A list of shailos relating to the upcoming elections in Israel on September 17, 2019, was brought to Hagaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky. A Kikar Shabbos report summarized the main shailos and teshuvos.
Q: Is it fitting to bring your children with you when you go to the voting station to fulfill the mitzvah of “V’asita k’chol asher yorucha”? Is there an inyan to be mechanech them in this mitzvah, like there’s chinuch with other mitzvahs?
Rav Kanievsky: Yes.
Q: Is there more sechar halicha if you go by foot to vote than by car, or there’s no difference?
Rav Kanievsky: If there’s no bittul Torah.
Q: Is it permissible to eat before voting on Election Day, since one shouldn’t generally eat before a mitzvah?
Rav Kanievsky: No.
Q: Is a person who is on the way to vote on Election Day considered as if he’s engaging in a mitzvah on his way there and back and is therefore exempt from another mitzvah?
Rav Kanievsky: Yes.
Q: A person whose voting station is close to his home, and his shul where he davens Shacharis is further away – when he leaves home to daven – he has two mitzvahs to do – voting and fulfilling “V’asita k’chol asher yorucha” and davening Shacharis. What should he do first? Is there a problem of passing up a mitzvah and he needs to vote first and daven afterward?
Rav Kanievsky: Elections.
Q: Someone who is making a bris for his son on Election Day, which mitzvah should he do first? Should he vote or perform the mitzvah of milah?
Rav Kanievsky: Vote.
Q: Considering that a mitzvah de’oraisa requires kavanah, when a person is on the way to vote and fulfilling a mitzvah de’oraisa, does he need to have kavanah and be aware that he is fulfilling “V’asita k’chol asher yorucha?”
Rav Kanievsky: Yes.
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14 Responses
תדיר ושאינו תדיר תדיר קודם
Vote for Bibi before you you make ‘l’chaim” with the mohel. You will need a lot of kavanah to punch the ballot for Likud.
Is this for real? Or Purim Torah?
Musthock, I guess any Rav which Differs From YOUR point of view must be a Purim joke.
Shkoyach!
Hagaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky
must_hock
That was my first reaction too but then I realized that if you are going to publish a purim spiel by framing absurd questions and answers about the nuts and bolts of voting on election day , it would be poor form to make the gadol hador the target of ridicule. Sadly, in lieu of the old Chicago political adage of “vote early and vote frequently” the new Chareidi political theme is “vote early and ONLY then מאַכט אַ ברית
…..and the Lubavitchers don’t sleep in the Sukka…
i cannot believe that you should vote before a brit. one has a preference for earlier, the other does not
Q: Is it permissible to degrade and humiliate a Gadol like this?
A: NO!
Disgusting politicians!!
I have learned over time that for some, there is great importance to verifying the “correct” derecho for what might seem “trivia” to the rest of us and there is no embarrassment at posing such detailed questions to even the gadol hador. While you and I might not ask our rav whether one makes asher yatzar before or after flossing, this is serious stuff to those whose lives are based on being careful to observe taryag mitzvos in the precise manner required.
I am shocked the amoleiki Torah haters comment even here.
Apparently you all know better than the Godol Hador,
and to spread your anti Torah Jew thoughts here is unacceptable.
Nice knowing you
smart alec, you are correct. parading around an elderly TC was unheard of. the Lubavitcher rebbe, Rav Schach and a few others created a despicable trend they were too old/senile/etc. to prevent. the Rav ztl, RMF ztl, RAK ztl were not ever put on display.
תדיר ושאינה תדיר applies with two equal מצוות the lesson a real Yid would learn here is the sheer gravity of the voting – As dictated by the גדול הדור. But Dr Yid, Rebbe Yid etc. of course all know better –