Questions tagged [pikuachnefesh-danger-life]
Situations in which a life is threatened; most (though not all), Jewish laws are suspended in order to save a life.
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New responsa on releasing terrorists in exchange for hostages?
The State of Israel has over the years engaged in the exchange of terrorists and criminals in exchange for the release of hostages. This topic has prior been explored in posts such as Q 10731 and Q ...
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Earning money on Shabbat for permitted behavior?
If somebody gets a Heter from a rabbi or posek to do something on Shabbat that is normally forbidden for pikuach nefesh (such as being a police officer, firefighter, etc.) are they allowed to earn ...
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Birkat hamazon for chametz on Passover
On Passover, if a Jew consumes Chametz because they have to for Pikuach Nefesh, do they recite Birkat Hamazon afterwards? Of course this would be more than the minimum amount to be liable on Pesach, (...
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Why is Tzaara'as considered a Sakana?
The Shulchan Aruch in Orach Chaim 173:2 writes:
בין בשר לדגים חובה ליטול משום דקשה לדבר אחר וחמירא סכנתא מאיסורא
There is an obligation to wash one's hands between fish and meat because it causes &...
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What if someone needs to paint on shabbat because it helps them from life threatening depression? Art Therapy
I heard shabbat can be violated if it's to save a life, such as in cases where a doctor needs to heal a patient. But what if it's an licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor/Art therapist? Let's say ...
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What does Halacha say about human shields
What is the Torah approach to when terrorists are using civilians as human shields? Are you allowed to bomb the building?
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Why did שמואל הנביא need permission to save his own life?
In יבמות ס״ה,ב׳ it brings the story of when Hashem told שמואל הנביא to go and anoint דויד, and שמואל asked Hashem what he should do in order not to arouse Shaul’s suspicion, thereby endangering his ...
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How much effort should be expended searching for the missing?
Say a Jewish person gets pulled out to sea while rescuing someone from drowning and goes missing, lost at sea. And then a search for him or his body by the Jewish community, supplementing official ...
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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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Who is pulled to safety first?
If a group of people are in mortal danger, all of the same gender (cf. Horayot 13a; some suggest that the Mishnah on Horayot is not discussing a case of rescuing from physical danger, cf. Tziz Eliezer ...
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Can one pretend to sin in order to save his life?
If someone is attempting to coerce a Jew into committing a sin publicly - aside from the three major sins - and his desire is just that he should violate the Torah - not for a personal gain - would he ...
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Must one give up his life in order to avoid performing an abortion?
According to Halacha, abortion is forbidden, but not punishable by death like a full fledged murder, so would one still be obligated to give up his life in order to avoid doing it, or do we say that ...
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Putting one's own life first - exceptions?
There is a famous Bava Metzia 62a paskens that in a case where there are two people and there is only enough water for one to survive, the owner of the water drinks it and lets the other die:
ורבי ...
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Birkas Hamitzvah on food which is normally assur, but allowed due to pikuach nefesh
From Making a bracha on food which is normally assur, but allowed due to pikuach nefesh, if you eat normally forbidden foods because of pikuach nefesh, you make a bracha on them.
Does the same apply ...
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Two people but only one kidney
if there are two patients about to die of kidney failure and there is only one kidney available, does the halacha have a way to choose who gets the kidney? (such as lottery)
(assuming both cases are ...
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Is one culpable for transgressing shabbos if he is having a mental breakdown
Over the years I've heard and seen people who were smoking on shabbos, but I noticed they were clearly having a mental breakdown. I would say maybe even outwardly displaying suicidal emotions.
Are ...
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Is it true that abortion is allowed if it endangers the mother's mental health?
I heard this and it makes no sense because then almost every mother would have the excuse to abort; What would the exact parameters of such mental health issues be?
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How to say Tefilas HaDerech while on the road alone
My question applies to circumstances in which one is driving an extended distance by oneself. They also apply primarily--though not exclusively--to people who do not have the Tefilos HaDerech ...
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Would marriage really not solve this man's problem?
Another question on pikuach nefesh. The Talmud [Sanhedrin 75a] recounts this story:
There was an incident involving a certain man who set his eyes upon a certain woman and passion rose in his heart [...
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Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's trip to Moscow on Shabbat to meet Putin
I am an Italian ben Noach.
We have all seen that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett went to Moscow on Shabbat to meet Putin.
I believe that, since this trip has been functional to find a solution ...
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Questions on a story about Hillel
It is always possible to pick on even the most inspirational stories, but hopefully in doing so we end up learning something. The Talmud relates this story:
Hillel the Elder worked every day to earn ...
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Is killing a robber by shooting first considered murder?
Apologies if this has already been answered :
If someone comes up to you on the street waving a gun and demanding your money and you immediately draw your concealed weapon and shoot and kill them, is ...
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Have electric cars been suggested for those who respond to emergencies on Shabbos?
In a nutshell – and I know this is complicated – the Mishna says that some rabbinic prohibitions were lifted to make life easier on emergency responders after they've provided their assistance on ...
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Yaakov's Stone Pillow
Yaakov placed twelve stones around his head (Bereishis 28:11) to protect him from animals (refer to Rashi). Why was he not scared that animals would attack the rest of his body and how would those ...
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"Torturing for Information" in Halacha
Would torture to extract information to save lives (eg in the Ticking time bomb case) be permitted according to Judaism? What's the status of torture in Halacha?
And if it is permitted in certain ...
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Can a Beit-Din force a Jew to save another Jew's life?
A Jew that's terminally ill R"l, and the only treatment is through a bone marrow transplant. He has a very special type of blood (this is not a biological question).
So theoretically and ...
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Why was the "fence of the roof" chosen to represent common danger?
I did some research regarding ancient structures, and it appears that at the time of the conquest (15th century BCE, Bronze age) there were no multi-story structures in Israel (or Canaan cultures).
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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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Rockets from Gaza while praying
I live in Israel where there are presently (late 2012) ongoing rockets fired at us from Gaza. We are warned of an impending rocket by a loud siren that gives us less than a minute to run to a bomb ...
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Revisit of the trolley problem: High victim imbalance [duplicate]
I would like to revisit the trolley problem. A trolley on a track is out of control and headed to a place where the crash will kill 4 people. You can flip a switch and put it on a different track ...
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Venishmartem Halachic guidelines regarding large gathering of Jews
Following the horrible tragedy at Miron, where 45 Jews lost their lives in a stampede,
I wondered that large-scale religious gatherings are very indeed very frequent, especially in Hassidic ...
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When it comes to making Kiddush, what's recommended for someone who is allergic to grapes?
I recently was reading about allergies and discovered examples of where individuals could experience anaphylaxis from ingesting grapes and grape derivatives.
I was curious as to what the protocol is ...
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Was it David's custom to go into battle without an armour?
Shmuel I 17:38-39:
וַיַּלְבֵּ֨שׁ שָׁא֚וּל אֶת־דָּוִד֙ מַדָּ֔יו וְנָתַ֛ן ק֥וֹבַע נְח֖שֶׁת עַל־רֹאשׁ֑וֹ וַיַּלְבֵּ֥שׁ אֹת֖וֹ שִׁרְיֽוֹן. וַיַּחְגֹּ֣ר דָּוִ֣ד אֶת־חַ֠רְבּוֹ מֵעַ֨ל לְמַדָּ֜יו וַיֹּ֣אֶל ...
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Why did those on the ship ignore what Yona told them?
If those on the ship asked (Yonah 1:11) and Yonah answered (1:12) as far as how to save them, why did they ignore his suggestion (1:13)?
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In a life or death situation is breaking the Torah permissible?
In a situation where you could die (or other Jews could), would you be allowed to break the rules in order to survive?
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Do the righteous care too much for their possessions?
The Torah says:
Jacob was left alone. [Genesis 32:25]
The Talmud adds:
Why was he left alone? Because he remained to retrieve some small jugs. From here we derive that the possessions of the ...
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Is there a price too high to pay to prevent secularization in COVID times?
I realize that the closure of Yeshivos has a huge negative impact on Haredi Bachurim, many of my friends complain that since the boys came home, they went "out-of-sync", don't wake up to ...
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Making a pikuach nefesh phone call on Yom Kippur - mitzva or something to be avoided?
Outside of our synagogue on Yom Kippur, someone fainted and a doctor present decided to call an ambulance. At that time, there were multiple people present and one phone.
Should people have jumped to ...
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What is the source for non-literal understanding of V'Chai Bahem?
The concept of V'Chai Bahem - "do the mitzvos to live by them" (Vayikra 18:5) - is usually understood to refer to one's physical existence (i.e. the mitzvos should not be performed if they ...
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What are the parameters of shomer pesaim Hashem?
While the Torah forbids one to place himself into a situation of danger, some degree of slightly risky behavior is allowable under the concept of shomer pesaim Hashem. Are the parameters of this ...
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Can I defend my animals with lethal force?
We know that it is permitted, in self-defense, to kill one who is trying to kill you, and I have heard that this applies to other people too (I see someone trying to kill someone else and I intervene)....
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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 ...
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How hungry does a Jew have to be to eat non-kosher food?
I understand that Jews are allowed to eat non-kosher food in order to save their lives, source Sanhedrin 74a.
My question is, how long does a Jew have to be deprived of food, before he or she is ...
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Can one volunteer to be put in a situation which will require breaking shabbos?
I know that pikuach nefesh, saving a life, can push off Shabbat (which I understand to mean, can excuse breaking rules on Shabbat). If I am one of a group of Jews who could do the life saving, should ...
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Self-defense in a street fight?
I was in a situation where someone basically approached me indicating he was going to fight me, squared up with me, stared me down etc. pushed me twice, and then I thought to myself, "If he raises a ...
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Are you allowed to risk dying to save others?
I would like some clarification about the risks of trying to save someone's life by breaking a commandment, or pikuach nefesh.
In Bava Metzia 62a, Rabbi Akiva ruled that your life has priority over ...
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Timing of pikuach nefesh
What is the halacha on how imminent the danger of death has to be for you to be allowed to invoke pikuach nefesh and break a commandment to save a life?
Obviously if someone is drowning before your ...
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Are you liable for infecting others?
The Talmud says:
One who injures another becomes liable for five things: damages, pain, medical expenses, incapacitation, and mental anguish. [Bava Kamma 83b]
It does not spell out HOW or WHY the ...
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If having a beard is potentially dangerous to life, should a Jew shave it off?
There are reports that men with beards may have problems using face masks effectively or getting hooked up to a ventilator correctly. Given the danger posed by the COVID-19 virus, should Jewish men ...
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What's a better choice: Treif meat or human flesh?
If one is stuck on a deserted island with no kosher food and he has a choice between eating human flesh of a dead person or the flesh of a non-kosher animal, which is preferable to eat?
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