This sugya discusses the Halachos regarding Yichud at night.  As we have seen throughout our journey in the Halachos of Yichud, there are various Heterim (leniencies and exceptions) to this Issur.  There is an added dimension to these Heterim – notably, the time of day.  How do these Heterim apply differently at night?

The allowances are stricter at night since we are concerned that one of the Shomrim may fall asleep, leading to a real Yichud situation.  We then need to address the following questions:

• ·         How many men/women would be considered a problem during the night?
• ·         If a Shomer is asleep, is he still considered a Shomer?
• ·         What if the sleeping Shomer is a child?  How many children does one need to be shomer at night?
• ·         How does this affect the heter of “Ishto Imo”?
• ·         What if the wife took sleeping pills?
• ·         What time is “night”?  What if the Shomer is a child?
• ·         What are the Halachos regarding travel in a bus or taxi during the evening hours?