near the water

or passes it every day (i.e. on the way to work)

does not recite any beracha when seeing the

ocean, even if for some reason he did not see it

for thirty days. When traveling on an airplane to

Eretz Yisroel, one first sees the Atlantic and

should then say the beracha of osei eis hayam

hagodol. When he later sees the Mediterranean

he should say the beracha of osei massei

bereishis. According to many poskim no

beracha is recited on seeing the Dead Sea. Many

poskim say that no beracha is recited on the

Kinneret. No beracha is recited upon seeing the

Yam Suf.

Reciting Hamapil

Hamapil etc. is only recited if one has the

intention of going to sleep for more than a

half-hour. Some say it may only be recited if

one is going to sleep for an hour. If one is in

doubt whether he will be able to sleep, then no

hamapil is recited. One who is traveling on an

airplane and wants to sleep on the seat, should

still recite hamapil, etc. However, this is only if

he will sleep the required amount. One who is

scared that his packages will be tampered with

while he is asleep should not say hamapil, since

he will not be sleeping for a long period of time.

Lying on one’s Back

A man who wishes to go to sleep must be

careful not to fall asleep on his back or stomach.

Chazal tell us that doing so brings a michshal. It

is permitted to lay on one’s back to relax if he

will not fall asleep. If one is lying on a chair

which is elevated to the degree which the

immodest position will be avoided then it is

permitted. Some say if one sees his friend

sleeping in this forbidden manner he may wake

him. When one is traveling on an airplane and

wants to fall asleep he may do so, since sitting

in the chair on the airplane is not going to bring

him to a michshal. The poskim say one can be

lenient with the aforementioned for a child

under nine-years old.

Sleeping While Wearing Shoes

A person should not sleep with his shoes on

because it is a taste of death. Some say that

doing so makes one forget his Torah

knowledge. One should be makpid and not let

young children sleep with shoes. Although,

there is a discussion amongst the poskim

whether one is permitted to wear shoes while

taking a short nap i.e. on an airplane, train or

bus, one can be lenient in this situation since it

is only for a short period of time. One who will

lay down to nap like he does when going to

sleep on a regular bed should remove his shoes

first.

Sleeping with a Garment underneath the

Head

Sleeping with a garment underneath one’s head

is an action that makes one forget his Torah

knowledge. Some poskim say if the garment is

not directly underneath the head, and there is a

separation between the garment and the head

(i.e. a pillow), then it is permitted. A garment

placed near the head and not directly under the

head is permitted. Placing someone else’s

garments under the head is also forbidden. A

new garment that was never worn or an old

garment that was used for other things may be

placed under one’s head. Dozing off on a sleeve

is permitted and is not considered sleeping with

a garment under the head. When traveling on an

airplane many times there are no pillows or

blankets to place under the head when going to

sleep. In this case one should be careful not to

take a garment and place it under his head. (If it

is one of the permitted garments mentioned

above then he may do so). One who does not

want to sleep, and just wants to rest may place a

garment under his head. If there is a garment

hanging on a hook, one may rest his head

directly on the garment even while going to

sleep.

Waiting Six Hours

When traveling on an airplane one tends to

sleep for a short period of time (depending on

the flight). One who eats a fleshig meal and then

falls asleep, must be careful to wait a full six

hours before eating dairy. Sleep does not

exempt a person from waiting. For example,

one who finished a meat meal at 1:00am, went

to sleep at 1:30am, and woke up at 6:00am, may

eat dairy at 7:00am, which is six hours from the

time he finished eating the meat.

Placing Food under the Seat on an Airplane

Many times on a bus or airplane one places a

bag with food underneath his seat (as a matter of

convenience or due to a lack of room in the

overhead compartments). Even if one falls

asleep in the seat the food in the bag may be

eaten. The reason for this is because these chairs

are not meant for sleeping for a long period

time, and therefore do not have an equal status

to a bed.

Giving Food that is not Kosher to a Goy

There is a discussion in the poskim whether one

may give non-kosher food to a goy. This is

common on an airplane if one is served

non-kosher food. L’masseh, one can be lenient

and give the goy the food.

Kashrus and Other Standards

When at home, people would never eat certain

foods because they have a high standard of

kashrus. This standard should not be lowered

when one is on an airplane where the food he is

offered may have a weaker hechsher etc. The

same concept applies to other areas as well. For

example, one who would never dream of

bringing certain magazines into his house

should not look at them while traveling. This is

very common on an airplane where there may

be magazines in front of the seat.

Drinking Coca Cola/ Coffee/Water on an

Airplane

Many times one who is traveling is served

Coca-Cola without a hechsher, and the question

arises if one is permitted to drink it. In the

United States, one may drink Coca- Cola even if

it does not have a hechsher on the label.

However, outside the United States this is not

advisable, as the soda may not be under

supervision and may contain non –kosher

ingredients. If one is stuck in a place with

nothing to drink then it is permitted to drink the

Coca-Cola because the non-kosher ingredients

are butel. However, this is usually not the case

on an airplane since there are other beverages

one can drink. One may drink coffee

world-wide as long as it is non-flavored. One

should not drink flavored coffee without a

hechsher. It is better for one not to drink coffee

served in the café on an airplane since it is

washed with other utensils that may not be

kosher.If one wants to drink bottled water he’d

be well off to use one with a hechsher for the

following reason: a high percentage of spring

water in America is tap water, and a hechsher

will guarantee you are getting the real thing.

“Food which was hidden from the Eye”

When one is traveling on an airplane he may be

seated next to a goy. When the yid goes to wash

his hands before the meal, he may leave meat

(i.e. in a sandwich) in front of the goy without

any yid watching it. Nonetheless, it is not a

problem of “baser sh’nesaleim min huayin”

since the goy knows the yid will be returning

soon he is scared to do anything to the meat.

Walking/Sitting behind a Woman

Many times, when on an airplane one finds

himself sitting behind a woman. The questions

are: is this permitted, and should one try to

change his seat? The Gemorah says that one

may not walk behind a woman. The main

reason is because he may come to think about

the woman. Instead, one should walk to the side

or ahead of her. Some poskim say one should

not walk behind his wife either. Some poskim

say if the woman is four amos ahead of the man,

he is permitted to walk behind her. Many

poskim say that today the din is different

because there are so many women in the street,

that if one walks in front of a particular woman

he will find himself behind a different woman.

This should only be relied upon if one is going

for a mitzvah or a pressing need. Nonetheless,

one should try to be careful with this when

possible. One who is waiting on line in an

airport and finds himself behind a woman,

should try to move to the side (if he can). Some

poskim say not only may one not walk behind a

woman, but one may not sit behind a woman

either. Other poskim say it is permitted to sit

behind a woman. It would seem that even those

who prohibit sitting behind a woman would

permit doing so on an airplane since the high

seatback makes it unlikely that he will see the

person who is sitting in front of him.

Sitting Between Two Women

On an airplane it is very common that one will

have to sit between two women. The poskim

say that this practice is permitted. Nonetheless,

if one can easily persuade a female passenger to

switch seats, then this is what should be done. If

the two women are family members it would be

permitted according to all opinions.

Walking Between Two Women Who Are

Sitting

According to many poskim the issur of walking

between two women does not apply if the

women are sitting. This is common in a girl’s

school with a male teacher who has to give out

tests. It is also common in a restaurant etc.

Additionally, this is very common on an

airplane when one has to walk between two

women who are sitting on two opposite sides of

the aisle. Nevertheless, if one can avoid passing

between two seated women it is definitely

preferable to do so.