{"id":7996,"date":"2016-01-28T01:00:48","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T23:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=7996"},"modified":"2016-10-06T11:19:57","modified_gmt":"2016-10-06T08:19:57","slug":"01-28-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/01-28-01\/","title":{"rendered":"01. Principles of the Halakhot <\/em>of Sick People"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are three categories of sick people according to halakha<\/em>:<\/p>\n

1) a gravely ill person \u2013 one whose life is in danger;<\/p>\n

2) a \u201cregular\u201d sick person \u2013 one whose whole body is ill but whose life is not in danger;<\/p>\n

3) a \u201cmildly\u201d sick person \u2013 one who is ailing in part of his body or who experiences pain from a bodily ailment.<\/p>\n

When caring for a dangerously sick person, one does everything on Shabbat that he would do during the week. All Shabbat prohibitions are overridden in order to save a life, as we saw in the previous chapter.<\/p>\n

When caring for a regular sick person \u2013 one who is sick enough that he is forced to lie down, but whose life is not in danger \u2013 one may disregard rabbinic prohibitions, but Torah prohibitions remain in force (as will be explained in the next section).[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

A mildly sick person or one who is bothered by ailments \u2013 that is, one who can walk around as though healthy, but experiences discomfort from a mild ailment \u2013 is subject to all rabbinic laws, and one may not even violate shvut di-shvut<\/em> on his behalf. However, if he is in pain, one may do certain things for him even though they are categorized as shvut di-shvut<\/em>. Specifically, one may ask a non-Jew to transgress a rabbinic prohibition for him, or a Jew may make use of a shinui<\/em> to do so (SA 307:5; MB 328:3; above 9:11).<\/p>\n

There is a specific rabbinic enactment forbidding a mildly sick person to take medicine. The poskim<\/em> disagree whether this prohibition pertains to today\u2019s medications, which are factory-made (the laws pertaining to one bothered by a mild ailment will be explained in sections 3-5).<\/p>\n

The main idea of Shabbat is that on this day we calmly and tranquilly accept reality as it is. If we have no clean clothes, we wear dirty ones. If we forgot to cook a certain dish, we content ourselves with the food we have, or we ask a neighbor for help. If we forgot to turn on the heat, we put on a coat. If we forgot to turn on the air conditioning, we suffer a bit from the heat. Even though Shabbat laws sometimes cause suffering, they liberate us from the burden and tension of having to pay constant attention and ensure that every little detail of our lives is properly addressed. Therefore, Shabbat is a valuable gift. The feeling of faith, tranquility, and rest that results from accepting reality on Shabbat is enjoyable and uplifting.<\/p>\n

The Sages continue this trend through their enactments, one of which is to refrain from using medicine on Shabbat. If we experience some discomfort, even if it is irritating and unpleasant, we bear it calmly, as this too is part of Shabbat rest. However, if the discomfort causes pain and negates oneg Shabbat<\/em>, the Sages permitted transgressing minor rabbinic prohibitions (shvut di-shvut<\/em>) to relieve the suffering. And when it comes to caring for one who is actually sick, the Sages allow us to transgress all rabbinic prohibitions, as taking care of one\u2019s health is a mitzva.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n[1]<\/a>. According to most Rishonim, one may not violate a Torah prohibition for a person who is in danger of losing a limb (Rosh, Ran, Rashba, and seemingly Rambam). Others maintain that one may indeed desecrate Shabbat to save a limb (Tosafot<\/em>, Rabbeinu Tam, Sefer Ha<\/em>–aguda<\/em>, and Me\u2019iri). In practice, SA rules that one may not violate a Torah prohibition in such a case (328:17). However, according to current medical opinion, in practice, when a person\u2019s limb is in danger, it is almost always life-threatening, as there is always the possibility of infection setting in (Nishmat Avraham<\/em> 328:49). This may be the rationale of the Rishonim who are lenient in a case of danger to a limb. Melamed Le-ho\u2019il<\/em> 2:32 presents similar reasoning, as detailed in Har\u0125avot<\/em>.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are three categories of sick people according to halakha: 1) a gravely ill person \u2013 one whose life is in danger; 2) a \u201cregular\u201d sick person \u2013 one whose whole body is ill but whose life is not in danger; 3) a \u201cmildly\u201d sick person \u2013 one who is ailing in part of his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-01-28"],"yoast_head":"\n01. 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