Getting On a Plane Before Shabbat

Quiz

1 - If the pilot and crew are Jewish:

• It’s not great, but if it is important you can fly.
• It’s allowed for a mitzvah.
• It’s prohibited to benefit from a Jew doing a melacha on Shabbat.

2 - Contemporary halachic authorities prohibit it because:

• It is not in the spirit of Shabbat.
• It in involves traveling outside the Shabbat boundaries (t’chum Shabbat) which limit how far you can go.
• You won’t be able light Shabbat candles.

3 - If it happened that you are on a plane on Shabbat, you need to be careful not to:

• Lock the bathroom door because it turns on the light.
• Move around too much as this may affect navigation equipment.
• Say Shabbat prayers because it is not an appropriate place to do so.