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Opening a church door

Question:

Shalom,
I have a question. If walk next to a church and an old man asks me to open the door for him so that he can enter and do the worship there, am I allowed to open it? On one hand, I am assisting him in doing his worship, but on the other hand, if I don’t open the door, maybe it will be a chilul Hashem.
Thank you in advance for your reply.

Answer:

In truth you should not be walking next to a church in the first place. The Shulchan Aruch Y:D 150-1 says that it is a mitzvah not to walk with in 4 amos of the door of a church. The reason is because we are to distance ourselves from their house of worship and avoda zara. There are many people that have the custom, to cross the street or walk in the gutter and not on the sidewalk when passing a church. If you are not walking next to the church this will not be an issue.

Best wishes

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