[Avodah] R' Nissim Karelitz's Beis Din: Kohanim cannot fly from Ben Gurion for the next few weeks

[Zev Sero via Avodah]

On 30/10/16 03:36, Marty Bluke via Avodah wrote:
> If it is really a problem for a Kohen to fly over a cemetary then I
> don't understand how Kohanim fly anywhere. Take a flight from Israel to
> NY. The plane flies over much of Western Europe and England, there are
> any number of Jewish cemetaries there who says that the plane doesn't
> fly over one of them.

Who says it does?   Without certain knowledge that it does there is no 
problem.  The overwhelming majority of the earth's surface does *not* 
consist of Jewish graves, and all of it was created without such graves, 
so each bit of surface you travel over can be assumed to be tahor unless 
you know (as in this case) that it isn't.


> Is there any sevara to say that the tumah doesn't reach the height
> of planes to 30,000+ feet? If not what about in orbit? What about on
> the moon?

What about it?  Why should it be any different?  What basis do you have 
to distinguish it?  Tum'ah goes down to the centre of the earth and up 
forever.  If we happen to know that a particular bit of space is over a 
Jewish grave then we'd have to treat it accordingly.


[Email #2. -micha]

On 30/10/16 03:36, Marty Bluke via Avodah wrote:
> This is quite an issue for Kohanim, basically it means that Kohanim
> can't leave Israel as Ben Gurion is pretty much the only international
> airport.

The article suggests an alternative.

-- 
Zev Sero                Hit the road, Jack
zev at sero.name           but please come back once more