Jerusalem – “It would be better to pray in a mosque and do so with meaning and after the sun rises, rather than at home, at dawn or at the airport and without meaning,” Rabbi Baruch Efrati determined recently in a response posted on the Kipa website recently.
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The surprising ruling came in response to a question posed by a web surfer living abroad who travels frequently for work purposes: “Most of the time the flights leave very early in the morning. I manage to put on tefilin at home after daybreak, but I don’t have time to wait until I can complete morning prayers,” he stated.
“On the other hand, if I pray at the airport – I feel extremely uncomfortable, because people stare and I find it hard to focus on my prayers.”
He wished to know how to act – and Rabbi Efrati had a surprising response: “Some airports in Europe and Asia have mosques, and they are usually empty of people who are not praying and so it is quiet,” he noted and suggested that the traveler inquire at the airport.
“Of course, this solution isn’t perfect,” the rabbi added, “but it is the best option. There is no prohibition on praying in mosques (apart for the Ran’s – Rabbi Nissim ben Reuven ruling, which was not accepted).”
Rabbi Efrati noted that an example was the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, which has a mosque.
Either way, the rabbi ruled that if the traveler has trouble praying with meaning in the airport – he shouldn’t pray there. In addition, he stressed that praying in churches was completely and strictly forbidden. In fact, it is forbidden to step into a church, he said.
I don’t see why this would be surprising. Every authority save the Tzitz Eliezer has no problem with mosques, and even the Tzitz Eliezer’s ruling is based on a single daat yachid by the Ran, referenced by Rabbi Efrati, whose authenticity is disputed.
A year ago I prayed in the “interfaith chapel” at the Atlanta airport right next to a Muslim who was doing *his* prayers.
Charlie, interfaith implys Christianity. Totally different than Islam. Everyone agrees that is ossur to step into a Christian place of worship.
Reb Charlie
Just cuz u did it, don’t make it right!
This is no surprise to me. It is probably true according to most poskim. This teshuvah does not claim that a mosque is better than at home. Merely that it is better to daven in a mosque bizman rather than somewhere else not bizman. Meaning the mosque is not a positive, it simply lacks a negative. I would be weary on a practical level, however, of how a radical Muslim will respond to Tifillin worn at a mosque (if he walks in on the guy.)
So this “rabbi” is pro suicide? I guess he is for the murder of more neshomos.
Some rabbis and I don’t know about this one, fall under the posuk of “goy atzim v’rav.”
these rulings permitting davening in a mosque were based on the fact that the Muslims were praying to the same god that the Jews do. the only one, the all MERCIFUL one. but since they started chopping heads off claiming their god told them to do so, they must have switched gods along the way and that ruling shouldn’t apply no more
From what I learned it is only ossur to enter a church that believes in the trinity, (father, son and holy ghost) as this is avodah zora, but a unitarian church or another one that does not believe in the trinity, it would be okay to enter.
Many cities have election voting in churches, should we never vote?
I’ve been at airports with interfaith chapels and they actually had symbols from non-Jewish religions (as well as Magen David), so I wonder if it would be permitted.
I’ve also been at the international airport and Rome which has thousands of priests and nuns walking by all day long and davened somewhere on the side but felt very uncomfortable with people coming by to stare at me.
To PRAY in a church is ossur due to the statues, pictures and icons (idolatry). However, to enter a church viewing it as a museum is not ossur, because depending on the church the statues could be by Michaelangelo, the pictures/icons by diVinci, and the building itself might be by Filippo Brunelleschi . So it’s never “always forbidden” to enter a church, you just have to do so with right mindset. (For the most part Xtians won’t object to a Yid in a church, I suspect the same is not the same in the mosque.)
Nu, anyone know where to find a nusach sfard mosque????????????
When I was in Singapore, I dovined Mincha in a mosque and no one had a problem with it….
#14,
LOL.
A Rav needs to know, not on the 4 Cheleky Shulchan Aruch but to also have some common sense. Too often we find people who are very well learned but are lacking in simple common sense.
Of course it’s true that there is NO CHIDUSH that it’s permissible to daven in a Mosque.
Even a CHILD knows you may daven in a Mosque and there is no need for any “big posek” to make headline news with this sensationalism.
What is lacking though is what a child knows and some big “geonim” don’t know because this common sense is not written in the Shulchan Aruch, yet everyone knows it, even a child.
The biggest Jew haters and killers are found in a Mosque.
It’s as simple as that! Those who did 9/11 and all those who kill yidden 24/7 in Israel for decades on end, all did so by assembling in Mosque to make their plans first.
All airport security today is only because of the kinds of people who assemble in a Mosque.
A Mosque is MOKOM SAKONO for a Yid since there no one on earth who wants to see you DEAD more than all those who attend Mosque.
There is no “ISSUR” in Shulchan Aruch to daven with the MAFIA but you would have to be NUTS to do so.
Common sense dictates the obvious!
Every wonder why security is so tight at the airport?
The answer to this question is not in the Shulchan Aruch but everyone knows the answer.
Why must you walk through a metal detector, bomb detector and full body scan and pat down before going on the plane?
It’s because of those people who attend the Mosque!
You are safer davening in the lions Den next to the lion and bear and other wild animals since these wild animals have much less of a track record and have killed far less than those who attend the Mosque.
If all yidden become foolish enough to all start davening at the airport Mosque, we will no longer need any airport security at the gate because all suicide bombers will have a much easier time to find all their targets, far easier and quicker with no security check right at home, inside their Mosque where all terrorist activities ALWAYS are planned.
There has never EVER been any terrorist activity that was not firsr planed inside a Mosque.
Anyone SMART enough to daven in the place where everyone around him is thinking about how to kill him???? GOOD LUCK!
Shulchan Aruch says that it’s assur to daven in a Mokom Sakana, like while standing on a ladder where you have even the slightest fear that you can fall.
Certainly no one in their right mind can have Kavana and “close their eyes” when in fear that at any second they could be stabbed in the back (with eyes closed during shma or shmone esre), since the Mosque is filled with the likes of who believe it’s a MITZVAH for them to kill Jews.
It’s far less scary to daven on a ladder than to daven in the place most frequented by the likes of Ben Ladin and 9/11 ADMIRER’S and those who CELEBRATE when Yiden are Killed.
It’s assur to daven in a Mokom Sakana, al pi shulchan aruch.
Even if you argue that the chances are low to having a terrorist carry out what all Muslims want most to do to a yid davening in their Mosque, nevertheless Kavana is while sitting right next to the one who wants to see you dead, MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE wants you dead – it’s certainly impossible to have any kavana at all, unless you are so naive and so BRAIN DEAD, that you don’t even realize the danger.
In every Mosque they preach to them that it’s Muslims duty to kill all “non-believers” i.e. Kill all Yidden.
Rabbi hoffman once pointed out here on vin that the klausenberger rebbe ztl held that islam is avodah zarah so he would hold it is assur
I think that this ‘Zionist Rabbi’, needs a Refuah Shelema for even considering this recommendation.
“Many cities have election voting in churches, should we never vote?”
Generally, the voting takes place not in the Church proper but in an adjacent hall or gym that they do not use for prayer. Our local voting where I live takes place in a local Catholic school, in the school’s gym. All they do there when there is no voting is play basketball.
Tour great sorrow there are thousands of Jews, including those of all modes of orthodoxy who “daven” each year in a mosque. The mosque was built over M’orat Hamachpelah. Even though there are areas set aside for Jewish prayer, varying in size and location throughout the year, the building is a mosque. Even tose who follow the rulings of the Satamar Rav regarding the Kotel, find no problem, other than security and transportation in Davening in Chevron.
Absolutely correct – Islam, despite how it is preached by some, is not Avodah Zarah per se. Muslims worship the same G-d we do and count Avraham Avinu as their ancestor as well. Islam also has much more in common with Judaism than a lot of Jews are comfortable to admit.