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So I was recently in a hotel and at one point I was in an elevator and it was me and some women I hadn’t met, but had i violated any halachos? i didnt realize at the time it could be a problem
Was the elevator made by Willy Wonka?
I know I may not be taken seriously, but the fact that anyone can come on at any point should be a reason why you might not have violated anything. If you really don’t want to get into situations take the stairs as often as possible.
I think most Poskim allow it as long as the elevator is generally public and anyone could summon and stop the elevator and enter it at any given time.
The way I was taught is that if you have to “worry” that the doors may open at any time there is no problem, because you don’t have privacy.
(for all those that will respond, “but you can push the stop button on the elavator…”, for the same price you can close the door to your house when the repairman is there.)
Burnt Steak,
You should be taken Seriously, the fact that the elevator can be stopped at any time on any floor by anyone is in fact one of the main reasons most Poskim rule that such a case is mutar.
The exception is Rav Shmuel Wosner shlita who seems to rule stringently in cases of elevators for reason of Chatzi Shiur.
However bottom line is most Poskim rule that in todays elevators Yichud is not a problem though it should be avoided if at all possible.
Why won’t you be taken seriously? Actually according to many poskim that is precisely the reason that its muttar, because the distance from floor to floor is just a few moments AND its not in your control to extend the length of time, being that anybody on any floor can push the button and the elevator will open the doors by that floor.
the best answer i heard in the name of Reb Reuvain Feinstein shlita when asked by someone if there is yichud in an elevator, he answered “for you there might be”
vihamevin yuvin
But you might be alone in the stairwell with a strange woman. Best advice is to stay home.
R’ Moshe has a B’feirush T’shuvah that it’s Muttar.
I am frequently alone in elevators with women.
Oh, wait! I AM a woman!
Would it have made a difference if you had previously met the women?
no
Justhavingfun
Ha. Not sure if you know but just like a man is commanded not to seclude himself with a woman, women are also obligated to not be in seclusion with a man. Hilchos yichud apply to everyone.
many hotels have security cameras in the elevator that could help
There is no problem because the time spent on an elevator is not enough to be shiur yichud. Igros Moshe even ha’ezer 4:65:16 makes this very clear, Sam2 said.
An elevator is not a place where one has to be choshesh for the issur yichud. However, I’d be uncomfortable with any one other person in an elevator, man or woman, because you don’t know who people are and what they’re capable of (muggings, and even worse, ch”v).
There’s an old story about the girl on the shidduch date telling the boy to let her go up alone in the elevator because of Yichud.
He let her go alone and then went home.
I heard there was a time limit between stops for yichud issues. Also, many elevators have video cameras which is an additional safeguard.
“the best answer i heard in the name of Reb Reuvain Feinstein shlita when asked by someone if there is yichud in an elevator, he answered “for you there might be”
vihamevin yuvin”
I really hope he said this. It makes me happy.
There must be a geder, as if the lift were to stop (powercut, nuclear bomb..) it would definitely be a problem etc.
crazybrit-
i think you post just to be able to say crazy things like “lift” instead of elevator and “petrol” instead of gas.
lol
everyone should use the glass elevators
on the ball: happened to me except that when i saw he wasnt following me after telling me to go on ahead of him, i got off and asked what happened. We ended up staying in the lobby lounge…
Wouldn’t driving in a car with a date be a bigger yichud problem than an elevator?
And if it is a timing issue, if you take the non-stop express elevator to the top of the Empire State Building, wouldn’t it be too long to avoid a yichud problem since it takes a few minutes and you know it will not make any stops?
Alone in an elevator with a woman? When I’m with the woman, I’m not alone!
Most elevators today have cameras installed and are monitored by closed circuit television. The Minchas Ish (20:8) says that it is not Yichud if the monitors are in a different room than where the man and woman are located.
Also see Nitei Gavriel (45:9) –
?. ? ? ???? ? ? ? ? ? ????? ??? ? ??? ???? ? ? ? ? ? ????? ????
????? ????? ? ? ????? ?????, ??? ??????? ?????? ??? ?? ???
???, ?? ????? ??????? ? ?? ???? ????? ????
I have a CD with a shmuez by Rav Moshe Heineman in which he quotes the Brisker Rav in order to say that there is no problem of yichud in an elevator.
crazybrit: Yes, but there’s no Yichud when you get in. And elevators break down so rarely that that would be a complete Ones, not a P’shia of any sort.
ziplock: Actually, in the T’shuvah R’ Moshe says B’feirush that even the tallest elevator in the world (which at the time was the ESB) isn’t long enough for a Shiur Yichud. So yes, maybe if a Jew could get in to Dubai then taking an express elevator to the top of the Burj might be Yichud. But probably not, because you’d be dead before you got there anyway.
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