16 Jun TEFILLAS HADERECH

And Hashem said to
Avraham, go for
yourself from your
land, and from your
birthplace, and from
your father’s house,
to the land that I will
show you.
Bereishis 12:1
In the days of Chazal when they enacted the
beracha of tefillas haderech for a person to
daven for a safe journey, the typical mode of
travel was by foot or on an animal or wagon.
Today we travel by car, plane, and other modern
forms of transportation, and we must consider
how, if at all, the halachos of tefillas haderech
apply in these cases.
Standing Still or While Moving?
The Gemara (Berachos 30a) records a dispute
about whether a person must stop and stand still
when reciting tefillas haderech or if a person
may say it while walking.
And how should one pray it? Rav Chisda said:
Standing. Rav Sheshes said: Even while
walking. Rav Chisda and Rav Sheshes were
traveling on the road. Rav Chisda stood and
prayed. Rav Sheshes said to his attendant: What
is Rav Chisda doing? He replied: He is standing
and praying. Rav Sheshes said: Stand me up as
well and I will pray, for it is written: “Do not
call good evil.”
From the story, it seems that even Rav Sheshes,
who holds that a person is not obligated to stop
and stand still, agrees that it is recommended to
do so. Tosafos (s.v. V’Heichi) and the Rashba
(s.v. Heichi) follow the view of Rav Sheshes,
ruling that one is permitted to say tefillas
haderech while moving, while the Rif and the
Rosh (Berachos 4:18) rule that one should
recite it while standing still. However, the Beis
Yosef (O.C. 110) writes that even according to
the Rif and the Rosh, a person is not expected to
stop if it will cause a significant inconvenience
to the person himself or to the group with which
he is traveling. Indeed, the Shulchan Aruch
(ibid:4) writes that “if possible” one should stop
and stand to recite it. Thus, in a common
situation today, a person need not stand on a
bus, train, or plane if it will significantly disturb
those sitting next to him.
Applying this to a common situation today, Rav
Moshe Sternbuch (Teshuvos V’Hanhagos 3:76)
rules that if one is driving, it is preferable to pull
over and stand up to recite tefillas haderech. He
adds that it is a special segulah for protection
from accidents to do so. However, the
Debrecener Rav (Be’er Moshe Kuntrus Electric
114:2) writes that it is not possible to stand in a
car or plane, and since he does not expect the
person to pull over on the side of road, he may
recite it while seated. Similarly, the Aruch
HaShulchan writes that one should stand on a
train or a ship since it is easy to do so, implying
that if it were difficult or a major inconvenience
it would not be required.
Traveling by Plane
It would seem obvious that tefillas haderech is
required when traveling by plane, and this is
indeed the opinion of almost all major poskim,
including Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach

(Halichos Shlomo, Tefillah 22:4), Rav Ovadiah
Yosef (Yechaveh Da’as 2:26), and the
Debrecener Rav (kunt. el. 83). However, two
Torah giants had unique approaches to tefillas
haderech, which would exempt someone
traveling by air.
As recorded in Nefesh HaRav (p. 149), when
Rav Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik first began
traveling by air from Boston to New York, he
recited tefillas haderech, since he viewed the
flight as a significant journey. However, as the
trip became a regular weekly commute, he
stopped saying it. Rav Soloveitchik understood
that tefillas haderech is only an obligation when
the traveler feels anxious or fearful about the
journey, and not necessarily every time one
takes a trip of a particular distance. Thus, if one
travels a shorter distance but feels a sense of
anxiety about their safety or lack of familiarity
with the location, (as is common when driving
on dark, winding country roads during the
summer), he would be obligated to say tefillas
haderech. Conversely, if a person feels
completely comfortable, even on a very long
trip, he is not required to recite it.
This obviously creates difficulty in defining
which trips necessitate tefillas haderech and
which do not. Furthermore, one can imagine a
scenario in which two people, such as a husband
and wife, travel together and one views the trip
as a major journey and is thus obligated to say
tefillas haderech, while the other, perhaps more
accustomed to travel, considers it a small outing
and would not recite it.
The other unique position belongs to Rav Yosef
Rozen, the Rogatchover Gaon, as recorded by
his student, Rav Shlomo Yosef Zevin (Ishim
V’Shittos p. 80). The Gemara (Chulin 139b)
says that if one finds a nest in the heavens, he is
not obligated to perform the mitzvah of
shilu’ach hakein, to send away the mother bird
before taking the babies or eggs. This exemption
is based on the precise wording of the pasuk,
which says that a person is obligated in the
mitzvah when finding a nest “baderech” (on the
way). A pasuk in Mishlei writes “derech nesher
bashamayim” (“the way of the eagle is in the
heavens”), and the Gemara infers that the
heavens are a “derech” for eagles, but not so for
humans. Therefore, the mitzvah of shilu’ach
hakein does not apply in the sky. The
Rogatchover applied this logic and concluded
that traveling through the sky (by plane) is not
considered to be “baderech” and thus tefillas
haderech does not apply.
Rav Ovadiah Yosef (cited previously), however,
could not accept the possibility that the
Rogatchover stated this argument as a serious
halachic ruling. Instead, he suggests that the
Rogatchover was demonstrating the elegance
and profundity of the Torah through an
ingenious idea, but not that it should be the
basis of practical halacha. Similarly, Rav
Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Halichos Shlomo
21:8) writes that this ruling is an oddity
(“tamuah”), since now that we can travel in the
air we are certainly obligated to daven for our
safety while doing so and to properly thank
Hashem upon our safe arrival at our destination.
Regarding the definition of “on the way,” some

poskim have suggested that when traveling
within Eretz Yisrael, since the roads are lined
with cities and neighborhoods throughout the
journey, one is never considered to be “on the
road.” Therefore, they should refrain from
reciting tefillas haderech with shem u’malchus.
However, Rav Shmuel Wosner (Shevet HaLevi
10:21) disagrees, and explains that since one is
not traveling to any of those places along the
way, they are not relevant to his journey.
Consequently, he must recite the beracha with
shem u’malchus.
When is the Ideal Time to Recite Tefillas
HaDerech?
In an ambiguous formulation, the Gemara asks
“until how much is tefillas haderech?” and
answers, until a parsah (8,000 amos). Rashi
(s.v. Ad Parsah) explains that the Gemara
means that a person must say tefillas haderech
within the first parsah of the journey and may
not say it after that. Rashi seems to hold that
tefillas haderech is a netilas reshus from
Hashem. When one takes leave of his location,
he is obligated to ask for permission from
Hashem, and daven that his journey be safe, and
he must do so before or at the very beginning of
his travels. However, Rashi quotes the Behag
(see Rosh 18) that the meaning of the Gemara is
that one is obligated to say tefillas haderech
only if the journey will be a distance of at least
a parsah. The other rishonim (see Rosh 18)
understand that, according to the Behag, if a
person forgot to say tefillas haderech at the
beginning of the journey, he would still be
obligated to recite it if at least a parsah of travel
remains until the final destination. According to
this understanding, tefillas haderech is a general
prayer for safety and success, and if there is a
parsah left to travel a person should recite it.
The Mishna Berura (110:30) makes clear that
even though we can now travel such distances
much more quickly, the parsah remains the
minimum distance to be obligated in tefillas
haderech.
This fundamental dispute regarding the nature
of tefillas haderech, whether it is a form of
“netilas reshus” from Hashem before traveling
or is a form of tefillah during times of excessive
anxiety, may have significant implications in
halacha. It goes beyond the issue of when it
should be recited.
First, Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky (Emes L’Yaakov
on Shulchan Aruch 110) says that if tefillas
haderech is a beracha, it would be governed by
the rule of “safek berachos l’hakel” (in uncertain
circumstances it should not be said). However,
if it is a tefillah during times of anxiety, it would
be governed by the rule that “halevai
she’yispallel kol ha’yom” (increased tefillah is
always welcome).
Second, the Tur (110) writes that one should
recite tefillas haderech only once a day, even if
there are multiple legs of the journey. However,
the Beis Yosef (ibid.) quotes those who disagree
and maintain that if you later decide to travel
more than originally planned, you should recite
tefillas haderech again. One could argue that if
tefillas haderech is primarily a form of “netilas
reshus,” it is sufficient to do so once a day.
However, if it is viewed as a tefillah during an

“eis tzarah,” then each

new instance of anxiety-
inducing travel should

require a new tefillah.
Third, when traveling
for the purpose of a mitzvah, it would be
unnecessary to ask “reshus,” since the journey
is obviously sanctioned by G-d. However, it
would still be necessary to daven for the
anxiety-inducing journey. Fourth, whether an
onein must recite tefillas haderech (as
maintained by Responsa Aparkasta D’Anya
3:218) may depend on the same issue. If tefillas
haderech is intended as protection from danger,
the onein would require that same protection.
However, if it is considered a “netilas reshus,”
then tefillas haderech would be like any other
positive mitzvah from which an onein is
exempt.
Fifth, whether one would recite tefillas haderech
while traveling in safe locations may hinge on
this same issue. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach
(Halichos Shlomo 21:14) suggests that there is
no need to recite tefillas haderech when
traveling in safe places. This position assumes
that the tefillah is associated with a certain
degree of danger and is meant to protect from
that danger. However, if it is viewed as a
“netilas reshus,” then the danger of the journey
may have little impact on the obligation to
recite tefillas haderech.
Finally, whether one should recite the tefillah
himself rather than hearing it from somebody
else (utilizing the halachic mechanism of
“shomei’a k’oneh”) may depend on our
fundamental understanding of tefillas haderech.
Were it to be viewed as a tefillah in an “eis
tzarah,” the Mishna Berura (59:15) writes that it
is preferable for a person to beg for mercy on
his own behalf, and not to rely on others. If,
however, it is a mere “netilas reshus,” there is
no reason to assume that one cannot fulfill the
obligation of the tefillah by hearing it from
somebody else.
Halacha
The majority opinion follows the Behag, and
the Shulchan Aruch (110:7) rules accordingly
that one may recite tefillas haderech even in the
middle of a journey as long as a parsah remains.
However, the Rema (110:7) adds that
l’chatchilah a person should be concerned for
Rashi’s opinion and recite tefillas haderech
within the first parsah of the journey, and thus,
a person should not wait too long to say it.
Regarding the earliest time to recite tefillas
haderech, there is a dispute between the Taz
(110:7) and Magen Avraham (110:12,14). The
Taz holds that one can recite tefillas haderech
even when one is still within his city’s limits as
long as he had decided to start his traveling,
while the Magen Avraham writes that one
should wait until he is actually on the road
between cities. Many acharonim (including
Rav Soloveitchik and the Chazon Ish) are
reported to have permitted saying it while still
within city limits, or immediately upon exiting
the city, but ruled that one should not delay it
any further. Regarding airplane travel, it would
seem that one should say tefillas haderech when
the plane is beginning its ascent.