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From: Russell Hendel <rhendel@saber.towson.edu>
Date: Sun, 7 May 2000 21:59:23 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: RE: Heter to Carry Key In Shoe

Sherman Marcus writes in Mail Jewish V32n19
<< I just spoke to a couple who returned from a trip to Australia / New
Zealand where they heard a supposedly reliable heter that a key may be
carried on Shabbat by placing it in a shoe.

Has anyone heard such a heter? Could anyone speculate as to its
veracity? >>

Yes. I believe Rabbi Rackman introduced this permissability for people
who lived in dangerous neighborhoods in the New York Area. The
technicalities of it are that Carrying the Key in a shoe is a "non
normal" way of carrying and therefore only Rabbinically
prohibited. Hence, the argument went, one can violate rabbinic law if
one is in a bad neighborhood.

While the concerns are valid I would say that since permissable ways of
carrying a key (shabbath belts) exist we need not rely on this heter

Russell Jay Hendel; Phd ASA
Moderator Rashi is Simple
http://www.shamash.org/rashi/