Rishon L’Tzion Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef Shlita announces that there is no problem for kohanim to fly El Al to the USA despite recent reports there are problems since flights fly over the Holon cemetery.
YWN-ISRAEL recently reports that HaGaon HaRav Eliezer Kahaneman Shlita recently flew to NYC from a Haifa airport to Cyprus to avoid flying over the Holon cemetery.
The Rishon L’Tzion was asked and he responded that the planes fly over the Holon cemetery and this is permissible for both Ashkenazim and Sephardim. Rav Yosef quotes Meseches Eruvin:
‘הנכנס לארץ העמים, בשידה טיבה או מגדל, רבי מטמא ורבי יוסי בר יהודה מטהר’.
Rabbi Yosef states a plane is a ‘אוהל זרוק’ and this is the root of the machlokes as the Rambam rules pertaining to ‘tumas meis’ as it is the ruling of most Rishonim. He explains they rule an שאוהל המטלטל like an airplane is not halachically an ‘ohel’ and therefore the planes today are not a ohel and may fly over the cemetery. Rav Yosef acknowledged there are poskim who are machmir in this case but stated most poskim are not as they rule שאוהל זרוק לאו שמיה אוהל.
Rabbi Yosef explains the same would be true of a train that travels over a bridge with a cemetery below.
Rabbi Yosef clarifies that even if one holds a plane may travel over a cemetery as most feel to be the case, flying in a helicopter or an airplane over Har Habayis is prohibited and great care must be taken to avoid this since הקדושה בוקעת ועולה עד הרקיע .
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
Mazel tov….a voice of common sense and reason prevails…think of all the bitul torah with all these chashuve rabbonim sitting the airport in Cyprus around airport waiting to make connections.
If it is not an Ohel, then it can definitely not fly over the grave! Something is not being reported accurately.
Moderator:
Please correct spelling error. YOu quote the לשון הגמרא with a גראבע spelling error. It should say
שידה תיבה ומגדל.
This is an old machlokes. some 30 years ago the same thing was forbidden and then rabbonim with clear heads said that those who are machmer should be machmer on themselves but two things:
1. the plane is sealed and not opened so the tuma can not penetrate (as the Reshon L’Tzion has stated.
2. not all planes fly over the cemetery some do some fly near by. I went there and sat and watched many planes flying out and some went over and some went not over the cemetery. So even that is a suffec.
@1a2b3c – I think it reads as follows: “Rabbi Yosef states a plane IS a ‘אוהל זרוק’ and this is the root of the machlokes as the Rambam rules pertaining to ‘tumas meis’ as it is the ruling of most Rishonim. He explains they (those who argue) rule an שאוהל המטלטל like an airplane is NOT halachically an ‘ohel’ and therefore the planes today are not a ohel (for if they were they) [and] may fly over the cemetery. Rav Yosef acknowledged there are poskim who are machmir (as stated above and don’t consider the plane an ohel) in this case but stated most poskim are not as they rule שאוהל זרוק לאו שמיה אוהל.