By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

Well, it wasn’t really a snake.  It was more like a fire alarm.  But in order to understand the halacha, we do need to look at the halacha regarding snakes and scorpions.  And we also need to understand the halachos of when someone interrupts his Shmoneh Esreh improperly and when someone interrupts Shmoneh Esreh improperly.

By the way, this article is presented in honor of Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s fiftieth anniversary this year.  Yeshiva Darchei was launched in 1972, and this remarkable Yeshiva has literally changed the landscape of Far Rockaway and the Five Towns.

THE CASE

But let’s go back to the case.  The upper elementary grades were davening Shmoneh Esreh in their Minyan.  In the middle of Shmoneh Esreh – the fire alarm went off.  At that time, the vast majority of the time that a fire alarm went off in the Yeshiva, it was a malfunction.  The question is what would be the exact halacha in terms of the davening – if the Yeshiva students were to leave the building and go outside?  When they come back into the building – do they restart the Shmoneh Esreh from the beginning?  Or do they pick up where they left off in Shmoneh Esreh?

THE HALACHA WITH A SNAKE

The halacha as stated in the first Mishna of the fifth perek in tractate Brachos (30b) is that if a snake wraps itself around your ankle, you are still not allowed to make a hefsek (an interruption)  in your Shmoneh Esreh.  The Gemorah later (Brachos 33a) explains that if a scorpion is approaching – then one does make a hefsek.

If the person did make a hefsek with a snake wrapped around his ankle – then when he restarts his shmoneh esreh – he would start at the beginning of shmoneh esreh.  If he made a hefsek when a scorpion approached – then he would restart his shmoneh esreh where he left off.

The reason, according to the Rambam (peirush HaMishnayos) explains that the majority of the time – the snake does not bite.

THE QUESTION

But the question is that we find in the Gemorah (Yuma 84b) “delo halchu b’pikuach nefesh achar harov – that when it comes to matters of life and death – we do not follow majorities.”  How then can we rely on a majority to tell us that he may not make a hefsek in the middle of Shmoneh Esreh when a snake wraps around his ankle?  And how is the snake different from the case of an approaching scorpion?

THE ANSWERS

To this question, there are at least seven answers.

1. Rav Elchonon Wasserman (Kovetz Shiurim Psachim #32) explains that someone standing in the middle of Shmoneh Esreh is considered a Shliach Mitzvah – a person involved in a Mitzvah. The Gemorah in Psachim (8a) explains that Shluchei Mitzvah ainam nizakin – those involved in a Mitzvah are not damaged.  There is a qualification that if the damage is common then this dictum does not apply.  A scorpion is more likely to bite, while the snake is much less likely to bite.  According to this answer, if the majority of the time there is no fire – then those who made a hefsek would have to restart their shmoneh esreh from the beginning.  Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, however, (cited in Shmiras Shabbos K’hilchasa chapter 25 footnote 15) disagrees with Rav Elchanan and states that since the halacha is (SA OC 316:10) that when it appears that he did not intend to kill the snake – it is permitted to kill it on Shabbos – it is clear that the principle of “Shluchei Mitzvah are not damaged” would not apply.  Because then it would not be permitted to kill the snake.
2. Rav Tzvi Elimelech Spira of Dinov (1783–1841) the author of Bnei Yissaschar and the nephew of Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk in his Sefer entitled, “Vehaya Bracha” explains that the halacha regarding snakes in shmoneh esreh is entirely different than anything else because there is a special pasuk in Mishlei (16:7) that states, “When Hashem accepts a person’s ways, He will cause even oivav (his enemies) to make peace with him.” The Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 54:1) identifies the enemy as the snake.  This is why earlier, the Gemorah (32b) cites Rav Yoseph that when there is a gentile king one does do a hefsek in the middle of shmoneh esreh even if it is not likely that he will be killed – because there is no verse that addresses it.  According to the Bnei Yissaschar then the Darchei Torah boys would start where they left off and would not have to start at the beginning.
3. The Klausenberger Rebbe (Divrei Yatziv OC Siman 61) writes that since there is a drasha in Yuma 19b that states regarding Shmah – vedibarta bam and you shall speak in them – in them (Shma) and not in Tefillah then we do not follow a Rov when dealing with Tefillah.
4. Rav Avrohom Stern in his Kisvei Aish (Volume V Siman 6) makes an inference from the Bartenura that the case of a snake is a double majority (that most times snakes do not bite and that most snakebites are not fatal) and, therefore, by its extreme rarity, it is not considered Pikuach Nefesh.
5. Rav Avrohom Dirnfeld, the Rav and Ram of Puppa, in his Bais Yosef Sefer on Brachos cites the Chasam Sofer’s responsum on YD #245 that when the minority is not present before us – then we do follow a Rov.
6. The Rashash explains that some times we do follow a Rov in regard to Pikuach Nefesh (see SA OC 618:3).
7. The Magadim Yekarim by Rabbi Shlomo Menachem Schwartz explains that by virtue of the fact that there is a Chillul Hashem involved in leaving in the middle of Shmoneh Esreh if it is only a very remote chance of danger – then we do not do a hefsek.

WHAT IS A HEFSEK?

There is also a debate as to the nature of the term “hefsek” interruption.  The Talmidei Rabbeinu Yonah rule that the prohibition of interrupting is only through speech, but walking is not considered a hefsek.  The Ramah (104:3) rules in accordance with this view.  The TaZ and the Vilna Gaon are of the view that walking is also considered a Hefsek,  The Vilna Gaon cites the view of the Rosh in Siman 3 that talking won’t help here and that is why the Hefsek refers to walking away.

THE RIVEVOS EPHRAIM

Rav Ephraim Greenblatt (Vol. 8 #311) rules that one must leave if a fire alarm goes off even in the middle of Shmoneh Esreh.  It could be, however, that the situation is different if there is a history of the alarm going off by error.

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