*** This Halacha deals with topic of Yichud. Yichud is the concept that a man may not be secluded with a forbidden woman. Please read all the Halachot on this topic as there are conditions and exclusions that must be fully understood before accepting Lema’ase. ***
As we explained in the previous Halacha, a man and lady may ride an elevator alone together so long as the elevator trip takes 1.5 minutes or less, or so long as there is probability that people on other floors would summon the elevator and enter within the 1.5 minutes. So the question is then asked about an elevator ride that would take more than 1.5 minutes, and where there is no possibility or probability that others would call upon it and enter. This is common in very tall buildings like the Empire State Building, where there is an express elevator that rides from the lobby to the observation deck on the top floor. That ride takes more than 1.5 minutes and does not stop in the middle. So would it be permissible for a man to ride on this elevator alone with a lady or even many ladies? And if it’s not permissible, are their then ways to get around this problem?
According to the laws of Yichud, it would not be permissible for a man to be alone with a lady or many ladies on an elevator whereby the ride takes more than 1.5 minutes, and where there is no possibility for another person to call upon the elevator. However, there are ways around this problem. 2 Ways are as follows:
1) It would be permissible for a man and lady to be alone on an elevator ride that takes more than 1.5 minutes, if there is a video camera on the elevator that’s being watched by security, and when the man and lady are aware that the camera is present monitoring their activity. Sometimes there’s a sign posted in the elevator that states that the elevator is under video surveillance. So they are permitted to be alone together, so long as they know they are being watched, as such would prevent any inappropriate behavior or activity.
2) Another way to get around the problem of Yichud in this case, is for the man to push a floor button thereby causing the elevator to make a stop and break up the trip. This way the trip would take less than 1.5 minutes, and the ride would be permissible. Now, some Rabbis said that the guy is going to look like a fool doing this, but the Chachamim say that it would be better for a person to look like a fool in this world, than Chas VeShalom to look like a Rasha (bad) in Olam Haba (next world). So if a man and lady enter an elevator alone and they are both traveling to the 100th floor, and the ride is going to take more than 1.5 minutes, it would then be required for one of them to push the button for the 50th floor, so that they may break up the trip and avoid the problem of Yichud.
There is a question asked by Rabbi Menashe Klein who was called the Mishne Halachot. He asks how do we deal with the possibility that a man may push the stop button when legally riding an elevator alone with a woman? If a man pushes the stop button, they will then have a problem of Yichud. They can be riding from floor 1 to floor 2 which normally would take 10 seconds, but what about the possibility of a man pushing the stop button while in between floors? So the Rabbi answers and says that we are not suspicious of such an action. We do not concern ourselves about this possibility. The Rabbi proves his point by referring to other cases of Yichud. We learned that there is no problem of Yichud in the house so long as the door is opened or unlocked. In those cases we didn’t ask about the possibility of the man closing or locking the door. We are not suspicious that a man is going to commit a Ma’Ase Resha (evil action.) And therefore, we do not concern ourselves about one who may push the stop button in an elevator. We do not expect one to put himself in a problem of Yichud and make an Avera.
It should be pointed out that these elevator leniencies apply during the day, and apply also during the early night. However there is concern in the middle of the night. One should be Machmir and avoid seclusion in an elevator in the late hours of the night when most people in the building are asleep and thus would not be riding the elevator. Late at night, it is probable that others will not call the elevator as needed to help with the problem of Yichud. So therefore, a man should try not to be alone on an elevator late at night with a lady.
