shabbos

Answer

Answered by Aaron Abadi

It is not a simple answer. first of all, don't leave so late as to risk getting stuck on Shabbat. If it were to happen... If he/she is in a civilized area, then go to a hotel. Arrange before Shabbat to find out about the hotel food menu. Certainly they have bread and tuna and the like. Many people are to frum (restrictive) to eat in a hotel these foods. They feel that they do not need to. There are enough so-called Kosher products out there that they don't need to eat this. In our scenario, they would most likely continue driving on Shabbat, since they would have nothing to eat if they checked in to a Hotel. Here is a typical case of "Kol HaMosif Gorey'ah." All that add (restrictions), actually subtract. If one is in a place where you just cannot stay for safety reasons, then it is OK to continue with a non-Jewish driver until the first town or area where the safety concerns are no longer there. Then you must get out of the car and walk to a hotel or something. Years ago people were in the army, or during the various wars in Europe, Israel, and wherever. They went through much discomfort and bent over backwards in order to keep Shabbat within the guidelines of Jewish Law. Nowadays, we are a society of spoiled brats. 3 full busloads of wonderful holy Lakewooders allowed their busses to continue driving long into Shabbat. My guess is that they could not imagine Shabbat without Cholent or Chamin. Sacrifice? Sure. They sacrificed their religion for a "bissel Cholent." (a little Shabbat food) God certainly didn't create the world so Chaim Yankel should miss his Cholent. Now you say, but what is wrong? I'm not driving. The Goy (non-Jew) is driving. Certainly. And that is not allowed Miderabanan (Rabbinical Decree). Additionally, you are going out of the Techum (4,000 feet from the edge of the city you are in, or from where you are standing, if not in a residential area). Once the Yetzer Harah gets you, he certainly will throw in a few more. Those same people would be too holy to eat Chalav Aku"m or to Chas Veshalom use machine Matzot at the Seder. non-Glatt meat? What are you crazy? Chilul Shabbat? No problem. Now, I am reading your mind, and I hear that next question/statement. Well, they called their Rav and he said.... Interestingly enough, that Rav (his name will be withheld, since we don't want anyone knowing that Shmuel Mayer Katz would do this) actually denies allowing them to continue driving. Hmmmm! Could it be a retraction? The pressure got too strong? Or maybe they really didn't hear him correctly. In any case why should the passengers be responsible? We see from the Torah, and from all the Jewish history, that we are responsible to look into, review, confirm, investigate, and be 100% sure that the guy we chose to follow is actually the real thing. Start with Korach. His entire following went down with him. Korach was a brilliant Talmid Chacham, or so he seemed. He had 250 Sanhedrin behind him. Why should I, the nobody, be responsible for following that group, over Moshe and his cronies. They keep taking all the good positions for themselves and all the money. We were all there at Mount Sinai and heard God speak to us. I understand being reprimanded slightly, but throwing me down a tunnel to Hell? Why? Clearly, we are given the responsibility and thus the capability and the tools to choose our Leaders. If we fail, we are held responsible. But if I don't know Halachah, how can I judge my Rabbi? Somehow, when it came to choosing a Doctor, a Lawyer, and a Plastic Surgeon you knew how to judge professionals without knowing much about the profession itself. Faking ignorance and incompetence will get you a Kollel check from Dept of Social Services and maybe some brownie points at the Aguda Convention. But it will certainly not get you a "get out of Hell free" card. The way to go about understanding what is a good Rabbi and what is not, is to learn a little basic Jewish Law from the text itself (not English), and get a clear idea of what a Talmid Chacham (learned Rabbi) should be like. Open a book of Mussar, that defines the true and proper character traits expected from us. Certainly a leader and Talmid Chacham should excel in those areas. We must control our anger. We should not be egotistical. We should be in control of our actions. A Talmid Chacham should resemble an "angel of God." Certainly he should not be transgressing any of the Laws, although this can be a bit more complicated, since many of us are not learned enough to make such a call. Today's leaders are often mean, rude, obnoxious, egotistical, angry, often mad, messy, dirty, dishonest, liars, thieves, corrupt, and about every other negative word in the Webster Dictionary. Yet we are blind. We can't see fault. We don't want to rock our little fantasy world we live in. Well, I hate to shake up your life, but you are responsible and you will be held accountable for whom you choose. Additionally, you will be held accountable for the sins caused by this same Rabbi, since you treated them with the respect of a Rabbi, causing him to be considered such by others. I am sorry, but I have enough of my own stuff to worry about. I don't have room for a portfolio of sins from some other fellow. Somehow, we all develop bogus excuses to justify bad character. Like, "he is standing up for Kavod Hatorah," when the Rabbi has a temper tantrum, all red in the face. Or, "he doesn't demand the respect for himself, but for the Torah." We take legitimate concepts and distort them in order to keep that fantasy alive, the fantasy that this Rabbi we chose to follow is actually the real thing. Now that most Rabbis do not even know Jewish Law, we have created a new category and named it Da'as Toirah." This literally means "the knowledge of the Torah." Interesting name for people lacking just that. Sheep, sheep, sheep. My dear sheep! Look for the right shepherd. The one who will bring you to the pasture. The one who will lead you in the right direction. AA