4624 —נסיעה באניה בשבת, חילול שבת בפרהסיא, והשגחה על כשרות

B"H, 14 Menachem Av, 5716.

Brooklyn.

Haraha"g vavac"h iy"a nu"n chov tznam"s etc. Moshe Feinstein

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your letter from the tenth of Menachem, in which you write about the issue of ships following my previous letter—and it seems I did not sufficiently clarify the situation in my earlier letter—the matter is as follows: Surely you are also aware that, unfortunately, ship owners will heed the ruling of Shulchan Aruch if their payment depends on it; more precisely, if they see that not following the ruling will cause them financial loss—meaning a reduction in passengers or shipments via their ships. Therefore, every person who travels by ship weakens the possibility that these owners will listen to the Torah's ruling. Since traveling by ship is clearly forbidden even if it departs on Sunday (as you wrote in your letter), granting permission G‑d forbid to travel on such a ship—even if the permission were entirely clear—removes any possibility that eventually public desecration of Shabbos involving Torah-level prohibitions by these ship owners will be corrected.

In our case, everyone is obligated to try to prevent this—not only because all Jews are responsible for one another—but also because in the eyes of non-Jews and a significant portion of our people, these ships represent all Jews and are considered their property; meaning all Jews are seen as owners. In this context I cannot refrain from expressing my astonishment and even greater sorrow that Agudas HaRabbonim remains silent about this entire matter. Surely they know that pressure regarding religious matters in Eretz HaKodesh comes from public opinion in America. If they were not afraid of baseless fears and would clearly express their opinion regarding the management of these ships and other Jewish matters there, it is clear that the situation would be entirely different than it is now. The false claim that there is a local authority (mara d'asra) has no basis in reality since it is known that defending religion by rabbis in Eretz HaKodesh depends on whether they see support from America—since money comes from here and 'money answers everything' applies here too.

As an addition—even though it does not pertain directly to our case—based on what is explained at length in responsa: his assumption that if the question only concerned the passenger (whether sailing three days before Shabbos is permitted even though he will have to desecrate Shabbos) as explained by several Rishonim—and you cite this reasoning regarding our case—in my humble opinion does not apply here. The above permission applies only when something compels him to travel three days before Shabbos in such a manner; but if there is no reason for this and he can travel differently, he is certainly obligated to do so. As stated in Gemara (Menachos 41a): 'Tatzdiki lemeipater nafshech' (find a way to exempt yourself), even though this refers to fulfilling a positive commandment which is an individual obligation—all the more so regarding violating a negative commandment. As stated by Admor HaTzemach Tzedek in his responsa Yoreh Deah section 92 beginning; I believe I referenced responsa on this topic on my previous letter's copy.

Furthermore—in our case—even if there was an absolute necessity to travel specifically as described above, any rabbi granting permission must tell the questioner that his permission applies only to the actual journey but it is forbidden for him to use water supplied on board if prepared during Shabbos itself. In most cases water made sweet and suitable even for washing is prepared daily since there isn't enough space aboard for storing fresh water for hundreds over many days. Since most (almost all) passengers are Jews there are no leniencies here—especially since 'a candle for one is a candle for a hundred' does not apply here. Similarly, it is forbidden for him to benefit from electric light during Shabbos night especially—and so forth.

Additionally—in our case—the prohibition against traveling on these ships involves not just performing labor but also public desecration of Shabbos through these ships—not merely because of 'resting one's utensils' but also because hundreds participate together; as more passengers join so too does public desecration increase. Clearly desecration with ten people differs from open desecration with hundreds of Jews G‑d forbid; thus each passenger participates in enabling this outcome—even though technically it begins with departure when passengers and families know that travel involves planned desecration despite its prohibition.

Another point—and again I am surprised why attention was not given here: On board there is a kosher kitchen under rabbinic supervision; yet ownership of food and drink belongs to ship owners just like everything else aboard. Based on what was said above—that they publicly desecrate Shabbos—there's reason to question their reliability regarding kashrus supervision over food; similarly even regarding trustworthiness of supervisors themselves—and certainly concerning wine. This adds further concern since refrigerators storing food operate via machines powered by engines running on Shabbos through Torah-level labors—similar to water supply mentioned above.

It is obvious that a rabbi granting permission cannot excuse himself by saying he was asked only about travel itself and need not add all these warnings—since we deal with laypeople and permitting travel means permitting all its details including those mentioned above; obviously no one will fast throughout Shabbos.

According to reports within two or three weeks another ship will depart—not right before Shabbos—and some say all tickets have already been sold since most wish to spend Yamim Nora'im (Rosh Hashanah, Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, Yom Kippur) specifically in Eretz HaKodesh rebuilt soon by Moshiach Tzidkeinu; therefore every day counts for making clear there is no permission for such travel. Who could believe people would do such things just for being present at Rosh Hashanah etc., 'in the palace of the King'? As ruled in Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah section 2:6—see Kuntres Acharon by Rabbeinu HaZaken Yoreh Deah and tzt"z responsa Yoreh Deah section 1:3—as noted previously; since many base their conduct on your supposed leniency—the sooner this error is corrected the easier their test will be since they can buy plane tickets instead.

I take the liberty to suggest you publicly clarify your position as soon as possible with appropriate publicity.

Summary

The Rebbe writes about preventing public Chillul Shabbos through communal action and warns against relying on kosher supervision where open violation occurs. He urges clear public guidance so others do not mistakenly rely on leniencies regarding prohibited travel or kashrus concerns.