Q&A: Travel on the Sabbath During Military Service
Travel on the Sabbath During Military Service
Question
Hello,
I am a reserve soldier in the Judea and Samaria sector. Next Sabbath, my family will be staying in a community relatively close to the outpost where my unit is stationed (a 25-minute drive). I am planning to drive to visit them before the Sabbath, during the rest time I have between the various missions I am carrying out (patrol, checkpoint, standby squad).
The question is whether my return to the outpost could be during the Sabbath itself, given that the next mission I will take up will only be on Sabbath morning, and there is no necessity for me to remain at the outpost until then.
Answer
If the distress is significant, this can be permitted. It is a kind of legal workaround. You are traveling to visit your family, and on the Sabbath you are obligated to drive because of the mission, so it is permitted. But in a normal situation (when the distress is not very great), I would not do this. You know in advance that you will need to desecrate the Sabbath, and it is proper to avoid that.
Discussion on Answer
First of all, according to most views in Jewish law, and that is also the accepted ruling in practice, they do not return home on the Sabbath except via a non-Jew. Second, in the case of a doctor there is a consideration that if you do not permit it, he will not go out to save lives. For a soldier, this is not his regular occupation, and he is obligated to report for duty.
Thank you.
Can my case be compared to a situation in which doctors and nurses who have a shift during the Sabbath travel to and return from the hospital, and do not stay there for the entire Sabbath?