Halachic questions from a junior army officer
Hi,
A friend of mine is currently a squad leader in the army, and he shared with me two halachic questions:
1) During morning parade, he is sometimes forced to send soldiers to shave. The secular soldiers shave with a knife. Clearly, this is not the custom of the Hebrews of Danhara, and in the case of Stima, the soldier will shave with a knife. However, is there a halakhic problem in ordering a Jewish soldier to shave when he shaves with a razor?
2) There are soldiers who ask to pray Shacharit, but my friend gets the impression that they don’t pray at all. When prayer doesn’t come at the expense of military activity (on Shabbat, for example), they don’t come to prayer.
Of course, there is the command dilemma of what to do about this question, but my question is technical – halakhic only:
Now a soldier asks him for time to put on tefillin and pray, and yes – there is no operational activity that makes it impossible to pray. Is it permissible in such a situation to prevent a Jew from praying? I would appreciate it if you could share the answer for the case in which
– It is not at all certain that the soldier will put on tefillin and pray. That is, even if my friend allows him to pray – it is not certain that the guy will put on tefillin, etc.
– When my commander approves, the guy will definitely put on tefillin and start a siddur. (Of course, it is impossible to know about the blessing on the tefillin or the meaning of the words in the prayer, etc.)
I would be happy if you included a little reference from the summary of your position in your answer. (At least a real reference in the summary)
Thank you very much!
- It’s not even a shave, Ibra Danahra. It’s his decision to shave with a razor. He could have shaved with a machine.
- I didn’t understand the question. If he wants to pray and the orders require him to be allowed, then he should be allowed. What’s the question? The fact that he doesn’t pray on Shabbat is his consideration. If he wants to pray and doesn’t really pray, that’s another matter. Then he’s a liar and there’s no reason to allow him to do so. I won’t bring any conclusions here, and I don’t need any conclusions or sources. It’s a simple assumption and that’s it.
Continuing with the answer, I would like to make sure that I understood the Rabbi's words correctly here:
In your answer to the first question – If I understood correctly, it is clear to the Rabbi that a command in the order for a person to shave when the person can now only shave with a razor (because it is clear that he has no way of obtaining a machine and shaving in 3 minutes) is permissible, so there is no reason to even look into the subject?
Regarding the second question: I did not mention the army orders because they are completely irrelevant to the question. I do not understand why the Rabbi mentioned them.
I am asking about the following situation: A person is under my authority. Now he tells me "I know I lied to you in the past. However, now I would like to pray and put on tefillin"
To the Rabbi it is simple that I can prevent him from fulfilling a mitzvah from the Torah that is passing. And is it so simple that the Rabbi does not have any doubt that he should look into it?
He can borrow a machine from his friend and the commander is not obligated to inquire. If he asks for a discount because he doesn't have a machine and doesn't want a razor, that's a different matter.
I mentioned it because there's no question that these are the orders. The orders don't require you to let him pray either.
On the contrary, you simply can't prevent him.
In the future, please phrase the questions correctly and don't add data like that and pretend that was the question in the first place.
I didn't understand the rabbi's words.
Regarding the prayer – What do you mean by the sentence "on the contrary, you simply cannot prevent it"? I would appreciate clarification.
If he lied and now repents, you cannot prevent him from praying because of the suspicion.
Thank you.
That is, – If I believe he has repented, I cannot prevent him. What happens if I have doubts? That is, – He says he wants to pray and I have doubts about whether he is telling the truth. Is the halakhic decision in this case to decide in my heart what my position is regarding his repentance and act accordingly?
If you have doubts, that's your problem. Whoever wants to pray should be allowed to pray, unless you are convinced that he is lying.
I think we have exhausted ourselves.
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