Sorry for my ignorance!

amother

Sapphire

Mon, Mar 23 2015, 5:47 am

At work, my christian co-worker is constantly asking me questions about the Jewish people and our religion. She was asking me about shabbos and the restrictions and I was trying to explain it to her. SHe then asked me how some religious men work in hatzala on shabbos and I explained to her that saving a life comes before keeping shabbos....does anyone have the source for this?

She then asked me about the hospitals in Israel if all the religious doctors and police men are allowed to work on shabbos or everyone just relies on non-religious people to work on Shabbos- I wasnt sure. Can anyone please inform me???

m in Israel

Mon, Mar 23 2015, 6:18 am

The main source for the concept that pikuach nefesh overrides other mitzvos is the Pasuk in Vayikra (18:5) that says about the mitzvos "vchay bahem" -- "and you should live by them", which the gemara in Yoma (85b) explains to mean "you should live by them -- and not die by them". This is how halacha l'maasah has always been paskened in all sifrei halacha, including of course the shulchan orech.

In terms of this there is no difference between a religious or not religious Jews. In a situation where one would not be allowed to be mechalal Shabbos, it wouldn't make a difference if the person is religious or not! Hospitals in Israel that are run according to Halacha generally have poskim who have determined what, if any, things should be done differently on Shabbos. In general I believe elective and non urgent procedures are not scheduled for Shabbos, and certain non-medical things are done by non-Jews (not non-religious Jews) -- like record keeping. Certainly many urgent care facilities are staffed by non-Jews whenever possible. But in general when there is any sort of medical need doctors definitely abide by the principle of "pikuach nefesh" being doche Shabbos.

imaima

Mon, Mar 23 2015, 6:27 am

amother wrote:

I think both. As well as non-Jewish people.
Please mention that a lot of Arabs are employed too in Israel. Non-Jews need to hear it.

Sanguine

Mon, Mar 23 2015, 7:30 am

imaima wrote:

I think both. As well as non-Jewish people.
Please mention that a lot of Arabs are employed too in Israel. Non-Jews need to hear it.

That's a good point just as a political PR point and many Arabs are happy to work on Shabbat (you get extra salary for working on Shabbat - just like the weekend in Chu"l)

Halacha doesn't let you ask a not religious Jew to be michalel Shabbat for you. Shabbat is the day of rest in Israel. Everyone looks forward to Shabbat. The kids are off from school. Businesses are closed... Hospitals work on a "Shabbat schedule". No Dr appointments. No surgeries or procedures unless they're emergencies. But a hospital must have Doctors working on Shabbat. No one wants to work on Shabbat. So the Doctors have a rotation. When a dati doctor is on that Shabbat he will try to have an Arab nurse do the writing for him. He will do his best to not michalel Shabbat but Pikuach Nefesh overrides everything.

The army works the same. They let as many Chayalim as possible go home for Shabbat but there is no difference between a dati Chayal and a Chiloni one. The Chayalim that are in the army for Shabbat are there for Pikuach Nefesh reasons. The is no unnecessary training. There is no unnecessary maintenance of cars and machinery. But there are full shmirot driving in jeeps guarding the borders and any other possible dangers. That's what happens in a Jewish country. We can't totally shut down hospitals or the army for Shabbat.

debsey

Mon, Mar 23 2015, 11:02 am

greenfire wrote:

the only ignorant people are those who do not ask questions ... a strong point this time of year especially with pesach approaching and we ask the four questions ... מה נשתנה

NEVER be sorry for your ignorance, unless you CHOOSE not to ask a question......

The question has been answered admirably well. As the sister of a frum doctor, I can tell you that there's a lot of back-and-forth Halacha Sheilos between Dr.s and their poskim about what constitutes Pikuach Nefesh, but the general rule is that Pikuach Nefesh is the overriding principle guiding actions.