In memory of
Miriam bat Elliya z”l, a gorgeous, authentic soul who comforted and warmed the
hearts of all she had contact with. She made everyone she spoke to feel truly
seen.
The Talmud, Yoma 85b, discusses the
origin of the concept that saving a life overrides Shabbat. Rav Yehuda said in
the name of Shmuel: It is written (Vayikra 18:5) “v’chai bahem”, “You shall
keep My decrees and My laws which if a person obeys they shall live through
them…” which implies that one should not die on account of observing the
mitzvot.
The saving of life overrides any
commandment. Yoma 82a explains that nothing stands in the way of “pikuach
nefesh”, saving a life, other than the cardinal sins of idol worship, illicit
relations or murder.
In Yoma, 83a, we are taught that if
a person is sick on Yom Kippur, we feed them on the advice of experts since
this is in the category of “safek nefashot”, uncertainty involving danger to life.
In matters involving danger to life, we are bidden to rule leniently (safek
nefashot lehakel). It is better to err on the side of treating the patient.
Rav Matya ben Charash taught (Yoma
84a): One who feels pain in his mouth, we put medicine in his mouth for him on
Shabbat.
The rabbis derive from here that it
is permissible to break Shabbat to prepare the medicine for him. If the
medicine will be effective, it warrants the suspension of all of the Shabbat
laws.
Why is it necessary for the mishna
to add that every possible danger to life (safek nefashot) supersedes Shabbat?
Rashi explains that even if he will
certainly not die this Shabbat, we are afraid that if we don’t treat him right
away, he may subsequently die. If the doctor requests that a person start to
take medication on Shabbat then they should take it right away and not wait
until Saturday night.
We are taught in Yoma 84b, that in
matters involving danger to life on Shabbat, one who is quick is praiseworthy.
They do not need authorization of the Beit Din (court) to proceed.
Some examples that are listed in the
Talmud: If a child fell into the sea, or into a pit, one can bring him up. If a
child is stuck in a locked room, one may break the door to rescue him. If there
is a fire, one can extinguish it on Shabbat.
We see from here, that when danger
to life is involved, saving a life supersedes the mitzvot.
During these difficult times, one
may ask how it is possible that most synagogues in the world are closed. Isn’t
it important to pray with a minyan?
Since the health authorities feel
that those who are packed into a synagogue can spread the virus, we must listen
to them. Unfortunately, many were infected in Israel and throughout the world
in synagogues over Purim as well as in daily minyanim and on Shabbat before the
new regulations went into effect. Just as in the case of Yom Kippur, we trust
the experts to determine if the person should eat or not, so too, we must trust
the doctors who insist that we do not to open the synagogues at this time.
Although it is not easy to be away
from the community for so long, we must also follow the view that even if there
is a chance that there could be danger, we must take the lenient view and tell
people not to pray with a minyan. In Israel, they are now allowing outdoor
minyanim, where groups of nineteen can pray together outside if everyone is standing
two meters apart. In some communities this may work. In others, people may not
be able to resist socializing which could end up being very dangerous.
It is better to stay safe now and
follow the orders, even if it means performing less mitzvot in order to keep
the community healthy so that we will be able to observe more mitzvot in the
future. |