By Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz

And afterwards Avraham buried his wife Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah facing Mamre, which is Chevron in the land of Canaan.

~ Bereishis 23:19

On special occasions, such as the week of Parshas Chayei Sarah, parts of Me’aras HaMachpelah, including Kever Yitzchak Avinu, which are used by Muslims during the rest of the year, are opened to the Jewish community. While it may be exciting to enter these areas that are usually off-limits, is it permitted to daven there, since the rest of the year it serves as a mosque? To address this question, we must clarify the status of Islam in halacha, as well as whether it is permitted to daven in an area that is a place of worship for another religion. This issue is discussed at length by Rav Shmuel Rabinovitch (Shaarei Tziyon 2:29), the Rav of the Kotel.

Avoiding Even the Appearance of Worshiping Avodah Zarah

The Mishna in Avodah Zarah (11b) teaches: A city that has idol worship within it is forbidden to enter, but if the idol worship is outside the city, it is permitted to enter. What is the ruling regarding traveling there? If the road is specifically designated for that place, it is forbidden. However, if one can travel on it to another place, it is permitted.

The Gemara explains that the basic rationale behind the Mishna is that it is forbidden to do anything that could lead another to mistakenly think he is engaging in avodah zarah activity. Similarly, the Gemara also cites a beraisa that prohibits bending down in front of an idol to remove a thorn or to pick up his money that fell, because it gives the impression that he is bowing to the idol.

Based on this, the Rambam (Peirush HaMishna) writes that one is prohibited to enter a city that contains a house of idolatry, and is certainly forbidden to live there. However, since nowadays Jews live in galus and are scattered among pagans, we have no choice but to live in such places. Still, the Rambam writes, it is certainly forbidden to enter into a beis avodah zarah or even to look at such a place.

Tosafos (Avodah Zarah 17b s.v. Neizil), commenting on the Gemara’s statement that it is better to travel on a path that leads past a house of ill repute than to travel past a house of idolatry, echoes the Rambam’s sentiments, adding that one should distance himself as much as possible from such a place. The Rashba (Avodah Zarah 12a s.v. B’Zman) adds that even if one lives in a city with avodah zarah, it is forbidden to walk on a street where the avodah zarah will be displayed, such as on a public holiday, unless that street also provides access to permitted venues. Otherwise, it looks like he is traveling to get to the avodah zarah. It is certainly forbidden to enter even the courtyard of a beis avodah zarah or to converse with one of the idolaters there, as it could lead others to think that he too is worshiping the avodah zarah. The Rashba adds that such activities are forbidden even for the sake of pikuach nefesh. Following the Rashba, the Tur (Y.D. 149), writes that it is forbidden to enter a beis avodah zarah even for pikuach nefesh. The Ritva (11b s.v. Masnisin), though, qualifies this ruling, stating that it only applies if the only reason idolaters enter the place in question is to worship the avodah zarah. However, if they sometimes enter for other reasons, such as for communal affairs or to take a shortcut, it would be permitted to go inside, since others will assume that he is entering for those permitted activities.

The Status of Islam

The Rambam famously writes (Hilchos Ma’achalos Asuros 11:7) that it is forbidden to drink the wine of non-Jews who are not idolaters, such as “these Yishmaelim,” but it is permissible to benefit from it. The Rambam maintained that the Arabs with whom he was used to dealing, i.e. Muslims, are not considered ovdei avadah zarah, and therefore it is permissible to benefit from, if not drink, their wine. He elaborates on this point in his Teshuvos (448), and writes that although they err in other ways, Muslims do believe in the one true G-d. He adds that although they may worship in ancestral locations that were once batei avodah zarah, they do not have avodah zarah-based intentions in their prayers. This is also the opinion of the Rashba (Toras HaBayis 130b), among other rishonim, that Islam is not avodah zarah.

However, Sefer HaEshkol (3:58) cites a teshuvah from the Geonim that Muslims are indeed considered to be practicing avodah zarah, based on the Gemara (Avodah Zarah 11b) that states that one of the remaining batei avodah zarah is in Arabia. The Meiri (Avodah Zarah 57) and Ran (Chiddushim, Sanhedrin 61b) cite this source as well, and the Ran explains further that even though Muslims don’t worship their prophet, they still bow and pray to his image, which is similar to real idolatry.

Entering a mosque would depend on this fundamental machlokes. According to the Rambam, who does not consider Islam to be avodah zarah, it would be permitted. However, according to the Ran, who does consider Islam to be avodah zarah, it would be forbidden. Since we accept the Rambam’s opinion, there should not be an issue. In fact, both Rav Elyashiv (cited in Shu”t Avnei Yishpeh 1:153) and Rav Ovadiah Yosef (Yabia Omer vol. 7 Y.D. 12) rule this way.

However, Rav Chaim Palagi (Chaim B’Yad 26) writes that while Islam may not be considered avodah zarah, mosques are still regarded as places of tumah from our perspective, and for a Jew to practice Islam would be seen as turning away from Hashem. Therefore, we would be obligated to give up our lives rather than convert to Islam, since it is still a foreign religion to the Jewish people. Thus, Rav Palagi writes that it is absolutely forbidden to daven in a mosque, since the concern of the Gemara that we cannot give the appearance of participating in another form of worship applies as much to Islam as it does to Christianity. He further rules that we must maintain a distance of at least four amos from the entrance of a mosque, just as we would from a church.

The Opinions of Contemporary Poskim

Rav Rabinovitch himself initially hesitates to permit entering and davening in the area of Kever Yitzchak Avinu, since the structure was built by the Muslims as a mosque and is generally used for this purpose. He is concerned for both the opinion of the Ran that Islam is avodah zarah as well as Rav Palagi that even if it is not avodah zarah, it is still forbidden to enter and daven in a mosque. However, the areas that are used regularly for tefillah on behalf of the Jewish people should be permissible to daven in. However, Rav Rabinovitch questions this as well, since the Gemara (Avodah Zarah 53b) and the Shulchan Aruch rule (Y.D. 146:10) that if non-Jews abandoned a beis avodah zarah due to war (and never nullified its status), the area retains its status as a beis avodah zarah. Since even the Jewish areas were previously used by Muslims for prayer, perhaps even these areas are problematic.

Rav Rabinovitch quotes a sevara from the Mishnas Chanoch (69) that since Muslims built the structure to honor the Avos it doesn’t have a negative status associated with it, but he rejects this argument because the fact remains that the area was built by Muslims as a mosque.

The Tzitz Eliezer (10:1:44) writes that it is forbidden to daven in any area of Me’aras HaMachpelah that is filled with Muslim books, or has Muslim symbols on the wall, even if we do not consider it to be an actual beis avodah zarah. The Klausenberger Rebbe (Shu”t Divrei Yatziv O.C. 90, Y.D. 40) also writes that it is forbidden to daven there. However, Sefer Oraisa (19, p. 317) states that the Klausenberger Rebbe paskened this way immediately following the Six Day War, when the Jews and Muslims prayed together in the same area. Nowadays, when they each have their own designated places, he would rule that it is permitted.

However, Rav Ovadiah Yosef argues that Islam is definitely not considered avodah zarah, and suggests that had the Ran heard all the Rambam’s arguments, he too would have admitted that this is the case. He therefore rules that it is absolutely permitted to daven in any area set aside as a beis haknesses in Me’aras HaMachpelah. This is also considered to be the opinion of Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv.

Rav Moshe Sternbuch (Teshuvos V’Hanhagos 4:35) writes that although it is distasteful to enter a mosque, it is technically permissible, and is therefore not problematic to enter and daven in Me’aras HaMachpelah. It is also known that Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach davened there himself. Based on all these poskim, Rav Rabinovitch ultimately rules that it is permissible to enter into and daven in the entire Me’aras HaMachpelah, including Kever Yitzchak. Although we do not allow political considerations to dictate halacha, we should also consider the perceptions of our actions. Refraining from davening at Me’aras HaMachpelah would give the incorrect impression that we do not consider it important, which could have negative consequences in future discussions about Jewish control over these areas. Therefore, there is another argument to avoid the stringencies of the minority opinions, and instead to follow the majority of poskim. This gives us a great opportunity to daven at the burial site of our Avos hakedoshim and, b’ezras Hashem, be meivi geulah livnei bineihem.