Mateh Levi מטה לוי merged https://www.sefaria.org/Mateh_Levi This file contains merged sections from the following text versions: -Sefaria Responsa Anthology -https://www.sefaria.org Mateh Levi Teshuva 1 Teshuva 2 Teshuva 3 Teshuva 4 Teshuva 5 Teshuva 6 Teshuva 7 Teshuva 8 Teshuva 9 Teshuva 10 Teshuva 11 Teshuva 12 Teshuva 13 Teshuva 14 Teshuva 15 Teshuva 16 Teshuva 17 Teshuva 18 Teshuva 19 D.V., Saturday night of the Shabbat of Yitro, 5666, Frankfurt am Main. Life and peace be granted to my honored friend, the rabbi who is great in Torah, a pillar of the fear of God, respect the sanctity of his glorious name, our teacher Rabbi Moshe Weiskopf, who sits and seeks the welfare of his people in the holy community of Paris. The question of the wise, which is half an answer, that you have humbly submitted to me, has arrived in a timely fashion, and I will not delay my response. For matters like these, which, as matters of law, are known, yet are difficult in practice, demand greater scrutiny from us. We must consider all of its aspects to an even greater degree, for, on one hand, we may not forbid that which is permitted and we have no authority to make new decrees—for who know if they will not ultimately be bitter? On the other hand, we must stand upon the seam in order to save and safeguard the people, so they do not stumble, God forbid, if they are permitted to do things that seem, in the eyes of others, to be forbidden, when in fact they do not understand that the cases are different. Now that I have considered my path, I will respond, in accordance with the hand of the Lord that is upon me. In truth, there are correct reasons to permit this matter. Even the eminent Hatam Sofer, who wrote in §97 of his collected responsa that there is an element of Torah prohibition in traveling by train on Shabbat, proved (ad loc.) that this prohibition is built on only on the basis of the prohibition against traveling outside one’s Shabbat boundaries (tehumin). Even if we posit that there are no tehumin above ten [handbreadths], it is similar to something that is more than four by four [handbreadths] wide, to which tehumin apply even above ten handbreadths, since boundaries at a distance of twelve mil are Torah law, according to Rambam. Thus, it is completely forbidden—see what he wrote. However, in the present case, in which the train tracks surround the city and do not leave the Shabbat boundary, the entire foundation on which the eminent Hatam Sofer built has collapsed in the present case. Even if its extremities are extended and the tracks leave the city, in my opinion there is still no cause for concern about tehumin, for all of the lines run below the earth in corridors that, on the inside, are more than ten [handbreadths] high. It is not that they do not constitute roads similar to the desert encampment under flags, but because wherever these lines extend, they are surrounded by walls of earth. Thus, the entire area, from where it exits until it re-enters, is like a single place and a single town, which has no tehumin. Moreover, there is not even a violation of hotza’ah (transporting an object from domain to domain), for everything is surrounded by a wall, as subterranean walls should be no worse than above ten handbreadth, as is stated regarding the cases of a furrow deeper than ten [handbreadths], a city surrounded by a river, and the like. Presumably, the station from which the tracks extend and to which they return is completely surrounded by walls and fences, of course. Therefore, since the driving [of the trains] is not on behalf of Jews, there is no prohibition here. Had our generation been like previous generations, knowledgeable generations, in which those who fear God are able to distinguish between one matter and the next and to make relevant comparisons, I would certainly say that we may not be more stringent than the Sages, even by one iota. However, nowadays we must be concerned about two extremes among our people. Those who are not meticulous about the mitzvot wholeheartedly will take such matters lightly—even matters that are bona fide prohibitions—if we are permissive here. So too, those who are God-fearing, who quake (“haredim”) at the word of God, will not understand the reason for permissiveness and will not distinguish between the different sorts of train lines. If we permit this one, they will view them all as being permitted. Initially I would have said something similar to the words of Ramban on Parshat Emor, namely, that everything that the Sages prohibited rabbinically is because the sabbatical nature of Shabbat is otherwise ruined. However, I clarified, to resolve the issue of train lines and tehumin, the resolution of the Taz vis-à-vis the question of why beer and whiskey of a non-Jew are not forbidden to drink if the reason for prohibiting their wine—namely that it will result in intermarriage—still applies. This concern applies to all alcoholic beverages, not just wine. Taz answers that since the Sages only forbade wine, we cannot forbid other things, even if the reasoning applies to them as much as it applies to wine. A distinction can be posited: In the case [of wine], there were other alcoholic beverages in the times of the Sages, yet they did not forbid them, whereas trains are new. Therefore, we can suggest that had they been extant in the times of the Sages, they would have forbidden them. Nevertheless, who can say today that he is so great that the entire generation must heed him, and who can then stand up and make a new decree that earlier sages never instituted? Nevertheless, though there is nothing prohibited about this matter itself, it is hard to believe that those people who are waiting for permission to travel on this train on Shabbat will be meticulous about the prohibitions of hotza’ah, moving forbidden objects (tiltul/muktzeh), and carrying a ticket. Due to our sins, we have seen that many people have removed the yoke of such prohibitions from their necks and violate them in private and in public. Many of the people who have thus far refrained from violating them will come, God forbid, to transgress several prohibitions if we permit them to travel on Shabbat. Yet since truth is the seal of God, even in on this matter it is good, and necessary, to tell the truth, namely, that fundamentally there is no basis for prohibiting it, but that since doing so can cause one to stumble, anyone who is God-fearing should distance himself from this unsightliness and anything similar. They should treat it as forbidden. May God privilege us to bring public merit and give you, my honorable friend, the strength to accomplish much for the benefit of all Israel, in accordance with your pure heart. The words of one who honors and esteems you. Mordechai Halevi Horowitz