With the rebound of travel in the post-Covid-19 world, an Orthodox Jew may find him- or herself facing halachic quandaries. Take the following quiz to find out how much you really know about kosher travel.
Good luck—and don’t forget to tally up your answers at the end!
1. If you travel to a place where a miracle happened to your father or grandfather [or any ancestor]—for example, visiting a site in Eastern Europe where a grandparent miraculously survived the Holocaust—what prayer should be recited?
A. Hallel
B. Tachanun
C. Nishmas
D. You should recite the blessing “she’asah nes l’avi [or l’imi] bamakom hazeh—Who performed a miracle for my father [or mother] in this place.”
Answer: D
As stated in Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 218:4, while one does not typically recite a blessing for a miracle that occurred to someone else, an exception is made for a person visiting a site where a miracle happened to his father—or grandfather. In such a case, the proper blessing is “she’asah nes l’avi [or l’imi] bamakom hazeh.”
2. In many hotels, there are video cameras in the hallways and at public entrances. Are you permitted to walk in front of the video camera on Shabbos knowing full well that you are being recorded?
A. It’s permissible in cases of great need.
B. No
C. Yes
D. Only if you are photogenic
Answer: C
This is based on the rulings of Rabbi Shmuel Wosner (Shevet HaLevi 10:160) and Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef (Yabia Omer 9:25). Their reasoning is that simply walking normally, even if it results in being recorded by a surveillance camera, is not considered a prohibited action. At most, it could be categorized as a pesik reisha d’lo nicha lei—a permitted act that unintentionally and inevitably causes a prohibited result, but in which the person has no interest.
In this case, it’s even more lenient than a typical pesik reisha, because the camera is recording continuously regardless of your presence; your walking does not actively cause a new melachah to occur.
3. May you walk past a motion-controlled LED light on Shabbos? For example, if walking into a hotel hallway triggers a sensor to make the light go on, is it okay to enter the hallway?
A. Depends on how much you need the light
B. Yes
C. No
D. You can walk by as long as your intention is not to turn on the light.
Answer: D
See the explanation for question 2.
However, if it is pitch black and you truly need the light, then turning it on would not be permissible. However, if a light is already on and the additional illumination merely enhances what is already sufficient, it would be permitted, since you can manage without the extra light.
4. If you are on a plane and would like to eat a sandwich, what should you do about washing netilas yadaim?
A. Nothing
B. Stick to a ketogenic diet for the duration of the flight.
C. “Wash” your hands with a sanitizing wipe.
D. It’s ideal to wash outside the lavatory. If this is not practical, use a cup and wash from the sink inside the lavatory.
Answer: D
See Shulchan Aruch, OC 158:1.
5. If you are traveling with your baby who has a dirty diaper, may you daven while seated next to the baby?
A. If you are running out of time to daven, yes
B. No
C. You may, if the baby is cute.
D. Yes, because he or she is just a baby.
Answer: B
One may not daven near anything that emits a bad odor when it spoils. This is based on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 79:1, and Mishnah Berurah there, n. 23.
The prohibition applies even if you personally cannot smell it—if you’re sitting close enough that someone with a normal sense of smell could detect the odor, it’s still forbidden to pray there.
6. If you are sitting on a plane and davening, do you still have to keep your feet together and bow at the correct places?
A. No, once you are not standing, there is no need.
B. Only if you are facing Jerusalem
C. Yes
D. It depends on which prayer you are reciting.
Answer: C
See Shu”t Iggeros Moshe, OC 4:20.
7. If you are driving, may you pull into a rest stop that has a non-kosher eatery? Is there a maris ayin (the prohibition against doing something permissible that might appear to others as a violation of Jewish law) issue involved?
A. It’s not a problem.
B. Depends if anyone is looking
C. It’s preferable not to.
D. None of the above
Answer: A
Maris ayin would not apply in this case as rest stops are frequented by everyone, even those who have no intention of eating anything there. Therefore, it is perfectly normal for observant Jews to be seen there without people assuming they are eating non-kosher food.
8. If you pull into a rest stop, may you purchase cold soda from a fountain if you recognize the brand as a kosher one?
A. No
B. Yes
C. Only if you are by yourself
D. If your friends are with you
Answer: B
This is because we can reasonably assume that an establishment would not substitute, say, Coca-Cola, with a different soda, due to the potential legal consequences.
9. May you buy coffee at a rest stop without a hechsher?
A. Only unflavored coffee
B. No way
C. Only if you are a coffee lover
D. Yes
Answer: A
You may purchase the coffee because, halachically, there is an assumption that cooking equipment owned by Gentiles is not considered ben yomo—that is, it has not been used within the past twenty-four hours. Therefore, any absorbed taste from non-kosher food is considered to have become stale and no longer renders the equipment prohibited for incidental use.
10. It is common during the summer to see stands at the side of the road with people selling fruits and vegetables. May one purchase cut fruit or vegetables from these stands?
A. Yes
B. No
C. You can on a hot day.
D. Depends on how hungry you are
Answer: A
The Rema (YD 96:5) writes that one may purchase lemons from a Gentile, even if the knife used may have previously come into contact with non-kosher food. His reasoning is that any non-kosher residue would be removed after the first few lemons were cut, leaving the remainder unaffected. Since the majority of lemons would have been sliced with a now-clean knife, all are permitted. Even if it’s unclear which lemon was cut first, the same principle applies: the majority were cut with an acceptable knife. The same halachic rationale would apply to fruit platters prepared in supermarkets.
11. Are you allowed to pray in a non-denominational chapel in an airport?
A. Only if you are davening with a minyan
B. Yes
C. No
D. Depends on the circumstances
Answer: C
As Rabbi Yisroel Belsky, zt”l—who served for nearly thirty years as a senior posek at OU Kosher—explained to the author: One may not pray in a space that gives recognition to another religion. Even if the chapel is labeled “non-denominational,” its association with multi-faith worship creates a halachic concern, and it should be avoided.
12. May you purchase a smoothie without a hechsher?
A. No
B. Yes
C. If you are hot and thirsty
D. Only in the tri-state area
Answer: A
Without a reliable kosher certification, there’s no way to be certain what ingredients are in the smoothie—or how they’re prepared. A hechsher ensures that someone knowledgeable is taking halachic responsibility for the product’s kashrus.
13. It is common Ashkenazic practice not to do laundry during the Nine Days and to wait until the afternoon of the 10th of Av to resume. If you’re going away on vacation the morning of the 10th, may you do laundry after the fast ends?
A. No, and there is no heter at all.
B. Depends if you have small children
C. Only if you abstain from eating meat and listening to music until the 11th of Av
D. Yes
Answer: D
As explained in Sefer Ahalech B’amitecha by Rabbi Betzalel Stern (p. 352), while the custom is to avoid doing laundry on the morning of the 10th of Av, many early posekim only extended restrictions to meat and wine. When there’s a genuine need—such as preparing for travel—it’s permissible to rely on the lenient opinions. For further discussion on the topic, see footnote 66 in the source cited.
How did you score?
3–5 correct: Go back to yeshivah.
5–10 correct: Not bad. But if you have any interest in globe-trotting, we suggest you brush up on your kosher travel skills.
More than 10 correct: Excellent. Bon Voyage!
Rabbi Donneal Epstein directs the Asian Desk of OU Kosher’s New Companies Department. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York. He is the author of Halachos for the Traveler, which addresses the specific problems that confront the kosher traveler.