Understanding the technology and electronics behind pre-screening for our safety when we travel and what Jewish texts teach us about safety.
What does the Bible have to say about safety?
What do these Biblical Commentators add to our understanding of Deuteronomy 22:8?
Is it valid to apply the meaning of Deuteronomy 22:8 to other situations?
The justification for this is from the ruling of Rabbi Natan, as it is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Natan says: From where is it derived that one may not raise a vicious dog in his house, and one may not set up an unstable ladder in his house? The verse states: “You shall not bring blood into your house” (Deuteronomy 22:8), i.e., one may not allow a hazardous situation or item to remain in one’s house. As long as the hazard remains, the owner is in violation of this verse and therefore the court may excommunicate him for failing to remove the danger.
הלכה: אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה בַיִת. אֵין לִי אֶלָּא אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה. לָקַח יָרַשׁ נִיתַּן לוֹ בְמַתָּנָה מְנַיִין. תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר הָאִישׁ מִי הָאִישׁ. מְנַיִין הַבּוֹנֶה בֵית הַתֶּבֶן בֵּית הַבָּקָר בֵּית הָעֵצִים בֵּית הָאוֹצָרוֹת מְנַיִין. תַּלמוּד לוֹמַר אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה. מִכָּל־מָקוֹם. יָכוֹל הַבּוֹנֶה בֵית שַׁעַר וְאֶכְסֶדְרָה וּמִרְפֶּסֶת יְהֵא חוֹזֵר. תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר בַּיִת. מַה בַיִת מְיוּחָד שֶׁהוּא בֵית דִּירָה. יָֽצְאוּ אֵילּוּ שֶׁאֵינָן בֵּית דִּירָה. יָצָא בַיִת שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ אַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת עַל אַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת. דְּתַנֵּי. בַּיִת שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ אַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת עַל אַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת פָּטוּר מִן הַמַּעֲקֶה וּמן הַמְזוּזָה וּמִן הָעֵירוּב.
HALAKHAH: “Who built a house”, not only who built; if he bought, inherited, or it was given to him as a gift, from where? The verse says, “the man,” “who is the man”. From where he who builds a barn, a cow-shed, a wood-shed, a storage facility, from where? The verse says, “who builds”. I could think that one who builds a portico, a covered walkway, and a verandah would return; the verse says “house”; the house is distinguished by the fact that it can be used as a dwelling. This excludes those items which cannot be dwellings. It also excludes a house which does not enclose four by four cubits. As it was stated: A house which does not enclose four by four cubits is free from the obligation of a parapet, or a mezuzah, or an erub.
(ח) כי תבנה בית חדש, אין לי אלא בונה לקח ירש ונתן לו במתנה מנין תלמוד לומר בית מכל מקום. לא תשים דמים בביתך, אין לי אלא בית מנין לבונה בית התבן בית הבקר בית העצים בית האוצרות תלמוד לומר ולא תשים דמים בביתך, יכול אף הבונה בית שער אכסדרה ומרפסת תלמוד לומר בית, מה בית מיוחד שהוא בית דירה יצאו אלו שאינם בית דירה. ועשית מעקה לגגך, אין לי אלא גג מנין לרבות בורות שיחים ומערות חריצים ונעיצים תלמוד לומר ולא תשים דמים בביתך, אם כן למה נאמר גג פרט לכבש בית לרבות היכל, גג פרט לאולם. חדש, רבי אומר משעת חדשו עשה לו מעקה. כמה הוא מעקה מעגילו שלשה טפחים בית דורסו עשרה. ועשית מעקה לגגך, מצות עשה. ולא תשים דמים בביתך, מצות לא תעשה. כי יפול הנופל ממנו, ראוי זה שיפול אלא מגלגלים זכות על ידי זכיי וחובה על ידי חייב. ממנו, ולא לתוכו שאם היה רשות הרבים גבוה ממנו עשרה טפחים ונפל ממנו לתוכו פטור שנאמר ממנו ולא לתוכו.
"If you build a new house, you shall make a railing for your roof": This tells me only of "building." Whence do I derive (the same for) acquiring, inheriting, and receiving as a gift? From (Ibid.) "and you shall not place blood in your house" — in any event. "a house": This tells me only of a house. Whence do I derive (the same for) a straw-bin, a cattle-shed, and a store-house? From "If you build." In that case I might think (that also included) is the building of a gateway, a portico, or a porch; it is, therefore, written "a house." Just as a "house" is characterized by being subject to occupancy (so, all that are similarly characterized are subsumed in the halachah) — to exclude the aforementioned, which are not thus characterized. "you shall make a railing for your roof": This tells me only of a roof. Whence do I derive the same (i.e., the need for protective safeguards) for holes, pits, caves, and ditches? From "and you shall not place blood in your house" (i.e., in the domain of your house. If so, why is "roof" mentioned? To exclude a ramp (and the like). "a new house": Rebbi says: From the time of its "newness" (i.e., even before it is inhabited), make a railing for it. "a house": to exclude an ulam (an entrance hall). How (high a railing is required for) a place (where one keeps) his rolling machine? Three hand-breadths. For the part used for walking about? Ten hand-breadths. "you shall make a railing for your roof": a positive commandment. "and you shall not place blood in your house": a negative commandment. (Ibid.) "when the faller falls from it":
So what is the Jewish Law on Safety?
This applies with regard to a building used as a dwelling. But for a warehouse or a cattle barn and the like, there is no necessity. Similarly, any building that is not four cubits by four cubits does not require a guardrail.
A guardrail must be a partition strong enough to enable a person to lean on it without falling.
Anyone who leaves his roof open without a guardrail negates the observance of a positive commandment and violates a negative commandment, as Deuteronomy 22:8 states: "Do not cause blood to be spilled in your home." The violation of this commandment is not punished by lashes, for it does not involve a deed.
Can an Airport be considered a "house"?
What is a mezuzah? Why and how do we use it?
https://reformjudaism.org/beliefs-practices/lifecycle-rituals/what-mezuzah-why-and-how-do-we-use-it
The Hebrew word mezuzah means “doorpost.” According to tradition, the mezuzah is to be affixed to the doorpost at the entrance to a Jewish home as well as at the entrance to each of the interior rooms except for bathrooms. The mezuzah itself consists of a small scroll of parchment (k’laf ) on which are written two biblical passages. The first is Deuteronomy 6:4–9:
Hear, O Israel! The Eternal is our God, the Eternal alone. You shall love the Eternal your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead; inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
The World’s Largest Mezuzah Is Over a Meter Long
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4444490/jewish/16-Mezuzah-Facts-Every-Jew-Should-Know.htm
In 2010, officials affixed the world’s largest kosher mezuzah (to be installed in a doorway) in the interior entranceway of Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport. The completed parchment and case together measure more than a meter in length. There have since been other, larger mezuzahs installed in other places.
What does Judaism say on the concept of "Privacy" and the "Public Good"?
But a trustworthy soul keeps a confidence.
Judaism and Privacy
Jewish ethics value the right to privacy, but it's unclear how much.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/judaism-and-privacy/
Talmudic Surveillance
As for Big Brother, the lack of Jewish sovereignty for much of the Jewish experience has resulted in a dearth of serious thinking about this problem. However, given the general thrust of Jewish views on privacy, its likely that community needs would outweigh individual interests, provided those community needs were legitimate, not simply an abuse of power for power’s sake. Thus, the Mishnah teaches that a “sting” operation of sorts is permitted in the case of the “enticer” who proselytizes for idolatrous religions. Jewish law requires two eyewitnesses for conviction. But if one is approached by an enticer, he is permitted to recruit another witness, hide that witness behind the curtain, and ask the enticer to repeat his solicitation to idolatry. This is not exactly the type of invasive surveillance that has American civil libertarians up in arms, but it does demonstrate the principle that spying, even on coreligionists, has its place.
Conclusion
In recent decades, technological advances have seriously eroded personal privacy. Whether it’s airport scanners that peer underneath clothing or consumer databases collecting everything from employment histories to purchasing preferences or video cameras at ATMs and on traffic lights, technology has transformed personal, everyday activities into opportunities for collecting, sifting, and sorting personal data.
Whether Jewish tradition views this development as good, bad, or neutral is anybody’s guess. But it’s likely that a Jewish perspective would not consider this loss of privacy an evil in and of itself. Rather the Jewish view of privacy would probably judge these changes instrumentally by their effects on society. Does less privacy equal greater public safety or individual authenticity? If so, it may not be a problem after all. In a traditional Jewish discourse, invoking privacy as a magic word certainly will not do, not least because ancient Hebrew doesn’t even have one.
What is Responsa Literature?
Responsa Definition - Reform Judaism.org
A genre of Jewish literature developed from the period of the exile in Babylonia to the present. In the typical format, a legal question is posed and a legal response is offered. There are thousands of responsa addressing virtually every aspect of Jewish ritual and ethical life. Singular: responsum.
FINAL QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
- Is an airport to be considered a "house"?
- Should the use of x-ray technology be understood as a guard rail at the airport? Or is it an intrusion of privacy?
- How might we apply these texts to justify or not justify safety at the airport?
- There is a dearth of literature on the technology, privacy and the public good. What would you want to say if writing a Responsa on "THE USE OF X-RAY TECHNOLOGY AT THE AIRPORT"?