This is the start of a new series in this blog, one which has been on my mind for quite some time, and one which has been on my mind for quite some time. It seems to me that each topic I have chosen so far has something unique and special about it that makes it stand out as a paradigm for what i believe is a fresh "rationalist" approach to medical Halacha.
The first topic we discussed, brain death, represents the difficulty one has when contemporary Halacha has to consider the medical knowledge that led to the Halachic precedents that are recorded in Chazal and earlier poskim. We described how important it is to understand why the gemara said what it did regarding the determination of death, and what chazal's understanding of physiology was.
Our second topic, treating goyim on shabbos, represents the problems one encounters when Halacha seems to conflict with our basic moral sense of right and wrong.
The third topic, abortion, was a rationalist approach to a subject which had no clear Halachic consensus, and the decision making process that should be involved in dealing with something this unclear and complex.
This new thread, will deal with a Halachic topic that is unique for several reasons, which I plan on demonstrating during the writing of the series.
1) This topic is unique, because the scientific knowledge in this area increases so quickly and so dramatically, that a Halachic treatment of the subject that may have been valid two years ago may be no longer valid. I am going to argue, that not only is the knowledge that we accumulate quantitatively increased, but qualitatively as well. Thus, not only do we know more "stuff", but the accumulated knowledge needs to fundamentally change the way the religious community deals with this subject responsibly and consistent with Halacha.
2) This topic is also unique because it forces us to consider fundamental Jewish concepts in ways that our great leaders of the past could not possibly have foreseen. Concepts and ideas such as fate, predestination, divine guidance of wordly events ("hashgachah pratis"), hishtadlut, bitachon, and many other most fundamental concepts have to be reconsidered in light of the challenges of this wonderful new area of knowledge that science has given us. It is my contention, that the approach one takes to genetic testing is highly dependent upon how one approaches the above mentioned concepts and their relative value in Judaism. The intersection of "Hashkafah" and "Halacha" is especially relevant when considering this topic.
The question then becomes, how much should scientific knowledge change the level of importance that we give to certain Torah values. I know this sounds a bit heretical at first, but please give me a chance to explain exactly what I mean before you make any judgements.
3) This topic is also unique, in that a primary issue involved is the value of knowledge itself. Most Halacha revolves around actions. Halacha usually forces one to consider such questions like, "what am I allowed to do?" or, "What am I obligated to do?" However, when it comes to genetic testing, the question is very different. This is because one is asking, "what knowledge should I seek to find out?" or "Is it better to know some piece of information or not to know it?" This is not the usual Halachic quandary, and it forces us to inquire into the fundamentals of the Jewish values of seeking knowledge and learning vs. faith and trust in God.
I must beg your patience as we work through this subject, as it will take me some time to develop my ideas. Please forgive me, because I also have a "day job" ;-). So if I miss a few days, please be aware that it is not because I have given up on this enterprise.
My general plan will be as follows, though I may change it here and there as we progress through the subject.
First I plan on giving some background. I will review the state of genetic testing in practical medicine today, and review the options, treatments available, and enough science that you will hopefully understand the basics. I will then review the sources that the poskim bring from chazal and rishonim acharonim etc. that are used when discussing the subject. Then we will discuss the various major contemporary poskim and how they dealt with (or deal with) these issues. Then we will embark on our rationalist analysis, using the five principles of Rationalist Medical Halacha.
Showing posts sorted by date for query treating goyim on shabbos. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query treating goyim on shabbos. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
A Different Halachic Approach
Please forgive me if I delay a few days between posts. Sometimes my work keeps me bogged down and makes it difficult for me to keep up with the blog every day.
The basis and foundation of my approach to treating a goy on shabbos is the famous shita of the Meiri. Many of you are probably familiar with the Meiri's opinions as they relate to the halachic status of non-Jews. However, you may not be aware of the full extent of his opinions, and the extent to which many later authorities have subscribed to his opinions. When i learned the Meiri in yeshiva, I was under the impression that his words were just apologetics that were meant to calm relations with the goyim, but that in reality they were not halachically important and that they were not meant to be taken seriously.
However, while I searched for answers to the problems that were bothering me, I not only found out that the Meiri's opinions were not apologetics at all, but I discovered that they are a comprehensive and complete philosophy of how to learn the sugyos relating to the treatment of goyim in halacha. I also learned that many Acharonim, and even some rishonim also ascribed to his views. I also learned that many recent halachic authorities actually wrote that the Meiri's derech should be considered Halachah Le'maaseh, even though his opinion may have been a minority opinion at the time that he wrote them.
So I beg you to be patient and let me present my case, which will probably take a few posts. Especially if you have preconceived ideas about the Meiri, please hold back from comment until you hear everything I have to say. Then all bets are off and say as you wish.
First, let me describe what the Meiri held. According to the Meiri, the contemporary gentiles of his day (basically Muslims and Christians) are all considered "Baalei haDat" - people of religion. The Meiri considered these Baalei haDat to be different from the non-Jews referred to in most of Chazal - who were idol worshippers that had no religion (at least not what Chazal would have considered a religion).
The Meiri divides the laws that concern our dealings with gentiles into three basic categories. The first category regards the laws of business interaction with non-Jews. This refers mostly to things that are prohibited due to fear that the gentile would use the profits for idol worship. This category the Meiri held did not apply at all to his contemporary gentiles. The second category deals with all halachic distinctions between Jews and non-Jews. This includes the obligation to save a non-Jewish life (including on Shabbat), the obligation to return his lost object, the death penalty for killing a human being (which the Meiri held applied to non-Jews as well) to give him charity and many more such laws. In this category, the Meiri held that his contemporary gentiles were equal to Jews on all levels. The third category deals with halachot meant to keep Jews from intermingling (and intermarrying) with gentiles. This includes things like a Gentile's wine, milk, bread and so on. In these halachot, the Meiri did not distinguish between his contemporary gentiles,and from the time of the gemara.
Lest one believe that the Meiri was simply apologetics, I challenge you to learn through the Meiri and consider that his comments are consistent throughout his commentary on Shas. Repeatedly his points are emphasized and reiterated, and he clearly developed his shita thoroughly and comprehensively. I will be bringing many sources as we progress through this blog, but let me start with HaRav Eliezer Waldenberg ZT'l (author of the Tzitz Eliezer) who writes in a letter published in "Bein Yisrael le-Ammim" p16-17 that it is implausible to argue that his entire approach to shas was simply constructed out of fear of the censors. He also states that we should use the Meiri as a "Makor Beit Av" (roughly translated as - "a conceptual building block" - my admittedly poor translation) when considering questions for dealing with gentiles in our times.
To assume that it was simply fear of the censors that drove the Meiri to formulate his extensive theories will become less and less plausible as we continue our discussion.
I owe much of my understanding of the Meiri to a great book called "Bein Torah leChochmah" by Moshe Halbertal. It is worthwhile reading for anyone interested in learning more about the Meiri.
Probably the most interesting thing I learned from Halbertal's study is how he derives the reasoning behind the Meiri. It is clear from his study that the Meiri that he felt that anyone who did not have a "Dat" was certainly someone who would not be bound by basic morality and justice. Halbertal proves that according to the Meiri, a society of Ba'alei Dat is a society of morals and justice, whereas a society without "Darchei HaDat" is one that is evil and corrupt. This is a very important point, and it is one that we will come back to later in this blog discussion. Any society that is moral and just according to the Meiri would have the same status as Jews regarding these types of laws.
For example, the Meiri goes as far as saying that those that are "gedurim beDarchei Hadat would be considered "Am She'Itcha BeTorah uveMitzvot". (see Bava Metziah 59a where the gemara learns that one is only obligated to retuirn the lost object of someone included in the pasukl, lo Tonu Ish et Amito - Am She'Itcha B'Torah UVe'Mitzvot, which the Meiri learns explicitly includes non-Jews, as opposed to learning that it is excluding them!)
There is much to write about the Meiri,and I promise I will write more, but I first want to deal with an important issue. Is the Meiri simply a lone voice in the wilderness? Can we rely on a lone opinion in formulating halacha
Comment as you wish, but I beg you to hang in there, because there is a lot more to say.
The basis and foundation of my approach to treating a goy on shabbos is the famous shita of the Meiri. Many of you are probably familiar with the Meiri's opinions as they relate to the halachic status of non-Jews. However, you may not be aware of the full extent of his opinions, and the extent to which many later authorities have subscribed to his opinions. When i learned the Meiri in yeshiva, I was under the impression that his words were just apologetics that were meant to calm relations with the goyim, but that in reality they were not halachically important and that they were not meant to be taken seriously.
However, while I searched for answers to the problems that were bothering me, I not only found out that the Meiri's opinions were not apologetics at all, but I discovered that they are a comprehensive and complete philosophy of how to learn the sugyos relating to the treatment of goyim in halacha. I also learned that many Acharonim, and even some rishonim also ascribed to his views. I also learned that many recent halachic authorities actually wrote that the Meiri's derech should be considered Halachah Le'maaseh, even though his opinion may have been a minority opinion at the time that he wrote them.
So I beg you to be patient and let me present my case, which will probably take a few posts. Especially if you have preconceived ideas about the Meiri, please hold back from comment until you hear everything I have to say. Then all bets are off and say as you wish.
First, let me describe what the Meiri held. According to the Meiri, the contemporary gentiles of his day (basically Muslims and Christians) are all considered "Baalei haDat" - people of religion. The Meiri considered these Baalei haDat to be different from the non-Jews referred to in most of Chazal - who were idol worshippers that had no religion (at least not what Chazal would have considered a religion).
The Meiri divides the laws that concern our dealings with gentiles into three basic categories. The first category regards the laws of business interaction with non-Jews. This refers mostly to things that are prohibited due to fear that the gentile would use the profits for idol worship. This category the Meiri held did not apply at all to his contemporary gentiles. The second category deals with all halachic distinctions between Jews and non-Jews. This includes the obligation to save a non-Jewish life (including on Shabbat), the obligation to return his lost object, the death penalty for killing a human being (which the Meiri held applied to non-Jews as well) to give him charity and many more such laws. In this category, the Meiri held that his contemporary gentiles were equal to Jews on all levels. The third category deals with halachot meant to keep Jews from intermingling (and intermarrying) with gentiles. This includes things like a Gentile's wine, milk, bread and so on. In these halachot, the Meiri did not distinguish between his contemporary gentiles,and from the time of the gemara.
Lest one believe that the Meiri was simply apologetics, I challenge you to learn through the Meiri and consider that his comments are consistent throughout his commentary on Shas. Repeatedly his points are emphasized and reiterated, and he clearly developed his shita thoroughly and comprehensively. I will be bringing many sources as we progress through this blog, but let me start with HaRav Eliezer Waldenberg ZT'l (author of the Tzitz Eliezer) who writes in a letter published in "Bein Yisrael le-Ammim" p16-17 that it is implausible to argue that his entire approach to shas was simply constructed out of fear of the censors. He also states that we should use the Meiri as a "Makor Beit Av" (roughly translated as - "a conceptual building block" - my admittedly poor translation) when considering questions for dealing with gentiles in our times.
To assume that it was simply fear of the censors that drove the Meiri to formulate his extensive theories will become less and less plausible as we continue our discussion.
I owe much of my understanding of the Meiri to a great book called "Bein Torah leChochmah" by Moshe Halbertal. It is worthwhile reading for anyone interested in learning more about the Meiri.
Probably the most interesting thing I learned from Halbertal's study is how he derives the reasoning behind the Meiri. It is clear from his study that the Meiri that he felt that anyone who did not have a "Dat" was certainly someone who would not be bound by basic morality and justice. Halbertal proves that according to the Meiri, a society of Ba'alei Dat is a society of morals and justice, whereas a society without "Darchei HaDat" is one that is evil and corrupt. This is a very important point, and it is one that we will come back to later in this blog discussion. Any society that is moral and just according to the Meiri would have the same status as Jews regarding these types of laws.
For example, the Meiri goes as far as saying that those that are "gedurim beDarchei Hadat would be considered "Am She'Itcha BeTorah uveMitzvot". (see Bava Metziah 59a where the gemara learns that one is only obligated to retuirn the lost object of someone included in the pasukl, lo Tonu Ish et Amito - Am She'Itcha B'Torah UVe'Mitzvot, which the Meiri learns explicitly includes non-Jews, as opposed to learning that it is excluding them!)
There is much to write about the Meiri,and I promise I will write more, but I first want to deal with an important issue. Is the Meiri simply a lone voice in the wilderness? Can we rely on a lone opinion in formulating halacha
Comment as you wish, but I beg you to hang in there, because there is a lot more to say.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Does it really matter why you can treat a gentile on shabbos?
In our last post we reviewed the halachos of treating a goy on shabbos. Now let me change gears a little bit and talk about my experience in the "real world". If you recall my first post on this topic, I discussed the moral dilemma that I have encountered since I have become a physician. Let me now describe this dilemma.
I have the very special privilege of spending my entire professional life taking care of people. I am very fortunate to be able to use my skills healing and helping people every day. I believe in the depths of my heart that what I do every day is the work of the Ribbono Shel Olam.
I have always made a special effort to make sure that as much as possible I spend shabbos where I belong, at home with my family, in shul and in my community. Most of the time, I am able to spend shabbos without having to see patients as a physican. However, the nature of my occupation is such that I am sometimes called upon to treat people on shabbos. I know the basic parameters of what is muttar and what is assur, although I am sure there is still a lot for me to learn. I am not at all perfect, but I think I would be telling the truth if I said that I do the best I can.
It really matters to me that not only am I doing what is halachically permissible, but that I am doing the right thing. It is very challenging and difficult to spend long and stressful hours with complicated issues, especially when I would rather be home enjoying a good cholent. However, I still do it in the belief that I am needed, that it is important, and if halacha permits it, it must be what the Ribbono Shel Olam wants from me. More so, when I look my patients in the eye, when I see their appreciation for what I am doing for them, I get validation that this is indeed the right thing.
Many Orthodox Jews might argue that it might not be the right thing to choose a professional situation which forces one to need to work on shabbos. This is a legitimate issue, which I will try to deal with at another time. For now, please allow me to assume that in some circumstances it is inevitable that a God fearing Orthodox Jewish doctor will end up treating patients on Shabbos.
Now let us contrast two hypothetical patients in pain, a Jewish one, and a non-Jew. It is shabbos afternoon, and i am called to the hospital to take care of both. I have to drive to the hospital, which is painful to begin with, but i tell myself ... "It is a mitzvah to save a life. You can drive now."
I see the patients in their beds. At the Jew's bedside, I think to myself ... "It is a mitzvah to take care of this person. I can transgress the Shabbos because his/her life is more important than Shabbos. After all, doesn't the Torah say ... vechai bahem?" At the non-Jews bedside I think to myself ... "Well if i don't save his life, what would the goyim think!? The nurses will think I am immoral .. you helped the Jew but not him!! Imagine what they would write about me in the newspapers tomorrow!! I guess I have to treat him to!"
The following thoughts, in one version or other then flows through my soul. Dear Ribbono Shel Olam, I cannot act this way to a fellow human being. I cannot watch a person suffering and think that I am only helping him because of some vague sort of fear of reprisal. This is not the Torah I accepted at Sinai. I accepted a Torah that was Deracheha Darchei Noam. I will help this gentile because I am a compassionate human being and because i know that it is the right thing to do. Please God, show me a better way. Show me the right thing. Help me learn the halachos once again so that i might learn Your true intent. It cannot possibly be that I am only alowed to do this as some sort of b'dieved.
So to answer my question, does it really matter why you can treat a goy on shabbos? Absolutely! Of course it matters. It certainly matters to me!
If you are thinking something like the following, "who cares why you are allowed, the bottom line is the halacha. The halacha says it is OK, why do you care what the reason is!" If this is good enough for you, then I am not writing this blog for you. You do not need what I have to offer, so don't even bother reading it. But if you understand me and it does bother you as well, then please listen further.
So hang in there dear blog followers, in my next post, I will start to show you another halachic way. One that is founded on great Halachists of previous centuries, one that is firmly grounded in the Torah that we accepted at Sinai, but one that sounds very different from what you may read in most contemporary "halacha guidebooks". It will be a Torah way that I can live with and live by, and I hope that you will agree.
If I sound tantalizing and the suspense is building, that is my intent. I hope that it entices you to hang in there for the ride to come.
I have the very special privilege of spending my entire professional life taking care of people. I am very fortunate to be able to use my skills healing and helping people every day. I believe in the depths of my heart that what I do every day is the work of the Ribbono Shel Olam.
I have always made a special effort to make sure that as much as possible I spend shabbos where I belong, at home with my family, in shul and in my community. Most of the time, I am able to spend shabbos without having to see patients as a physican. However, the nature of my occupation is such that I am sometimes called upon to treat people on shabbos. I know the basic parameters of what is muttar and what is assur, although I am sure there is still a lot for me to learn. I am not at all perfect, but I think I would be telling the truth if I said that I do the best I can.
It really matters to me that not only am I doing what is halachically permissible, but that I am doing the right thing. It is very challenging and difficult to spend long and stressful hours with complicated issues, especially when I would rather be home enjoying a good cholent. However, I still do it in the belief that I am needed, that it is important, and if halacha permits it, it must be what the Ribbono Shel Olam wants from me. More so, when I look my patients in the eye, when I see their appreciation for what I am doing for them, I get validation that this is indeed the right thing.
Many Orthodox Jews might argue that it might not be the right thing to choose a professional situation which forces one to need to work on shabbos. This is a legitimate issue, which I will try to deal with at another time. For now, please allow me to assume that in some circumstances it is inevitable that a God fearing Orthodox Jewish doctor will end up treating patients on Shabbos.
Now let us contrast two hypothetical patients in pain, a Jewish one, and a non-Jew. It is shabbos afternoon, and i am called to the hospital to take care of both. I have to drive to the hospital, which is painful to begin with, but i tell myself ... "It is a mitzvah to save a life. You can drive now."
I see the patients in their beds. At the Jew's bedside, I think to myself ... "It is a mitzvah to take care of this person. I can transgress the Shabbos because his/her life is more important than Shabbos. After all, doesn't the Torah say ... vechai bahem?" At the non-Jews bedside I think to myself ... "Well if i don't save his life, what would the goyim think!? The nurses will think I am immoral .. you helped the Jew but not him!! Imagine what they would write about me in the newspapers tomorrow!! I guess I have to treat him to!"
The following thoughts, in one version or other then flows through my soul. Dear Ribbono Shel Olam, I cannot act this way to a fellow human being. I cannot watch a person suffering and think that I am only helping him because of some vague sort of fear of reprisal. This is not the Torah I accepted at Sinai. I accepted a Torah that was Deracheha Darchei Noam. I will help this gentile because I am a compassionate human being and because i know that it is the right thing to do. Please God, show me a better way. Show me the right thing. Help me learn the halachos once again so that i might learn Your true intent. It cannot possibly be that I am only alowed to do this as some sort of b'dieved.
So to answer my question, does it really matter why you can treat a goy on shabbos? Absolutely! Of course it matters. It certainly matters to me!
If you are thinking something like the following, "who cares why you are allowed, the bottom line is the halacha. The halacha says it is OK, why do you care what the reason is!" If this is good enough for you, then I am not writing this blog for you. You do not need what I have to offer, so don't even bother reading it. But if you understand me and it does bother you as well, then please listen further.
So hang in there dear blog followers, in my next post, I will start to show you another halachic way. One that is founded on great Halachists of previous centuries, one that is firmly grounded in the Torah that we accepted at Sinai, but one that sounds very different from what you may read in most contemporary "halacha guidebooks". It will be a Torah way that I can live with and live by, and I hope that you will agree.
If I sound tantalizing and the suspense is building, that is my intent. I hope that it entices you to hang in there for the ride to come.
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