20 Jan VACATIONS WITH VALUES: TAKING A BREAK—WITHOUT BREAKING AWAY

At this time of year,
many people take
advantage of the
winter season to go on
vacation and travel away
from home. While such breaks can offer
rest and renewal, they also raise important
questions about how to remain faithful to
the values, standards, and obligations of
Torah life while away.
In the following lines we will examine
whether, according to the Torah outlook,
it is permitted and appropriate to go on
vacation and outings and to stay in hotels,
or whether it is preferable to refrain from
doing so. We will also consider whether
such travel may even contain an element of
mitzvah—namely, that a person refreshes
himself and renews his strength in order to
serve his Creator with greater vigor.
Obviously, before traveling one must
examine whether the destination he intends
to visit meets the requirements of halachah,
and ensure that it is not a place that may
cause him to sin or to neglect the fulfillment
of mitzvot. For this reason, it is proper to

plan the trip in advance, so that he does not
arrive at his destination only to discover,
too late, that he cannot properly observe the
boundaries of halachah there. This includes
verifying whether kosher food is available,
whether there is a shul with organized
minyan services, and similar essentials.
Early inquiry enables proper planning,
and if kosher food is unavailable, one can
prepare accordingly by bringing sufficient
kosher provisions for the duration of the
stay, along with other necessary items.
Likewise, if one intends to remain there on
Shabbat, he must check before departure
that the hotel is suitable for the many needs
of Shabbat, and that there are no stumbling
blocks of Shabbat desecration or factors
that detract from the atmosphere of kedusha
appropriate to that day.
The journey itself must also be planned in
advance, particularly flights, in a manner
that will not cause the neglect of any prayer.
One should therefore avoid booking a flight
that departs very early in the morning, when
there will be no proper opportunity to recite
Shacharit and don tefillin. He must also

ensure that the flight includes the option of
kosher food with a reliable level of kashrut;
in many cases airlines provide kosher meals
only to those who ordered them in advance,
and one must be careful not to overlook this.
Beyond the basic obligation to observe
halachah, one must also consider whether
the places visited are consistent with
the Torah worldview. It is possible that
everything is technically permissible from
a halachic standpoint, yet nevertheless not
in harmony with the path of the Torah—for
example, renting a room in a hotel where
licentious parties are held, or where loud
non-Jewish music is played. Clearly, special
emphasis must be placed on guarding
modesty: one should avoid places adjacent
to beaches, hotels whose windows or doors
overlook swimming pools, as well as hotels
that contain casinos and similar venues,
where immorality is rampant.
Although there are opinions who discourage
traveling if not needed, nevertheless it is
very difficult for people to remain within
the four cubits of their homes throughout
the entire year without any opportunity to
go out. It is therefore clear that outings and
leaving one’s city constitute a genuine need.
Such outings help a person refresh himself
with renewed strength and enhance his
service of Hashem.
Travel with proper intent
One who feels the need to go out and travel
may do so, provided he directs his heart
Heavenward, as stated in the Mishnah
in Pirkei Avot (2:12): “Let all your deeds
be for the sake of Heaven.” The Rashbatz
writes (Magen Avot) that when a person
finds his body weakened from study and
needs to stroll a bit in markets and streets,
he should intend thereby to broaden his
heart so that he may return to his learning.
Similarly, the Rambam teaches (Shemoneh
Perakim, ch. 5) that physical and emotional
restoration—through pleasant food, music,
walks in gardens, and exposure to beauty—
is meant to restore health, whose ultimate
purpose is the acquisition of wisdom and
the knowledge of G-d.
Rav S.Z. Auerbach addressed this issue
,(הליכות שלמה מועדים, עמוד 174) well as
noting that outings undertaken in proper
measure and in an appropriate manner are
not to be dismissed as bitul Torah. Great
figures of Israel practiced this throughout
the generations, both personally and with
their students, as part of maintaining
physical and spiritual health, which the
Rambam himself counts among the ways of
serving Hashem.

Nevertheless, a person must carefully
weigh his path and determine whether the
place he intends to visit is truly appropriate,
or whether it is replete with trials for
himself and his household. Rav Nissim
הלכות שבת ח״ג עמוד ער בהערות) Karelitz
שני חוט בספר (warned that many vacation
resorts and hotels are far removed from
any trace of Yiraat Shamayim, and that
such places are entirely unfit for those who
observe Torah and mitzvot, all the more so
for bnei Torah. Each person must therefore
guard his household lest they be drawn after
superficial attractions.
Similarly, Rabbi Eliyahu Falk ( 466עמוד
לבושה והדר עוז (warned that hotels and
resorts often provide an atmosphere
conducive to frivolous mingling between
men and women, which can easily lead
to severe moral pitfalls. Using a vacation
period to relax one’s commitment to Torah
and mitzvot, he writes, is a disgraceful
misuse of an opportunity meant to restore
one’s strength for continued growth in
holiness.
(סימן תטו סק״ה) Berurah Mishnah The
likewise cautions that when outings involve
revelry and improper mingling, they are no
longer considered a matter of mitzvah but
rather of transgression, and one who guards
his soul should distance himself from such
places.
Avoid excessive expense
Finally, if going on vacation entails a
financial burden that weighs heavily on the
traveler, it is proper to refrain from it. As
שלישי סימן יא ד״ה וכל שכן) Tashbetz the
טור ח״ד (warns, travel that imposes undue
expense or risk is not undertaken for leisure,
but only under genuine necessity.