I heard that Jews are not allowed to drive to Synagogue on sabath, my question is what happens if a Jewish person lives to far from the Synagogue to walk? can he take a bus or tram or is that the same as driving? if I heard wrong and Jews can drive to synagogue on sabath, I apologise and just ignore this question.
2006-10-31 12:20:11 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
yes, im an orthodox jew and its part of my beliefs that you cant drive on sabbath or ride in a car beacuse you cant touch things that yo arent allowed to use (even money.) as many people have said before, it depends on your denomanation (kind of like christianity where there are some catholics who beilve in much stricter laws than others.) most orthodox jews, beacuse of this restriction, move to somewhere near a Synagogue, but also, if you're jewish its much easier to live in a jewish community (so one can obtain kosher meat, etc.) and in jewish communities theres at least one Synagogue. theres also a group of jews called chassidim, some of whom have started i guess like a mission where they go around the world to many diffrent countries and states and open Synagogues that are often completely free and they help educate less religous jews or ones who arent aware of their religon. they DO NOT go around trying to convert people though, just to educate. beacuse of these chabad Synagogues, almost anywhere you live will have one if there isnt a Synagogue already there, or even if there is ( theres probably one in every state, and in many countried including china, japan and india to name a few) so to sum it all up, orthodox jews dont drive on the sabbath, though some other sects do, and many jews purposely move to locations near ones (i have 5 within a 25 min walking distance of myself).
but yes, an AMAZING and very good question, makes alot of sense, and you got your facts straight! thanks so much for not being disrespecful.
have a gr8 week! :)
2006-10-31 12:42:03 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Many Jews follow the custom you mentioned. The reason for this practice is that the sabbath is the 7th day of the week, which relates to the 7th day of creation, when God rested. For this reason, Jews are forbidden to do work. Work is defined very broadly, so it includes things like turning on and off lights and driving. Driving is forbidden on the sabbath because the combustion reactions going on in the engine are considered work resulting from the driver's use of the car.
Now let's discuss the public transportation: This gets trickier. Jews are allowed to use things that are already in use. For instance, Jews may not turn on or off lights on the sabbath, but if it's on, we can still use it. This means that a bus is acceptable since it would follow the same path regardless of whether or not a Jew got on. However, getting a taxi would not be allowed because the driver is using the car (doing work) in a route specifically designed to take the passenger, a Jew, to Synagogue. Therefore, a taxi would be just as bad as driving, but a bus would be fine.
These technicalities can get a lot trickier. For instance, could a Jew use an elevator on the sabbath? These kinds of details can get tricky and I'm not capable of explaining, or typing for that matter each specific quirk.
Personally, I am a conservative Jew and I drive to Synagogue because I live too far from the nearest one. However, there are people that attend the same service as me that walk.
Short answer: The custom you mentioned is followed by Jews. Using loopholes in Jewish law and trying to find sneaky ways to avoid breaking these laws can be acceptable. However, for those situations, it is difficult to sum up the rules in one or two sentences.
2006-10-31 21:13:40 · answer #2 · answered by x 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a common Jewish belief (and commandment) to keep the Sabbath (Saturday, for Jews) holy. This includes not doing any work.
Orthodox Jews see driving on the Sabbath as work (burning fuel), and therefore walk to Synagogue. I don't know of any Orthodox Jew who does not live in walking distance to a Synagogue because of this. However, I'm pretty sure they can ride in a car, just not drive it.
Other denominations of Judaism (Reform and Conservative) do not necessarily see driving as work, and so will have parking lots full of worshippers' cars.
2006-10-31 20:23:15 · answer #3 · answered by Michael 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
According to Jewish law driving in a car is forbidden on the sabbath because driving a car burns fuel AKA causing a fire. One of several biblical Prohibitions to do on the sabbath.
as for a bus their is still the problem of paying for the ticket which is a Rabbinic Prohibition and carrying the money in places where it would transgress biblical law (to explain in detail would take me an hour)
as for a tram/subway it technically might be allowed if a person can get away without paying but it is generally frowned upon for other reasons
2006-10-31 20:21:49 · answer #4 · answered by Gamla Joe 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I can only give you an answer from a Jewish-Orthodox viewpoint.
Judaism is a way of life, and thus the center of Judaism is not the synagogue, but the home and family.
If someone lives too far from a synagogue, he or she can pray at home.
2006-10-31 22:55:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
When I worked in Beverly Hills, there is almost always a synagogue within walking distance. I know about the no driving on Sabath. I dont think they are allowed to do anything modern on sabatg. In fact, I had to go into a friend's home to turn off their oven because they couldnt. Their maid left it on, and she had called me to let me know that she left it on. She knew they wouldnt pick up the telephone so she called me.
2006-10-31 20:26:42 · answer #6 · answered by Clock Watcher 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
well uh.. Jews cannot do anyting during sabbath. They cant cook, clean, use electronics, or drive. It is true, that Jews dont drive to synagogue on sabbath, but there are many branches of Judaism that have different restrictions. For example, reconstructionist Jews may drive to synagogue because they believe in modernization. In america, its basically half drive and half not. In Israel, there are Synagogues everywhere so people can walk easily to whichever they want.
2006-10-31 20:24:42 · answer #7 · answered by coolchess123 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
i go to an orthodox shul and i drive. i live like six miles away and i drive. by the strickest law you are not allowed to be driven or drive a car. though some people will let a non-jew drive them. depends on your custom.
when the jews in the desert who left egypt built the mishkan (tabernaical) there were 39 diffrent things done for it. g-d said that you cant work on the mishkan on shabbos, so we learn from this that those 39 things are not alowed on shabbos.
I am 90% sure that is true, if you want to know the 100% truth go to www.askmoses.com
2006-10-31 20:28:35 · answer #8 · answered by red sox! 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
That is only true of Orthodox Judaism. There are other schools of Judaism (Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist) who do drive on the Sabbath.
2006-10-31 20:24:03 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
THEY CAN RIDE, THEY JUST CAN'T DRIVE
2006-10-31 20:21:29 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋