Ask the Rabbi
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Actions and Appliances on Shabbat
- Electricity on Shabbat
Question
Is bus travel to a synagogue on shabbat permissable if,
1) the jewish public does not see you.
2) one does not ring the bell to get off the bus
3) one only exists from front of bus
4) one has a monthly bus card pined to a jacket
Answer
With the exception of โpikuach nefeshโ, there are no circumstances in which bus travel is permitted on shabbat. The bus stops for you to get on and off on shabbat; the driver opens and closes the door for your entrance and exit. Even riding the subway or a city transit rail line which stops at every stop whether or not there are passengers is forbidden by Shuโt Chelkat Yaakov Orach Chayyim144 9, Shuโt Sridei Aish I 38, Shuโt Tzitz Eliezer I 21 and others.

Survey Camera on Shabbat
Rabbi Elchanan Lewis | 12 Iyyar 5767

non-Shabbos elevator on Shabbat
Rabbi David Sperling | Adar I 2, 5774




