[Avodah] Clarification on Hareidi El-Al

[David Riceman]

From: "Akiva Blum" <ydamyb at actcom.net.il>

> Tumah above *is* tumas ohel, so NJs are not included. NJs only have tumas 
> mago (and > I suppose maso). Do you have a source that would indicate 
> otherwise?

This is actually a three way machloketh.  According to the Yereim (dead) 
non-Jews do not have tumas meis; you have cited the opinion of the Rambam; 
and according to the Baalei HaTosafos dead non-Jews do have tumas ohel.  See 
AH HeAsid H. Tumas Meis 3:12, and see the Mekoroth V'Tziyunim in Frankel's 
edition of the Rambam H. Tumas Meis 1:12-13.

If I understand him correctly the Shulhan Arukh (YD 372:2) holds that ikkar 
hadin is like the Rambam but that we should be mahmir like tosafos, and the 
Rama is unsure which opinion is ikkar hadin.

For the particular case of cohanim see Pithchei Tshuva ad. loc. for 
additional reasons to be lenient, and see Rabbi Feinstein's tshuva (which 
I'm sure someone here can locate) for even more reasons for leniency in the 
case of cohanim riding in airplanes.  Perhaps some cohanim on the list can 
tell us what the common practice is.

Incidentally I've been trying to understand someone's hava amina that people 
buried in New Jersey are not metamei beohel.  The best I can come up with is 
that dying in New Jersey is such a horrible onesh that it's mechaper, and 
the poster held that tzaddikim einam metamim.

David Riceman