6128 – The Will of The Wheel Chair? -
Q. Can someone who does not carry any objects during Shabbos even where there is a functional kosher proper Eruv use a wheel chair to be driven or drive himself during Shabbos?
A. Whether or not a handicapped person is allowed to wheel himself in a manually operated wheelchair is a subject of much dispute among contemporary Poskim: Some forbid it altogether, (Har Tzvi,O.H.170. Others permit it completely. (Igros Moshe, O.H. 4:90; Ohr Tziyon 2:23-5.)
However a third opinion permits it in a Karmelis but not in a Reshus Horabbim. (MinchasYitzchak 2:113; Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchosoh 34:27.)
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by, Horav Yaakov Hirschman, Horav, Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller, Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu and Horav Kalman Ochs Shlit’a
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Reviewed by: Hagaon Rav Shlomo Miller Shlit'a
Published: October 18, 2026