Getting Stuck on the Subway When its Almost Shabbos

 

Question:

Last Friday afternoon I found myself on a subway train as shkiah was approaching. The train had stopped in between two stations and as the minutes ticked by I realized that it would not reach the next station until after shkiah.

I had with me Tefillin, a wallet, a cellphone, money, keys, gloves etc. I put everything I had on me into one plastic bag and asked some goyim who were in the subway car if they could take it to my home for me. They all refused. What should have been my next step?

What type of reshus is the subway car, and what type of reshus is the station? Are they both considered a reshus hayochid (she’einoh me’ureves)?

If so, could I transfer from the car to the station without a problem?

Could I carry freely inside the car and in the station, or only pochus pochus midaled amos?

Or is the station considered a karmelis, in which case I could not transfer from the car to the platform? In that case, could I ask a goy to transfer the bag from the car to the platform and take it from him on the platform?

Assuming the bag contained both the Tefillin and the other items (wallet, money, cellphone), would the bag be considered a bosis ledovor ho’osur vehamutor, allowing me to take it bag from the goy after it left my hands, or would it be muktze?

If I had put the Tefillin on myself,

leaving the other items in the bag, would it certainly be muktze?

Assuming that the station is a reshus hayochid and the street is a karmelis, would the same questions I asked before about the transfer from the car to the platform now apply from transferring from the station to the street?

Once I made it to the street with bag in hand, could I then carry it pochus pochus midaled amos until my residence?

Could I even run with it all the way?

Once reaching my residence, the eitzoh shulchon oruch brings is to throw it inside the reshus hayochid over my shoulder. Would this be allowed even if the bag still had the Tefillin inside it, or is this a moot point because I could always put them on before I threw the bag.

Once the bag landed in the reshus hayochid residence, could I then move it to any location within that reshus hayochid (assuming it wasn’t muktze)?

 

Answer:

It goes without saying that one should make an effort not to get into the situation you are writing about. One must ensure to be ready for Shabbos early.

When getting stuck in such a situation, you can bring your bag of belongings to the info booth in the subway station (in a way explained below) and after Shabbos pick it up from the lost and found.

If that’s not an option – if there is no goy around that’s ready to take it or if you don’t trust them, give it to a kid under bar mitzvah. You should give it to him after he begins to walk and take it from him before he stops so that he’s not doing an akirah and hanacha.1

Also, you should try to give it to a goy before Shabbos even if you would have to pay him something.2

In the first instance, if you can get a goy to take out of the station you should do so.

 

Reshus of subway cart and station:

In regards to your question of what type of Reshuas the subway cart and station are: they are both considered רשות היחיד (if the train car is 10 טפחים high).3

Thus you may transfer from the car to the station without a problem, and you may carry freely inside the car and in the station, this is assuming that is a small station – less than בית סאתיים; in a big station you would need to carry פחות פחות מד’ אמות, and you wouldn’t be able to carry from the train to the station.4 – Also assuming that the station doesn’t have a פירצה to a כרמלית or רה”ר.

 

Is the bag Muktze?

The bag is a בסיס לדבר האסור since a wallet, money, phone and tefillin are all muktza. (The money more than anything as it is muktze machmas gufo).

The gloves that were also in the bag are a טפל to the isur which is more important5.

P.S. Having muktze in one’s pocket is not osur in regards to carrying muktze6.

If I had put the Tefillin on myself, leaving the other items in the bag, would it certainly be muktze? would that prohibit me from taking it back from the goy after it left my hands?

In this case, there is no need, since regardless you will be left with the other items. Correct it would still be Muktze, as above, but you are allowed to take it back from him7.

 

Leaving the station:

When going from a רשות היחיד to a כרמלית you can ask a goy to carry it for you, then you are allowed to take it back from him.

Once you made it to the street with the bag in your hand, you could then carry it פחות פחות מד’ אמות meaning walking less than 4 Amos, then stop, and so on. If you are able to sit down you should do so and then continue.

As an alternative, you may run with the bag all the way, but that is only if you cannot go פחות פחות מד’ אמות8.

 

Entering your home:

In your case that you have tefillin you can bring the bag in with a שנוי by putting the bag between your clothes and your body9.

The bag is muktze. The tefillin and phone you can move לצורך גופו ומקומו. The other stuff you can move with your feet or body.10.

 

FOLLOWUP QUESTIONS:

1. Can I offer to pay a goy to take my items home for me even (a) after shkiah, (b) after tzeis?

Yes to A and B. It is only in this specific case that we are lenient.

2. If the bag is muktze, once I have given it to a goy to take it out from the subway to the street, did you say that I can’t take it back from him now that the muktze bag has left my hand?

You could take it back from him. It is only in this specific case that we are lenient.

3. (a) A beis sosayim is 100 by 50 amos, equalling 5000 square amos. If an area has a total of 5000 square amos or more but is less than 50 amos wide (since it is longer than 100 amos), e.g. the platform of a subway station, is it still considered a beis sosayim?
(b) If the subway station is a beis sosayim or more, can one still transfer from the subway car to the platform?

A. Doesn’t make a difference what shape it is.  B. No.11.

 

 

#12989

  1. סי’ רסו ס”ט-י.
  2. כן משמע ממש”כ רבינו בסי’ רסו ס”א ואע”פ שלא נתן לו שכר, דאם לא יעשה בלי שכר חייב ליתן לו, ורק אם אין עמו נכרי – כפי שממשיך בס”ג. וראה שם בענין אמירה לנכרי במקום הפסד ובסי’ רסא ס”ב בנוגע לבין השמשות.

  3. ראה שוע”ר סימן שנח
    ולהעיר שבמ”ב (ריש סי’ שס”ב בביאור הלכה ד”ה או לשמור) מסתפק אם בנין מקורה וגם חשוב אולי אינו נחשב קרפף ומציין גם להפרמ”ג (ריש סי’ שנ”ח באשל אברהם ובמשבצות זהב).

    שוע”ר שם ס”ח.

    שהרכבת רה״י – ראה גם שו״ת חת״ס ליקוטים צז.

    [ולהעיר שבכ״מ – שו״ת בית אפרים כו בסופו. ישועות מלכו כו. שם כז. מהרש”ם א, קסב (וחזר בו ממש”כ שם ג, קפח). בית אב תנינא ה, ז – שגם הרחוב אינו רה”ר אע”פ שבוקעים רבים בקרונות כיון שהקרונות מוקפות. אבל ראה מג״א שמה, יד. ובשו”ע אדה”ז שם בקו”א ב. צ״צ משניות שבת יא – שהספינות בגדר בקיעת רבים. וראה קובץ אהלי שם ח שיישב וכתב לחלק. וראה פמ”ג א”א ל – גם בנוגע לעגלות וקרונות. וראה ערוה”ש שמה, כו. אג”מ א, קלט. שבט הלוי ה, נג. חשב האפוד יא. וכבר הקשו שבמדבר מסתמא נסעו גם בעגלות. ובלא”ה, סברת הבי״א אינה מועילה ברכבת שבימינו שאינה ממעלה מעשרה].

  4. ראה שוע”ר סימן שנח.

    ולהעיר שבמ”ב (ריש סי’ שס”ב בביאור הלכה ד”ה או לשמור) מסתפק אם בנין מקורה וגם חשוב אולי אינו נחשב קרפף ומציין גם להפרמ”ג (ריש סי’ שנ”ח באשל אברהם ובמשבצות זהב).

  5. שוע”ר שח, יט. שי, טז.
  6. סי’ רסו, יט. סי’ שיא, טו.
  7. כמו שמצינו בסי’ רסו ס”ג וס”י.
  8. כמובן מסי”ג: ואם אינו יכול להוליכה פחות . . יכול לרוץ.
  9. ראה משנ”ב סי’ שא ס”ק קכג.
  10. סי’ שח סט”ו וסי”ט, סי’ שט ס”ד.
  11. ראה שוע”ר סימן שנח.