Q&A: A Mixed Gym When There Isn’t One in Town
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
A Mixed Gym When There Isn’t One in Town
Question
Is it permitted to go to a mixed gym when there isn’t one in town?
Answer
How can you go to a gym that doesn’t exist? That reminds me of William James’s saying: philosophy is like a blind man’s search in a dark room for a black cat that isn’t there.
I assume you meant that there is no other gym. In my estimation, the thing is not intrinsically forbidden. If it arouses forbidden thoughts in you, it is proper to refrain from it (though even about that one could debate, on the grounds of “there is no other way”—see Pesachim 25).
Haha, I liked Michi’s precision in the questioner’s wording. Nice 🙂