According to Kikar, Rav Yitzchak Zilbershtein, rav of Ramat Elchonon neighbrohood of Bnei Braq, was asked an old question that was famously discussed by Rav Moshe Feinstein.
A teacher in a Haredi seminar asked Rav Zilbershtein about how to handle the bus situation. The buses are very crowded in the morning and evening when men go to kollel, yeshiva and seminary students go to learn, kids go to school, teachers go to teach.. There are not enough buses on the lines, so the ones that do run are very crowded at the busy hours of the day.
The issue with this is, it is so crowded it can lead to breaches of tzniyus, men and women touching as the bus hurtles forward, brakes, jerks around turns, etc.
While they have approached the askanim to arrange more buses at the busy hours, until then, what should one do about this situation? As long as the situation stays the same is one even allowed to travel on these buses?
Rav Zilbershtein responded that Rav Moshe Feinstein related to a similar question in New York on public transportation and had paskened that such contact is not intentional and is not categorized as touching of any intimacy or desire and is not even prohibited on a rabbinic level, so one could ride on a crowded subway train or bus, even knowing that at times it will cause people to touch.
Rav Zilbershtein continues and says that today's situation is different than the one Rav Moshe related to back then. In Rav Moshe's time he was talking about married men going to work, they were not interested in the other women. Additionally they were traveling distances that could not be accomplished by walking as an alternative. Today's situation being asked about is different as it involved young men and women going to yeshiva and seminary. At such a young age they have desires and their "yetzer" burns inside like a fire, and it will definitely cause improper thoughts.
Ergo, Rav Zilbershtein paskened, if a bus is overcrowded and one cannot travel with men and women separated as would be proper, even Rav Moshe would agree that one cannot alight such a bus - neither men nor women. How can one begin his or her day and succeed in learning when he or she travels without kedusha! Additionally, usually the distance involved is not so great and walking is a viable alternative, so the bus in such a situation is unacceptable.
Rav Zilbershtein added that nowadays with a situation of danger, it is even worse, because the care for tzniyus protects us. Lessening the kedusha leaves us exposed to the dangers.
I guess that is one way to relieve the buses of being overcrowded.. if the other methods dont work...
I do wonder about the statement that married men have no yetzer and do not have such thoughts or interests in the women around them. I wonder if Rav Moshe would have agreed to such a distinction.
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