[Avodah] menorah on a plane

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Micha Berger asked:
> If the staff allows, and one can assume there are Jews
> on the vehicle who could use every little bit of chizuq,
> would RSZA tell the person to light without a berakhah?

Halichos Shlomo 13:3 -- One who travels in an airplane (7), and no one is lighting Ner Chanuka for him at home (8), should light there on the table, but not make a bracha (9).

Dvar Halacha 7: And the same halacha applies for a boat, train, etc.

Dvar Halacha 8: Because if they *are* lighting for him at home, he is yotzay in any event (b'chol gavnay), even if they're in different time zones.

Dvar Halacha 9: Even though there's no pirsum to the people of the reshus harabim, nowadays many people light indoors lechatchila even though there's no sakana. Granted that this is not his Bayis Kavua, the same way that we don't need a house that is davka 4 by 4 amos, it is possible that the same applies on a boat, train, or airplane, so that if he is kavua there m'ays l'ays (17), he can put it there on the table, and therefore he should light without a bracha (20).

Archos Halacha 17: It seems that he didn't mean "m'ays l'ays" to mean a 24-hour period specifically, but he meant "for that night". And that's how he paskened for people who traveled by plane at night.

Archos Halacha 20: This is only for this situation. But a real guest in a building - even a tank - even if he resides there only for that night, lights with a bracha. Likewise, other people who light in the house also say the bracha. If they don't allow him to light a ner (as is usually the case) he should light a pocket flashlight which has enough power to last a half hour, after setting it up in a manner in which it is obvious (nikar) that it is l'shem mitzva, WITHOUT a bracha. RSZA was once asked about a guest who was returning home abroad; he left his host during the daytime, and wouldn't return home until the following morning, and they were not lighting for him at home. He paskened that he should light on the plane as above, and should also ask a friend to light for him at his home.

On a related issue, Halichos Shlomo 15:3 says: An electric light - if it is nikar that it is for the mitzva of Ner Chanuka - there are reasons to wonder (yesh tzedadim l'histapek) if it is kosher for the mitzvah. But one who has no other choice may light a flashlight - shel menorat libun [[[ I'm guessing that this means "with an incandescent bulb" ]]] and TO MAKE A BRACHA on it, provided that it has enough power to stay lit for a half hour.

There are lots of notes on that, which I'll translate if there are requests.

Akiva Miller


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