Q&A: A Coerced Person Fulfilling Others' Obligation
A Coerced Person Fulfilling Others' Obligation
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I am "coerced"—outwardly I observe the commandments, but in secret I violate the Sabbath. I do not believe.
Because of basic honesty, and also because I worry that one day this will come to light, I try not to fulfill others' obligation for them. So I do not go up to serve as prayer leader.
Today I was wondering about joining the annulment of vows, and especially about making an eruv tavshilin for others.
Is it because I am not religious that I cannot do this for others, or is the basic act itself not religious, only its significance is religious?
The annulment of vows is a legal act, and an eruv tavshilin is essentially beginning the cooking for the Sabbath before the holiday.
What do you think?
Answer
I don’t have time right now to go into the matter in detail. In my opinion, you cannot fulfill anyone’s obligation in anything. Annulment of vows is not a case of fulfilling someone else’s obligation, but by logic it seems that even there you are not included.
(Parenthetically, maybe it would still be worthwhile to re-examine your views.)
Happy New Year.