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Carrying A Weapon Into A Shul
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Resource Type: Shiur in: English
Age 17 - 19
Group Size 5 - 30
Estimated Time: 90 minutes
Carrying a Weapon into a Shul.doc (1.6 MB)
Source sheet with the following sources:
· Gemara Tractate Brachot 8a
· Gemara Tractate Brachot 54b
· The Beit Yosef who quotes the Mahram MaRotenberg who was the first Rishon to mention the problem of entering a shul with a weapon.
Summary of Last Shiur
Eating is permissible in a Shul only when it is considered a Seudat Mitzva.
Introduction
We will discuss one last question with regards to the kedusha of a shul. Is one allowed to walk into a shul with a gun? This question is a very important one for soldiers and even for the civilian population in
Chevruta
Have chanichim learn the following sources:
· Gemara Tractate Brachot 8a
· Gemara Tractate Brachot 54b
· The Beit Yosef who quotes the Mahram MaRotenberg who was the first Rishon to mention the problem of entering a shul with a weapon.
Questions for Discussion
· Where did the Mahram derive this halacha?
· Compare both Gemaras. Are they talking about the same halacha?
Learn
The Mahram derived his halacha from the gemara that claims that prayer makes people live longer and a knife’s (or any weapons) purpose is to shorten someone’s life. Point out to chanichim that from both gemaras we learn that davening has the power to extend our life span. But there is an important difference between them:
· Brachot 8a: prayer in a shul makes life longer
· Brachot 54b: prayer in general makes life longer
The difference between them (nafka mina) is if the issur is only to enter a shul with a weapon or if it is to pray with the weapon on you?
From the fact that the Shulchan Aruch brought the halacha in “Hilachot Beit HaKnesset,” we can assume that the main problem is that bringing a weapon into the shul desecrates the kedusha of the shul, in addition to the reason brought in the Gemara in Brachot.
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Rav Ovadia Yosef, basing himself on this Taz, says that when it is difficult to leave a weapon outside (like in the army) you are allowed to enter a shul with the weapon.
Read Rav Ovadia’s conclusion with chanichim.
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