Q & A - WITH RABBI RISKIN
Question:
Someone telephoned me on Friday afternoon, five minutes before candle-lighting, to say that he was stranded with his family on the road and did not know what to do. He could reach home before dark (tzeit hakochavim), but it would be after sunset (shkiah). What should he do?
Answer:
If something like this happened between the times of candle-lighting and sunset (shkiah) then in an emergency, he could make his journey home, so long as he arrived before sunset (shkiah). But from sunset onwards, he already risks the possibility of breaking the Biblical law rules of Shabbat.
There is a debate over how we define the day, whether it is from sunrise (netz hahamah) until three stars can be seen in the sky (tzeit hakochavim) or if it is from the first rays of sun until sunset. This is why there is a possibility that Shabbat indeed starts with the beginning of sunset (shkiah) and in any case of doubt regarding a Biblical commandment, the principle is that we always adopt a strict position,
I asked the caller exactly where he was located, because had he been in a remote place where there was an element of danger, then there would have been grounds to be lenient because of the mortal danger and the importance of saving life. Since he was in the center of town, I advised him to go with his family to the nearest synagogue where I was sure that the community would assist him.
