Interesting Psak: Evacuating on Shabbos

With the war going on and residents needing to evacuate areas under fire, Chief Rabbi Rav Yitzchak Yosef has issued a psak on the need to evacuate on Shabbos.

According to the psak of Rav Yitzchak Yosef, if the security forces give an order to evacuate a town or an area out of concern of danger, the residents must listen and follow all the instructions of the security forces even if and when it entails "desecration" of Shabbos.

If the security forces say, as they do during evacuation, to shut off all electricity, to prevent possible fires from breaking out or from causing danger to security personnel, one must do so. If possible, shut the breakers employing a shinui - via an unusual method such as using your elbow or whatnot. 

Those who need to evacuate as per the security forces, in addition to necessities that they are told to take with them, they can also take with them personal belongings, even to an area outside of the eruv and in transit in an area where there is no eruv. They can take personal belongings even if they are not needed such as to prevent pikuach nefesh, such as tefillin, talis, toilet paper, clothes and anything else they might need. Better if possible that they not carry these items directly but they can be place din the vehicle transporting them. 

Rav Yosef does qualify the above by saying it only applies to items that are not muktza and prohibited to move or items that even if prohibited to move are needed due to pikuach nefesh such as a cellphone or wallet as per instructions of the security forces. Any item that is prohibited to move that is not needed and has no use in preventing pikuach nefesh cannot be taken with, cannot be added to a backpack or suitcase or put into the car. Even just putting such items in the car or suitcase is an unnecessary violation of Shabbos.

source: Kipa

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