Questions tagged [medicine]

NOTE: For professional medical advice, please contact your physician.

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Is someone halachically obligated if anesthetized? Comatose?

If someone slept in until 1pm, they should daven a double Amida at Mincha, to make up for the Shacharis that they were obligated, but missed. On the other hand, if someone was busy arranging for a ...
Shalom's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
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Aloe Vera on Shabbat and Yom Tov

Is one who is burnt allowed to put aloe Vera on the burnt area on Shabbat or Yom Tov? Medicine is generally prohibited on Shabbos (pikuach nefesh is ALWAYS an exception), but even outside pikuach ...
Kirk's user avatar
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Pulse feeling in ancient times

The Shulchan Aruch Y.D. 195:17 (Harchakos Niddah) rules: אם בעלה רופא אסור למשש לה הדפק: הגה ולפי מה שכתבתי דנוהגין היתר אם צריכה אליו דמשמש לה כ"ש דמותר למשש לה הדפק אם אין רופא אחר וצריכה אליו ...
Yitzy 's user avatar
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A medicinal drink turning into a pleasure drink mid-guzzle

I am not, to my knowledge, thirsty, but I need to take a pill with water, so I do so without a beracha (see Shulchan Aruch OC 204:7). As I swallow the pill, I realise that I am enjoying the water, and ...
Rabbi Kaii's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
260 views

Are Colgate wisps allowed?

I am basing my question based off a question asked here. It seems like from there the general consensus seems that toothpaste does not have to be kosher. The way the wisp works is that it is a mini ...
Seeker's user avatar
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2 answers
108 views

Can one use psychedelic substances for healing

Medical practices around the world have been trialling different substances such as psylocibyn and ketamine for depression and PTSD and have come out with positive results under safe and controlled ...
yosefkorn's user avatar
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3 votes
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Intimacy, עוֹנָה and Narcotics

One is not allowed to be drunk during intimacy with one's spouse. See, for example Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 150:13, Mishneh Torah Issurei Biya 21:12. I also remember a long time ago seeing a very strong ...
Rabbi Kaii's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
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Rambam’s view on sleep applying nowadays?

The Rambam states that when falling asleep, one should start off sleeping on his left side, and then switch to the right eventually, and then just rotate between those two positions for the entire ...
Curious Yid's user avatar
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1 vote
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Can a kohen have a child by IVF with a divorce. What is the status of the child?

Is there any workaround avialable for thousands of kohanim who want to have children but are older singles and can't get married because of the high percentage of divorcees in the female population ...
Reuven A. Stone's user avatar
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Can I refuse an ambulatory care biopsy on conscience objection?

Genesis 9:4. To eat a limb torn from a live animal is unspeakably cruel. There are numerous diagnosis tools for any medical condition, all partially specific and reliable. Most of the time several ...
Pioni5777's user avatar
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Receiving animal based organ transplants

I was looking at the idea of receiving an organ transplanted from an animal as in this question. One issue which was not raised is that of tum'ah. Though the transplant might be acceptable for many ...
rosends's user avatar
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1 vote
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Medical Term for Aylonit איילונית

Is there a modern medical term for an איילונית? Is this someone just lacking female hormones?
Mark's user avatar
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2 answers
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Corona "parties" for children

Background Particularly throughout this present omicron wave, people have floated the idea of having childrens' "corona parties". In such a 'party' parents invite previously uninfected ...
bondonk's user avatar
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1 answer
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May one take vitamins without a hechsher? [closed]

I.e, vitamins from big pharmacies. Are there kashrus issues? Must they be certified?
michael's user avatar
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3 answers
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How do Jews discern genuine spiritual experiences from hallucinations?

When believers appeal to their private spiritual experiences to argue for their faith, skeptics typically respond by dismissing their stories entirely, conjecturing that these are more likely cases of ...
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Prayer before a general anaesthetic

Every night, prior to bed, people recite the Shema. Affixed to that recitation is a variety of psukim and brokhes, requesting of Hashem that He ensure that we will sleep well, without any disturbance, ...
Shimon bM's user avatar
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Would cryogenic freezing while still alive be permissible?

As answered here and here, halachic death is defined as an irreversible heart [and/or respiration, and/or brain] cessation. If so, would cryogenically freezing someone while they're still alive1 be ...
user9806's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
275 views

How can heart transplants be permitted?

Are there authorities who hold that a stopped heart constitutes halachic death, but yet permit heart transplants? Stopping and taking out the recipient's heart would seem to be technically considered ...
user9806's user avatar
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-2 votes
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What is breathing for, according to sages?

Initially, God breathed a soul into Adam through his nostrils (Gen 2.7). So we definitely know that breathing (נשימה) is linked somehow to the soul (נשמה). We require breathing to survive and without ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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Doctors losing their licence/ r'shut beit din

Various sources refer to doctors acting with the permission of the beit din; some suggest that this is a mandatory requirement and that it is forbidden to practice medicine without such permission (eg ...
Zarka's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
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Is it permissible to peel open a contact lens blister on Shabbos? Does wearing the contact as a bandage to shield the cornea change the rule?

Soft Contact Lenses are a polymer lenses that are worn on the surface of the eye as alternative to prescription glasses and less commonly as a bandage (protect the surface of the eye, the "cornea&...
M.Drabinsky's user avatar
-4 votes
1 answer
88 views

What is the mechanism of death by poisoning?

The four deaths mentioned in the Jewish law have a very straightforward physical impact on the body. All of them cause inability to breathe which is linked to "maintenance" of the soul, and ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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1 answer
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When one is diagnosed with a terminal disease, is refusing treatment a form of suicide or acceptable considering the circumstances?

People are diagnosed with terminal illnesses on a regular basis. Many times a person refuses to undergo treatment because they don't wish to experience the pain and exhaustion that would entail. While ...
Michael's user avatar
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3 votes
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Vaccines using aborted fetal cells

A friend of mine informed me that a few coronavirus vaccines might have used aborted fetal cells during development and/or production. What I have found by so far is that these cells were grown in ...
Kazi bácsi's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
260 views

What blessings would one say upon receiving the COVID19 vaccine?

I have some gaps in my Jewish knowledge, but it seems prudent to recite Shehechiyanu upon receiving the first shot, as it is a momentous occasion. Not just momentous for your own health, but the ...
Jeff's user avatar
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0 answers
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יהי רצון שיהיה לרפואה on optional pills

Many say יהי רצון שיהיה לרפואה before taking pills and other forms of medicine: Flavorless medicine, such as pills that you swallow, do not require a blessing—but we do say a prayer that the medicine ...
Shalom Meisels's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
331 views

Black seed (Nigella Sativa) - "קצח" in talmud

Black seed ("Nigella Sativa"), known as קצח in Modern Hebrew, is known for having medicinal qualities - but is it at all mentioned in the Talmud or any Jewish sources as treatment to most ...
Henda Brahem's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
84 views

Kashrus in nasal vaccinations [duplicate]

In the UK, the influenza vaccination contains pork. The nasal flu vaccine does contain hydrolysed gelatine derived from pork as one of its additives. Gelatine is commonly used in a range of ...
Y Stroli's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
354 views

Egg donation within a family

If a woman were to donate her eggs to a family member who, unfortunately, could not conceive on her own, would that invoke considerations of halachic incest if the man who would fertilize the egg ...
rosends's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
101 views

Should a doctor use a promising-but-unproven medicine, or handle it via a clinical trial?

Suppose a patient has a life-threatening disease. The doctor can treat with a drug that sounds promising, but more data are needed before it's solidly proven to work. Alternatively, the doctor can use ...
Shalom's user avatar
  • 131k
2 votes
1 answer
186 views

Can an Orthodox doctor ask a not-yet-religious Jewish doctor to take his shabbos rounds?

Can an Orthodox doctor ask a not-yet-religious Jewish colleague to exchange Shabbos hospital rotations?
NJM's user avatar
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-1 votes
1 answer
221 views

Cleaning tefillin from Covid19 contact

If someone contacts COVID-19, then everything they touch has to be disinfected. This is normally done with a wet disinfectant. Are there any recommendations for how to do this for tefillin to avoid ...
Avrohom Yitzchok's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
211 views

What is the criteria of safek pikuach nefesh?

An expert in a particular field (a doctor, an actuary, etc.) can advise on the risk of mortality from a specific activity of anywhere between 0% and 100%. At what threshold of risk would the halacha ...
user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
585 views

Does melatonin need to be kosher?

I'm not certain if it's medication or not. I'm speaking of plain, non-flavored powder capsules.
therxv's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
60 views

Jewish life during the times of the Black Death [closed]

I'm looking for any sources (if possible maybe even first-hand written accounts) of how Jews who lived in Western Europe at that time handled this particular period. Anything goes, matter of fact ...
Ilja's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
356 views

If our leadership do not take disease outbreaks seriously, are they considered responsible for deaths that follow?

As of late, there has been a controversy in various Jewish communities around the world. Certain Rabbis and certain individuals have actively circumvented the preventative measures to help stop the ...
user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
181 views

Rabbis giving advice which contradicts expert medical opinion

I have read many stories of great Rabbis, historically and in today's times, who have given people medical advice which was in direct contradiction to the advice given by expert medical professionals. ...
rikitikitembo's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
60 views

Medicine Under the Bed

Although the Shulchan Aruch YD (116:5) writes ולא יתן תבשיל ולא משקים תחת המטה מפני שרוח רעה שורה עליהם - don't put cooked food or drinks under the bed due to ruach ra'ah does that issue ...
NJM's user avatar
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-2 votes
1 answer
105 views

Ingesting premixed medicine for recreational purposes on Shabbos

Can one ingest usually-medicinal substances for recreational purposes on Shabbos? As a concrete example, consider a pill of Tylenol with codeine (or codeine itself). A person would like to enhance ...
user9806's user avatar
  • 2,156
0 votes
0 answers
36 views

Is there any rule against finding out the gender of a fetus? [duplicate]

From my unscientific survey of what I've seen, it seems like most Orthodox Jews avoid finding out the gender of their child while it is still in utero (even if they otherwise take ultrasounds, blood ...
Salmononius2's user avatar
  • 6,753
2 votes
2 answers
103 views

Undergoing experimental surgery

Is it permitted for a patient with a terminal illness to accept a dangerous experimental surgery? (Every case is different and requires CYLOR, but I'm just curious about the two sides of the argument -...
NJM's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
46 views

Leniency for Dangerous Surgery

The Chochmas Adam apparently writes that a patient is allowed to undergo a risky medical operation which may effectively end the patient's life during surgery for the chance that he will live longer. ...
NJM's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
88 views

May one choose the recipient of his/her organ donation?

I have decided to donate a kidney. I know that with organizations like Renewal you can choose to donate to someone specifically. I was wondering if it is mutar to browse potential recipients and see ...
eliyahu's user avatar
  • 373
5 votes
1 answer
428 views

Taking ADHD medicine on Shabbos (ex: Adderall/ Ritalin)

Following on the heels of recent questions "Why restrict medicine on Shabbos?" & "Is clinical depression medication allowed on Shabbos?" Is it permitted to take ADHD medicine such as Adderall/ ...
alicht's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
155 views

Why restrict medicine on Shabbat? [duplicate]

The Shulchan Aruch [OC 328:1] says: Someone who has a mere bad feeling, but he strengthens himself and walks around like a healthy person, it is forbidden to do any healing for him, even by nonJews,...
Maurice Mizrahi's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
467 views

Is someone who has clinical depression allowed to take an antidepressant on Shabbos?

It’s my understanding that there’s two main categories of non-life threatening illnesses: מיחוש בעלמא, “average pain,” and נפל למשכב, one who is so sick that he’s unable to get out of bed. The former ...
DonielF's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
34 views

Can a genetically modified pig be kosher, if gestated in a kosher animal? [duplicate]

This answer says that a pig that was genetically modified to chew it's cud would not be kosher if gestated in a pig. For clarification, would it be kosher if it was gestated in a cow or other kosher ...
Antheloth's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
146 views

Have there been notable Rabbinical opinions on hemp derived CBD oil for personal health?

Marijuana politics is getting complicated in the west with more and more countries legalizing the stuff for both medicinal and personal use. My question has less to do with Marijuana and more to do ...
user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
117 views

Permissibility Of Unneeded Hysterectomy

Is it halachically ok for a woman have a hysterectomy if there is no medical need? If not, is it permissible as a form of contraceptive?
Gabriel's user avatar
  • 303
11 votes
3 answers
315 views

Is a doctor obligated to force vaccination?

As per the injunction of "לא תעמוד על דם רעך" - "Stand not [idly] over the blood of thine fellow"(Leviticus 19:16), is a Torah-observant doctor obligated to vaccinate an unvaccinated patient for a ...
Loewian's user avatar
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