Over the past few days, there has been much talk among the hundreds of gun-owners in the Lakewood area about carrying a gun on them for Shabbos amid the war in Eretz Yisroel and any potential threats.
TLS reached out to Rabbi Moshe Rotberg to address and clarify the Halachic aspect of carrying a weapon on Shabbos.
Listen to it below.
For this that don’t want to watch a 5 minute video:
TL;DR
RMR: Yes, if there is a genuine need for protection.
“Genuine need for protection”? Perhaps, but he says that according to one category of thought, since there is significant use for a gun as a deterrent, it’s a kli shemilachto leheter, and that wouldn’t be dependant on need. Additionally, at the end, he says “if someone is concerned about his safety”. “Genuine need for protection” are your words, not his.
Wow! The Greatest Shooter of All Time right here on the Scoop!
Anyway, I wondered about the subjective nature of “someone concerned about his safety”. This means each person is the ultimate decision maker of the standard for halachic heter/issur in this case. Usually, thought not in every case, we try to have an objective standard supplied by Chazal.
Finally, someone gets my alias.
Please post a filter friendly version of the video. Thanks!
Rabbi Rotberg says that if the authorities say “there is no credible threat” that means there is no “sakana lefanecha”. This implies that the authorities are completely reliable in their assessment of the situation. Is this true? After all, the Israeli security establishment apparently believed there was no credible threat last Shabbos/Simchas Torah.
I’m sincerely asking whether the standard of relying on the authorities is valid. It seems to me that, given the general deterioration of society and the ever-increasing degree of wanton violence, having Hamas and other anti-Semites making threats to kill Jews requires re-evaluation. Consider this with reference to the value of one life, then, even a very minimal risk assessment has to be taken very seriously, given the magnitude of the potential harm.
You are right you cant relly on the autorities only on Hashem, so a gun wont help you.
When Klal Yisroel waged war on Amalek and the Shiva Umos, did they fight with a siddur or a sword?
Of course, Bitachon precedes everything else, but Hashem doesn’t want us to be foolish. Reasonable steps to protect your family and community are required.
To answer your question they fought with a sword
PS. Have Bitachon that Hashem will help you put rounds on center mass.