[Avodah] tefillat haderech

[Marty Bluke via Avodah]

R' Akiva Miller wrote:
> I suspect that I do not appreciate or understand the meaning of "as a
> tefillah and not as a bracha".

The difference between tefila and a beracha is whether you can be motzi a
baki nowadays. With a beracha you can however with a tefilla you cannot
which is why these poskim hold that each person should say tefilas haderech
the same way every person davens shemoneh esrei.

You also asked:
> I am very confused. Many poskim recommend point out that Tefilas Haderech
> does not begin with "Baruch", so they recommend saying it after another
> bracha (such as Asher Yatzar, or a Bracha Acharona on food), so as to make
> it into a Bracha Hasemucha L'chvertah. But if Tefilas Haderech is not a
> bracha to begin with, then I do not see the advantage of such a procedure.

Something can be both a beracha and a tefila at the same time, the prime
example is shemoneh esrei which is tefilla par excellence but composed of
18 (19) berachos. Tefilas haderech is a tefila composed (possibly) in the
form of a beracha and therefore the rules of tefilla would apply.

[Email #2. -micha]

R' Eli Turkel wrote:
> The sefer Piskei Teshuvot (siman 110-2) has a discussion whether one is
> required to say tefillat haderech in modern times. He concludes that one
> who does not say it on major roads has someone to rely on but someone who
> also says it has the reward of a tefilla even though we no longer have
> "listin" and wild animals on the roads.

It seems clear from the context of the gemara that tefilas haderech is a
tefila b'eis tzara. The gemara mentions tefilas haderech right after it
mentions that a person who is in a dangerous place says a tefila.

The world has changed a lot since the time of chazal especially related to
travel and we need to understand if these changes affect the din of tefilas
haderech  Here are some of the changes that have occurred relating to
travel.

1. Most travel is no longer considered unsafe. When I get in my car every
morning to drive to work I don't think twice about it
2. The distinction between in the city and out of the city is no longer
true. Most people fell much safer driving in the Catskills then driving
through Harlem. Driving on a highway from Brooklyn to Queens is in the city
but driving in Monsey to the supermarket may be considered out of the city.
3. This is related to 1, people travel all the time. Most people commute
some distance to work, this is normal and part of everyday life. In the
time of chazal yotze laderech was a big deal.

Given the above R' Shachter (in Nefesh Harav) says that R' Soloveitchik did
not say tefilas haderech when he commuted from Boston to NY to give his
shiurim. He felt that because it is a tefila b'eis tzara and nowadays there
is no perceived danger and it is routine that there was no reason to say it.

Recently, I heard a short shiur on tefilas haderech and was happy to hear
that RSZA seems to say a very similar idea to RYBS.

RSZA did not say tefilas haderech when he traveled from Yerushayim to Bnei
Brak. He explained his reasoning as follows:

   1. In many places it is not considered as if you left the yishuv for the
   following reasons:
   1. There are many other cars on the road
      2. The police regularly patrol the road
      3. There are houses on the side of the road

   2. Traveling by car/bus is a normal activity. Whan a person gets up and
   commutes to work he does not say he is going on a trip. The takana
of tefilas
   haderech was for someone who was yotze laderech  these kinds of trips
   are not considered יוצא לדרך.
   3. There is little or no danger of yotze laderech


RSZA reasoning is very similar to RYBS. Basically, the world has changed
and it is no longer unusual or dangerous to travel between cities and
therefore the din of when you say tefilas haderech changes as well.