Parshas Shelach 5784 – Intriguing Questions & Answers

Can Taking Advantage of an “Early Bird Special” for Camp Registration Lead to a Problem of Ribbis?

Q: When signing our children up for summer camp, we were presented with the option of paying early and receiving a discount. We jumped at the opportunity to lessen the substantial expense of camp, but then someone suggested that taking advantage of this “early bird special” could possibly result in an issur of ribbis. In paying early, well before receiving any benefit, we’re essentially lending money to the camp. Then, when camp actually opens and the “borrower” repays the “loan” in the form of the many activities our children enjoy, we’ll be receiving benefit valued higher than what was lent (i.e., the discounted price). The camp will therefore be repaying more than it borrowed. But people make use of these opportunities all the time. Could it be that all this translates into actual ribbis?

A: This would depend upon how much and for what purpose the parents are paying. If the camp requests a registration fee as a means of securing the parent’s commitment, there’s no issue of ribbis. If, however, that “fee” is more substantial and is to be ultimately regarded as a partial or full discounted payment for the summer’s activities, there could be a problem of ribbis. According to some Poskim, early fees are always permissible, even if they will be counted toward the total cost of attendance, because the camp is using the money right away to cover preparatory and staff costs. This is considered as if the money is being invested immediately toward the children’s ultimate benefit. There is therefore no loan, “repayment” of which would begin only once camp opens and the children enjoy the activities.

Other Poskim, however, disagree with this and maintain that only in the case of a particularly large camp that is owned by a corporation can issues of ribbis be avoided. This position is based on the opinion of Harav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, who maintained that business entities owned by numerous people are essentially free of problems with ribbis, because their corporate structure obviates any scenario of a loan between two individuals (the only context, according to Rav Feinstein, in which the laws of ribbis apply). Still, some Poskim prefer not to rely on Rav Feinstein’s leniency and recommend that one should sign a heter iska to avoid all possible difficulties.

The ruling I received from my rebbe Harav Avigdor Nevenzahl, shlit”a, is that there are no issues of ribbis even when a substantial, “early bird special” fee is intended to cover the entire cost of one’s children’s attendance – because, as mentioned, those funds are utilized immediately to cover preparatory costs that directly affect the children’s ultimate benefit and cannot be regarded as a loan that will be paid back only once the children are enjoying camp activities.

May a Man Whose Wife Has Given Birth Leave the Hospital on Shabbos with the Medical Identification Band Still Fastened to His Wrist?

Q: My wife just gave birth, baruch Hashem, and we’re here at the hospital for Shabbos. As is usually the case, the hospital is not located within an eruv, so can I walk outside with the identification band still on my wrist? What’s the halachic status of these plastic bands with regard to carrying on Shabbos?

A: I’ll mention the basic guidelines for wearing items outside on Shabbos within an area unenclosed by an eruv.

The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 301:7,14) states that going out of the eruv with any normal item of clothing or adornment worn in a normal manner, even when the body derives no benefit from that item, is not considered carrying on Shabbos. Additionally, clothing or other articles worn to protect the body, or alleviate pain, are considered part of the body and do not therefore present an issue with regard to carrying outside of an eruv on Shabbos. For example, someone who must place cotton in his infected ear may walk outside of an eruv with that cotton in place, because we regard the protective, healing material as being part of his body.

Many items are seen as being part of the body or regular articles of clothing and adornment, and it is beyond the scope of this article to mention them all. Regarding our question of the hospital identification band, however, we must discern whether this plastic bracelet, which is neither an article of clothing nor one of adornment, can be considered as an article that the body needs. It very much resembles a wristwatch, which is itself a matter of halachic discussion as to whether it is considered a piece of jewelry (and is therefore like an article of clothing) or a purely functional mechanism for telling time.

Though most permit wearing a watch outside of an eruv, some recommend an extra measure of piety in refraining from doing so in a place that is considered a reshus harabim, like Manhattan. We generally comply with the ruling that the hospital ID band worn by the father of a newborn is not an article of clothing or adornment; and nor is it protective. As such, one may not wear it outside of the eruv on Shabbos. I will note, however, that some great Poskim permit this in situations of great need, but they, too, prefer that one be stringent.

Recently, in the wake of the terrible tragedy that befell the Jewish people on October 7th/Simchas Torah, the question came to me regarding someone who wears a chain necklace with a military-style dog tag bearing the inscription “הלב שלנו שבוי בעזה” (Our heart is held hostage in Gaza) – Bring them home now!”. Since the person wears it not as a piece of jewelry but, rather, as a sign of support, can he wear it outside an eruv on Shabbos? I ruled that if the person is staying outside of an eruv-enclosed area, it is best to remove it before Shabbos. Harav Nevenzahl concurred with this decision.

Must a Person Stand Up for His Father Who Is Stricken with Alzheimer’s?

Q: Unfortunately, my father is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and as a result, we can’t tell if he’s aware of what’s going on around him. When he walks into the room, should I still stand up for him, even though he seems oblivious to the show of honor?

A: This question has already been addressed by the great Acharonim with regard to a blind parent. Based on examples in the Gemara of children who respectfully stood at the approach of their blind fathers, the Poskim have noted that one’s obligation to honor one’s parent in this way is not contingent upon the parent’s awareness of the child’s gesture.

This is similar to the general halachos of kibbud av, which dictate that though a father may absolve his son of the obligation to stand, that decision remains limited to matters between human beings. However, the son’s duty extends beyond any dispensation granted by his father and, in reality, is encompassed by kevod Shamayim – i.e., matters between man and G-d. This is because the father was Hashem’s chosen vehicle in bringing the son’s neshamah down into the world and in caring for it. As such, the father’s honor is intertwined with that of Shamayim, so the son’s obligation prevails, regardless of the father’s wishes.

So too here. The son’s obligation remains extant, regardless of the father’s awareness.

Additionally, it is very often unclear to family members what the Alzheimer’s patient senses around him, as the son in our case mentioned outright. In the depths of his inner world, the father may well appreciate his son’s standing up for him when he walks, seemingly oblivious, into the room. Many great Rabbanim have, in fact, asked me to discuss this matter with my father, Dr. Tali Skoczylas, z”l, who specialized in geriatrics and was very familiar with these patients. My father responded that though those with Alzheimer’s suffer from cognitive impairment, they often remain aware of their surroundings and understand what’s going on.

And yet another concern here would be others perceiving the son’s well-meaning (albeit mistaken) decision to not stand for his father as blatant disrespect. If only to avoid this chillul Hashem, the son should rise when his father enters the room.

Mazel Tov to Harav Moshe Kapalovitz

Mazel Tov to Harav Moshe Kapalovitz, Rosh Chabura at Kollel Lihoraah Yerushalayim on the birth of his son, Pinchos Shimon.

כשם שנכנס לברית כן יכנס לתורה לחופה ולמעשים טובים

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