Summer Scenarios

Prepared for print by Faigy Peritzman

In my bungalow colony, I often get together for game night or schmoozing with other women across the road, and I hire a babysitter to stay with my kids. I know there is an issue of yichud with my nine-year-old son, but I feel like the casual come and go of the bungalow colony may make this acceptable here. Am I correct?

In general, the scenario you describe wouldn’t be considered a yichud situation, since the babysitter is aware that you can come back to the bungalow at any given moment. Even if ultimately you don’t show up for many hours, it still isn’t considered yichud, since you may return at any given minute without warning. In addition, the presence of other children in the bungalow would also, in many cases, eliminate the yichud concern.

Driving in the country always gets me so nervous. I’d like to say Tefillas Haderech every time I leave my colony regardless of how far I’m going. Is this permissible?

Nowadays some poskim allow reciting Tefillas Haderech even when traveling within the same city or within the outskirts of the same city (since car accidents are just as common inside a city as they are outside of it). Some poskim disagree with this ruling, since they maintain that Tefillas Haderech was initially established only for intercity travel. In your case, the best recommendation is for you to recite Tefillas Haderech during Shema Koleinu (before saying the words ki Atah shomeia) during Shacharis or Minchah before you embark on your trip. This will work according to all opinions.

We’re spending a week in an Airbnb and wanted to know if there’s any way to kasher the microwave. What about kashering a grill?

Kashering a microwave from non-kosher to kosher is halachically debatable. While some poskim permit kashering a clean microwave by placing a utensil filled with water inside the microwave and heating it until the entire chamber is filled with thick steam, other poskim question this procedure, and are opposed to kashering a microwave altogether. In practice, if you must use a microwave in the Airbnb, then kasher it as described and then double wrap the food before heating it up.

A grill can technically be kashered through libun chamur, but unless you’re trained and have experience in kashering grills, it’s strongly not recommended. This is especially true for a grill found in an Airbnb, which doesn’t belong to you and can easily get ruined through the kashering process.