Questions tagged [medicine]
NOTE: For professional medical advice, please contact your physician.
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Intimacy, עוֹנָה and Intoxication
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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Source for Chazal's Cure for Paralysis
The Chazon Ish was quoted in a shiur as saying that Chazal had the medical knowledge to know how to cure certain paralysis, but it had the side effect of causing sterility. Where is the source for ...
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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?
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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 ...
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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?
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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 ...
user25280
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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&...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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?
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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 ...
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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 ...
user17319
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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.
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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 ...
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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 ...
user20915
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 -...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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/ ...
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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,...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
user15672
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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?
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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 ...
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Medical dental supplies Kashrut for Passover considerations
Should one be suspicious of any dental supplies for being hametz when one goes for a dental appointment during Passover?
Let's put rules of labor and scheduling-for-hol hamoed aside: I'm asking ...
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If a husband or wife medically die but are resuscitated, is a new kiddushin required? [duplicate]
If a husband or wife is on an operating table and is pronounced clinically dead, but then a couple minutes later is miraculously resuscitated (example):
Would this couple require a new kiddushin?
...
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Is the base for bloodletting in the Talmud purely "scientific" or traditional?
Bloodletting (הקזת דם) was a commonplace medical procedure in the Mishnaic times (see Shabbos 129).
It is widely accepted that the ancient healers believed that:
"... many diseases were caused by ...
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Is general anesthesia or coma considered sleep?
Is general anesthesia or coma considered Halachicly as sleep and in what aspects (like should one say Hamapil before or Birkas Hatorah after or wash hands etc)?
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What medical conditions are considered Treyfah nowadays?
This question is a part of a series on "death hastening".
As I understand, the Treyfah condition in humans is when one is destined to die in the foreseeable future (12 months?) with a high degree of ...
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