The Ethics of Protest: A Play in Three Acts – Act One

This past Friday night, our Beit Midrash held a Shabbat dinner to address the theme of "Jew vs. Jew: How do we protest?" Rather than use a shiur, though, we presented the sources via historical drama, in a simple play designed to convey the issues involved in:

Act One - Rebuking others for misconduct;
Act Two - Confronting Chillul HaShem [desecration of Gd's Name]; and
Act Three – Battling those who harm the Jewish community from within

We had fun with it, which wasn't easy given the gravity of the subject matter. Here is the script we used for Act One, along with many of the sources we cited; I expect to post the other two acts later this week:

INTRODUCTION
[Narrator is alone on stage, standing beside a table]

Narrator:
King Solomon said, "There's a time to be silent, and a time to speak," and Jews have always struggled with the question of when to respond and when to hold our tongues, when to be silent and when to protest. We have also agonized over the question of how to respond – how to disagree without being disagreeable, and how to rebuke without burning bridges. In particular, we have debated how to respond when the issue involves not only Jews and our opinions, but also non-Jews and the opinion of the world.

Today, we debate these questions regarding the Sikrikim in Beit Shemesh. Their violence and abuse of women and children is horrific, regardless of the important religious issues of tzniut and the role of women in society – but we wonder how to respond appropriately and effectively.

We especially struggle with the fact that videos on this are all over YouTube, and events in Beit Shemesh have been laid out in newspapers all over the world. Should we criticize other Jews in front of the world media to correct their behavior, to prevent what we believe is Chillul HaShem, desecration of Gd's Name, and to protect our community? Or would that criticism itself only incite them to do worse, add to the Chillul HaShem, and put our community in greater danger?

The following play in three acts is meant to help understand how Jews have responded to religious disagreement over the centuries. The speakers will mention many sources from the Talmud and rabbinic writings; some of these will be available on sheets distributed after the play.

ACT ONE – THE CALENDAR CONTROVERSY
Narrator:
Act One.
The year is 921 of the Common Era, and we are in Fustat, Egypt. Jews throughout the Middle East and Southern Europe are led by Babylonian Gaonim, heads of the major yeshivot, and the Reish Galuta, the Exilarch. These scholars are acknowledged by one and all for communal decisions, and they represent the Jews to the non-Jewish world.
Then a man named Aharon ben Meir, carrying the title of Gaon of Palestine but not recognized as a Gaon in Babylon, begins teaching his students that the Gaonim of the yeshivot in Babylon have made mistakes in calculating the Jewish calendar. He believes that their date for Passover of the year 922 is wrong, and he begins to promote his view among his followers.
Rabbeinu Saadya, a leading scholar and firebrand from Aleppo, sends letters to his students across the Jewish world warning them against being drawn into Aharon ben Meir's cause. Two such students are Avraham and Yonatan.

[Avraham and Yonatan enter and sit down at a table]

Yonatan (Y), holding one of the pocket calendars issued by tzedakah organizations: Hey, Avraham, my new calendar from the Jewish Orphanage of Boys and Girls of Rabbi Meir Baal haNes and Kupat ha'Ir in conjunction with the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland and the Telshe Yeshiva of Tomchei Shabbos just came in the mail. That new Jerusalem to Fustat service is amazing – it takes only two weeks!

Avraham (A): The Year 922 edition of the calendar?

Y: What else would it be, 923? Rosh haShanah wasn't that long ago, Avraham.

A: I get that Yonatan, but whose Year 922 edition is it?

Y: What do you mean? (flips pages) Wait – Is Pesach starting on a Thursday this year? I thought it was a Tuesday!

A: (laughing) You have Ben Meir's calendar, not the one set by the Gaonim.

Y: Ben Meir? Who listens to Ben Meir? (throws out calendar, mumbling about its omission of Family Day)

A: Lots of people do. Didn't you receive the letter from our master and teacher, Rabbeinu Saadia, warning against following him? Why would he send us a letter if he wasn't concerned? Listen to what he wrote: [produces letter and reads it aloud] "Know that when I was yet in Aleppo, some pupils came from Ba'al al Gad and brought the news that Ben Meir intends to proclaim Cheshvan and Kislev deficient months. I did not believe it, but as a precaution I wrote to him in the summer. The Exilarch, the heads of the academies, all the senior scholars and teachers likewise agreed… In conjunction with their letters I too wrote to most of the great cities, in order to fulfill my duty. My students! Persist in this matter and close up this breach, and do not rebel against the command of Gd! No one dare to profane the festivals of Gd wilfully, to eat chametz on Passover, and eat, drink, and work on Yom Kippur. May it be the Will of Gd that there be no stumbling-block and no pitfall in your town or in any other town in Israel. May our peace grow and increase forever!" He's even talking about bringing in the Persian government to handle this – you bet he's scared!

Y: Isn’t that overkill? I mean, let this Ben Meir and his followers do what they want, why is it our business? They're not hurting me.

A: Of course it's our business! Yonatan, the Torah says הוכח תוכיח את עמיתך, every Jew is responsible to rebuke other Jews and teach them to follow the law.

Y: That's the job of the courts, they have means to handle that, not us small fish. Let Rabbeinu Saadya deal with it, he writes proclamations all the time. He'll be made Gaon soon enough!

A: It's for all of us to handle this, Yonatan! Don't you remember the Talmud's story about the righteous people who died in a plague in the time of Yechezkel? They were responsible to rebuke people for wrongdoing, and they didn't! It's for every Jew, not just for the courts; we are supposed to protect the Torah!

Y: Why is it my business if someone else sins?

A: כל ישראל ערבין זה בזה, we are all responsible for each other, Yonatan. If he sins, I am sinning. So, yes, I am responsible to correct him.

Y: So what do we do, Avraham– do we march out in protest? Start arguing with his followers at the store? Picket outside their shuls to give them a hard time? "Hey, ho, Ben Meir has got to go!"

A: Maybe. Remember the Talmud's warning about scholars who don't protest: "If people like a Torah scholar, it's because he doesn't give them a hard time. " It's our responsibility to give Ben Meir and his followers a hard time.

Y: Yes, I know, and in a thousand years Rabbi Yisrael of Salant will say-

A: Wait – What’s a Salant?

Y: A city in Poland.

A: What's a Poland?

Y: Never mind. Someone's going to say, "A rabbi they don't want to chase out of town isn't really a rabbi, and a rabbi they chase out of town isn't really a man." But come on – no one is going to listen to us, even with catchy protest rhymes.

A: You don't need to time-travel as far as that – just wait 300 years. Rabbeinu Yonah of Gerona will say-

Y: What's a Gerona?

A: Same thing as a Poland. Anyway: "If you hear people gossiping or speaking disgustingly or mocking Torah and mitzvot, and you know that they are stubborn and won't listen and so you just put your hand over your mouth, you will be punished for not responding to their foolishness!" We must do something, whether or not they will listen.

Y: And what about the Talmud's declaration that we are obligated not to speak when people won't listen?

A: Rabbeinu Saadya seems to think that doesn't matter – he's going all out against Aharon ben Meir. We need to make sure to keep the entire Jewish world on the same track; the calendar is that important.

[Avraham and Yonatan leave to change props while Narrator concludes Act One]

Narrator:
Both Avraham and Yonatan made good points about the obligation to rebuke, the concern that no one will listen, and the question of whether rebuke is valuable for its own sake.
In the end, Rabbeinu Saadya did persist, and people on both sides ended up coming to blows over the issue in the next 18 months, before Aharon ben Meir was soundly defeated by Rabbeinu Saadya's arguments. This was a case of a successful fight to put down sin and enforce Jewish communal standards, but it came with a great price in national unity.

Sources:

1. Talmud, Shabbat 55a

מעולם לא יצתה מדה טובה מפי הקדוש ברוך הוא וחזר בה לרעה חוץ מדבר זה דכתיב ויאמר ד' אליו עבר בתוך העיר בתוך ירושלים והתוית תו על מצחות האנשים הנאנחים והנאנקים על כל התועבות הנעשות בתוכה וגו' אמר לו הקב"ה לגבריאל לך ורשום על מצחן של צדיקים תיו של דיו שלא ישלטו בהם מלאכי חבלה ועל מצחם של רשעים תיו של דם כדי שישלטו בהן מלאכי חבלה אמרה מדת הדין לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא רבש"ע מה נשתנו אלו מאלו אמר לה הללו צדיקים גמורים והללו רשעים גמורים אמרה לפניו רבונו של עולם היה בידם למחות ולא מיחו אמר לה גלוי וידוע לפני שאם מיחו בהם לא יקבלו מהם אמרה לפניו רבונו של עולם אם לפניך גלוי להם מי גלוי

Gd never expressed a good verdict and then retracted it to cause harm, other than in this case: “Gd said to him: Pass through the city, through Yerushalayim, and draw a ‘Tav’ on the foreheads of the people…for all of the abominable acts performed therein.”

Gd said to Gavriel: Go inscribe a ‘Tav’ in ink on the heads of the righteous, so that the angels of destruction will not harm them. Inscribe a ‘Tav’ in blood on the heads of the wicked, so that the angels of destruction will harm them.

The trait of Justice said before Gd: Master of the Universe, what is the difference between these and those?

Gd responded: These are completely righteous, those are completely wicked!

It said: Master of the Universe, they ought to have protested, and they did not do so!

Gd responded: I know clearly that had they protested, the people would not have accepted it from them.

It said: Master of the Universe, if to You it is clear, to them is it clear?

2. Netivot haMishpat to Choshen Mishpat, Biurim 3:1

מה שכתב [בסק"א] דאי שעבודא לאו דאורייתא והבית דין כופין בעי בי"ד [מומחין] דוקא לכפותו דהדיוטות לאו בני עישוי נינהו. נראה לפענ"ד דליתא, דכיון דדמי לעשה סוכה ואינו עושה דכופין אותו לקיים המצוה, כל אדם מצווה להפריש חבירו מאיסור

The Ketzot haChoshen wrote that a court of experts is required in order to compel a litigant to pay, for untrained people are not eligible to compel. In my opinion this is not so; it is similar to forcing a person to fulfill a mitzvah, like Succah, regarding which every individual is instructed to keep others from violation.

3. R' Meir Simchah haKohen, Meshech Chachmah to Shemot 24:3

לכוף ולרדות על חוקי התורה ונדריה הוא רק מצד ש'כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה', ואם יעבור אחד, הוא מזיק לחבירו ולהכלל כולו... דבלא זה אין זה מהראוי שיתערב אחד במה שיש להאדם עם קונו

Compelling people to follow Torah is a product of the principle of 'All Jews are responsible for each other'; one who would violate the law would harm others and the entity as a whole… Otherwise, it would be inappropriate to intervene in another's relationship with his Creator.

4. Talmud, Ketuvot 105b

אמר אביי האי צורבא מרבנן דמרחמין ליה בני מתא לאו משום דמעלי טפי אלא משום דלא מוכח להו במילי דשמיא

Abbaye said: If a Torah scholar is beloved to his city, it isn't because he is good. Rather, it's because he does not rebuke them in heavenly matters.

5. R' Yisrael Salanter, as cited in Tenat haMussar 1:305

רב שאין רוצים לגרשו מהעיר איננו רב, ורב שמגרשים אותו מהעיר איננו אדם

A rabbi they don't want to chase from town isn't really a rabbi, and a rabbi they chase from town isn't really a man.

6. Rabbeinu Yonah of Gerondi, Shaarei Teshuvah 3:197

איש אשר ישמע את דברי בני אדם מדברים לשון הרע, או כי ישמע כל פה דובר נבלה, או יושב בסוד משחקים בוזים תורה ומצות, ויודע כי הם סרבים וסלונים ואם יוכיחם לא יקשיבו אל דבריו, על כן ישים יד על פה, גם זה יענש כי לא יענה כסילים באולתם, פן יאמרו כי הוא כמו הם, וכי הודה על דבריהם

If you hear people gossiping or speaking disgustingly or mocking Torah and mitzvot, and you know that they are stubborn and won't listen and so you just put your hand over your mouth, you will be punished for not responding to their foolishness.

7. Talmud, Yevamot 65b

כשם שמצוה על אדם לומר דבר הנשמע כך מצוה על אדם שלא לומר דבר שאינו נשמע רבי אבא אומר חובה שנאמר +משלי ט'+ אל תוכח לץ פן ישנאך הוכח לחכם ויאהבך

Just as there is a mitzvah to say that which will be heard, so there is a mitzvah not to say that which will not be heard. R' Abba said: It is obligatory, as it is written, ‘Do not rebuke a scorner, lest he hate you. Rebuke a wise man and he will love you.’

Rabbis and Super Bowl Parties

Do rabbis belong at Super Bowl parties? And if so, what should they do during commercials which display halachically prohibited sights, or during the camera's pan to the cheerleaders? [I'm not raising the bitul torah question; if you are reading my blog, you have no right to condemn someone else for wasting time from Torah study...]

I went a couple of times over the years, and hung around in the back where I could conveniently start a conversation with someone during commercials. I liked being with my friends/peers, I loved the subs, and I felt the tug of the game even though my New York Jets never got that far in the playoffs. I wasn't able to stick around for long in any case, as there were always too many other things to do, so I would just catch a few minutes here and there. But this question of whether I belonged always bothered me.

So: How do you think rabbis should handle invitations to the party, or their own desire to watch? And what about shuls which actually hold their own, official Super Bowl parties?

The Apter Rebbe (R' Avraham Yehoshua Heschel) makes peace

[I'm currently enjoying this post re: Rav Yisrael Salanter at Modern Uberdox]

Here's an interesting story, recorded in Achilat Matzot b'Yisrael by R' Shalom Yuda Gross (pg. 140-141 of the pdf here, but I have brought the Hebrew at the end of this post). This story bothers me on several levels; I'm curious to see if it bothers others as it bothers me.

Two explanatory notes in advance:
1. According to traditional halachic authorities, one must use "shemurah matzah", and not regular matzah, for the mitzvot of the Seder.
2. Customarily, chasidim avoid eating "soaked matzah", popularly referred to as "gebrokts", as a custom during Pesach. When using our super-thin matzah, this is generally understood to be custom rather than law.

Once, tzedakah collectors came to the home of the holy Rav of Opta, the Ohev Yisrael, on the day before Pesach, to collect matzot for the needy. The Rebbetzin was busy preparing for Yom Tov, and others went to provide matzot for the collectors. In the bustle, they mistakenly took the shemurah matzah which had been baked on the day before Pesach for the Rav and were plaed under a special cloth, and gave them to the collectors, who took them before the Rebbetzin came into the room.

When the Rebbetzin enteredthe room, she saw that the shemurah matzah was not there. She investigated, and learned that hey had been given to the tzedakah collectors. She quaked, and her heart was struck in her chest; she did not know what to do. She feared telling her holy husband about this. She decided to take regular matzah, which she placed beneath the cloth in place of the others, and she pretended to know nothing of what had happened. The holy Rav conducted the Seder with the plain matzah.

After Pesach, a couple came before the Rav to divorce. The Rav asked the husband, "Why do you wish to divorce your wife?"

The husband replied that this wife did not want to cook for Pesach in implements which had not been used for soaked matzah.

The Rav instructed to call for his Rebbetzin. He told her, "Tell me the truth: What sort of matzot were placed before me for the Seder?"

The Rebbetzin was silent, afraid to say.

He asked again, "Please tell, and do not fear."

The Rebbetzin answered, "Normal matzot." And she told what had happened.

The Rav told the husband, "See, my son. I ate normal matzah on the first night of Pesach, pretending that I did not know and was not aware so that I would not come to anger, or, Gd-forbid, to a quarrel. And you want to divorce your wife over soaked matzah?"

The Rav made peace between them, and they left in peace.

פעם אחת נזדמן אצל הרב הקדוש מאפטא, בעל ״אוהב ישראל״, שבאו גבאי־צדקה של העיר בערב־פסח לגבות מצות עבור העניים, והרבנית היתה טרודה בהכנות ליו״ט, והלכו אנשי הבית לתת להגבאים את המצות ומרוב הטרדה שכחו ולקחו את מצות־השמורה שנאפו בערב־פסח לשם הרב והיו מונחות במפה מיוחדת בחדר ונתנו להגובים והללו נטלו והלכו להם. בבוא אחרי כן הרבנית להחדר וראתה כי מצות השמורה אינן, עשתה חקירה ודרישה ונתוודע לה שנתנו אותן לגבאי־הצדקה. נזדעזעה מאד הרבנית, ויך לבה בקרבה, ולא ידעה מה לעשות כי יראה להגיד הדבר לבעלה הקדוש. נמלכה הרבנית ולקחה מצות פשוטות, ושמה במקומן בתוך המפה, ועשתה עצמה כלא יודעת מכל הנעשה, וערך הרב הקדוש את ה״סדר״ על המצות הפשוטות.

לאחר הג הפסח באו לפני הרב זוג להתגרש. שאל הרב את הבעל:
- מה לך כי תגרש אשתך?
והשיב הבעל כי אשתו לא רצתה לבשל בשבילו בפסח בכלים מיוחדים בלי ״שרויה״ (חסידים ואנשי־מעשה מדקדקים לבלי לאכול בפסח ״מצה־שרוייה״ ונזהרים לבלי לבשל בפסח מצה במים)
אז ציוה הרב לקרוא להרבנית, ויאמר לה: הגידי נא האמת: איזו מצות הניחו לפני לה״סדר״ ?
ותחרש הרבנית, כי יראה להגיד.
שאל אותה שוב: הגידי נא, אל תיראי.
ותען הרבנית: מצות פשוטות...
ותספר את כל המעשה.
ואז אמר הרב להבעל:
- ראה נא, בני: אני אכלתי מצה פשוטה בליל ראשון של פסח, ועשיתי את עצמי כלא יודע וכלא מרגיש, למען לא אבוא לידי הקפדה, או ח״ו לקטטה, ואתה רוצה לגרש את אשתך בשביל ״שרויה״?!
ועשה הרב שלום ביניהם, והלכו מאתו לשלום.

So much for Shabbos Shirah

We put out a bird-feeder bell before Shabbos, as part of our Shabbos Shirah celebrations. No birds braved the freezing cold over Shabbos, but we had hopes for the rest of the week...

...Until just now, when I heard a thump outside and got this picture:



Those are evil-looking eyes.

I don't suppose raccoons ate the manna left out on Shabbos by Dasan and Aviram?

Now that we're discussing Shabbos Shirah and leaving food for birds, here's a halachic note on the subject:

May I feed wild birds on Shabbat Shirah?

There is an old custom of leaving grain or bread for birds on Shabbat Shirah. Some suggest it is a reward for their song at the Sea; others link it to the way the birds ate the false manna dispersed by Dasan and Aviram on Shabbat.

Some oppose this practice, insisting that food be left out before Shabbat. This is because the sages forbade feeding wild animals on Shabbat (1) because there may be strain involved and (2) because one might forget the laws of Shabbat and trap these creatures. They permitted only feeding domesticated animals which depend on us for food.

Other authorities defend the practice of putting out food on Shabbat Shirah, arguing that there is no strain involved and that the birds are beyond trapping when the food is placed outside. Further, we are doing it not for the birds' sake, but for the sake of our own custom.

(Maharam Lublin to Beitzah 23b; Magen Avraham 324:7; Tosefes Shabbos 324:17; Mishneh Berurah 324:31; Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 324:3; Tzitz Eliezer 14:28)

Refusing medical treatment

This week I'll be presenting a campus Medical Ethics class on "May a patient refuse medical treatment?" We'll talk about:

• The Torah's license to heal and whether that obligates patients to seek healing;
• The arguments in favor of compelling a person to pursue certain activities, and against;
• The question of whether a patient is required to trust a doctor who prescribes a given treatment.

Here's the source sheet. Of course, there are many more sources to consider, but this is a relatively quick "lunch and learn" session:

Cases

A. Jim, 25, is in a car accident. A large vein in his leg is severed, and Jim loses a great deal of blood. Jim's religious beliefs prohibit blood transfusions. Is Jim entitled to refuse the transfusion?

B. Susan, 89, has emphysema, cataracts, dementia and trigeminal neuralgia, and is diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. Her doctor says the tumor is treatable with chemotherapy. Is Susan entitled to refuse the cancer treatment?

C. Jason and Sally have a 6 year old son who is scheduled to have a tetanus vaccination, but they have heard that vaccines are dangerous. Are they entitled to refuse the vaccination on behalf of their son?

Physicians are permitted to heal

1. Talmud, Berachot 60a

אמר רב אחא הנכנס להקיז דם אומר יהי רצון מלפניך ד' אלקי שיהא עסק זה לי לרפואה ותרפאני כי אל רופא נאמן אתה ורפואתך אמת לפי שאין דרכן של בני אדם לרפאות אלא שנהגו אמר אביי לא לימא אינש הכי דתני דבי רבי ישמעאל ורפא ירפא מכאן שניתנה רשות לרופא לרפאות

Rav Acha said: One should recite the following prayer when he enters to have his blood let: “May it be Your will, my Gd, that this activity should be a cure for me and heal me, for You are a faithful healer and Your healing is true. It is not the way of humans to heal; it is simply what we do.”

Abayye said: One should not say this, for we have learned from the yeshiva of Rabbi Yishmael, “The Torah says ‘and heal him,’ from which we learn that the doctor is given permission to heal.”

2. Ramban, Torat haAdam, Illness: Danger

ומסתברא דהא דאמרינן נתנה רשות לרופא לרפאות לומר שאינו אסור משום חשש השגגה. א״נ שלא יאמרו הקב״ה מוחץ והוא מרפא שאין דרכן של בני אדם ברפואותאלא שנהגו... האי רשות רשות דמצוה הוא לרפאות ובכלל פקו"נ הוא

"The Torah gave the doctor permission to heal" means that healing is not prohibited due to concern for error. Alternatively, it is lest people say that Gd strikes and this person comes to heal, and that it is not the way of humans to heal, but simply what we do… This permission is a mitzvah, for it is a mitzvah to heal and it is part of saving lives.

Am I obligated to go to a doctor, or not?

3. Ramban to Vayyikra 26:11

והכלל כי בהיות ישראל שלמים והם רבים, לא יתנהג ענינם בטבע כלל... עד שלא יצטרכו לרופא ולהשתמר בדרך מדרכי הרפואות כלל, כמו שאמר כי אני ד' רופאך. וכן היו הצדיקים עושים בזמן הנבואה...

The principle is that when the Jews are complete, the laws of nature will not govern them at all… They will not need a doctor and will not need to be careful about therapeutic activities at all, as it is written, ‘For I am HaShem your healer.’ And so the righteous did in the prophetic era…

Am I obligated to follow the doctor's advice?

4. Talmud, Bava Kama 90b

החובל בעצמו אף על פי שאינו רשאי - פטור, אחרים שחבלו בו - חייבים

Although one who illegally harms himself is exempt from liability, others who harm him are liable.

5. Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 618:1

חולה שצריך לאכול, אם יש שם רופא בקי אפילו הוא עובד כוכבים שאומר: אם לא יאכילו אותו אפשר שיכבד עליו החולי ויסתכן, מאכילין אותו על פיו... אפילו אם החולה אומר: אינו צריך, שומעים לרופא

If a patient needs to eat, and an expert doctor – Jewish or not Jewish – says that without eating his illness may worsen and he may be endangered, we feed him… Even if the patient denies needing it, we listen to the doctor.

6. Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 3:1

אין בית דין פחות משלשה. וכל שלשה נקראים בית דין, אפילו הדיוטות... והם דנים את האדם בעל כרחו

There is no such thing as a court of fewer than three judges; any set of three, even untrained people, are a court… and they can judge a person against his will.

7. Talmud, Sanhedrin 73a

מנין לרואה את חברו שהוא טובע.. שהוא חייב להצילו תלמוד לומר לא תעמד על דם רעך והא מהכא נפקא מהתם נפקא אבדת גופו מניין תלמוד לומר והשבתו לו אי מהתם הוה אמינא הני מילי בנפשיה אבל מיטרח ומיגר אגורי אימא לא קא משמע לן

How do we know that one must save a person he sees drowning…? The Torah teaches, "You shall not stand by the blood of another." Isn't that "And you shall return it to him," which refers to loss of his body? That would only require doing it personally, but it would not require hiring someone to help.

8. Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 261:4

המאבד ממונו לדעת אין נזקקין לו

One need not aid a person who destroys his own property knowingly.

9. R' Yaakov Emden, Mor uKetziah Orach Chaim 328

ועוסק בתרופה בדוקה וגמורה ודאי לעולם כופין לחולה המסרב במקום סכנה בכל ענין ואופן שנתנה תורה רשות לרופא לרפאותו, כגון לחתוך בשר חי שבמכה... אפילו בנטילת אבר (כדי להצילו ממות)... ומעשין אותו בעל כרחו משום הצלת נפש, ואין משגיחין בו אם הוא אינו רוצה ביסורין ובוחר מות מחיים אלא חותכין לו אפילו אבר שלם, אם הוצרך לכך למלטו ממות

One who practices tested treatments definitely forces a recalcitrant patient, in a case of danger, to undergo any treatment licensed by the Torah in its permission to heal, such as cutting raw flesh from a wound… or even removing a limb to save his life… And we force him against his will to save his life. We do not pay attention to his refusal of pain and his choice of death over life; we cut even a whole limb if this is necessary to save him from death.

10. R' Meir Simchah haKohen, Meshech Chachmah to Shemot 24:3

לכוף ולרדות על חוקי התורה ונדריה הוא רק מצד ש'כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה', ואם יעבור אחד, הוא מזיק לחבירו ולהכלל כולו. בזה יש לבית דין לכוף ולשפוט העובר את מצות ד' יתברך, דבלא זה אין זה מהראוי שיתערב אחד במה שיש להאדם עם קונו

Compelling people to follow Torah is a product of 'All Jews are responsible for each other'; one who would violate the law would harm others and the entity as a whole. Then the court should compel and judge one who violates Gd's commands. Otherwise, it would be inappropriate to intervene in another's relationship with his Creator.

11. Talmud, Sanhedrin 84b

בן מהו שיקיז דם לאביו רב מתנא אמר ואהבת לרעך כמוך

May a son let blood to treat his father? Rav Matna said: "Love your neighbour as yourself."

12. R' Yaakov Emden, Mor uKetziah Orach Chaim 328

נ"ל דווקא כשרוצה למנוע מהשתמש ברפואה הוודאית (אף הסתמית ע"י רופא מומחה כוודאית חשיבא)... אבל אם נמנע מפני שאינו מחזיקה לרפואה בדוקה אפילו מדעת עצמו בלבד, כ"ש אם מסייעו רופא אחד... אין כופין, וכ"ש אם חושש הוא שמזקת לו אותה טרופה שסידר לו הרופא האומר צריך... רק בחולי ומכה שבגלוי שיש לרופא ידיעה ודאית והכרה ברורה בהם ועוסק בתרופה בדוקה וגמורה

It appears to me that [we compel] only where he wishes to refrain from a definite treatment – and the default assumption regarding an expert doctor is that his treatments are 'definite'… But if he refuses because he doesn't think the cure is tested, even on his own say-so and certainly if another doctor agrees, then we do not compel him. This is certainly true if the patient is concerned that the treatment may harm him… And [we compel] only for a revealed illness or wound, where the doctor has definite knowledge and clear comprehension and is using a tested treatment…

13. R' Yaakov Emden, Mor uKetziah Orach Chaim 328

אבל יש שבוחרין בספק נפשות כדי להציל עצמן מיסורין קשין כאותן שמוסרין עצמן לחיתוך מפני אבן שבכיס ובגיד וחצץ הכליות הכואב אותן מאד בצער קשה כמוות ר"ל. ולאלה מניחין אותן לעשות כחפצם בלי מוחה, מחמת שכמה פעמים נושעים ונרפאים.

Some choose to endanger their lives in order to avoid great pain, like those who undergo surgery for a kidneystone… which pains them like death. They may do so without protest, for they are often saved and healed.

14. R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, cited in Nishmat Avraham 2 pg. 47-48

אין לבצע ניתוח כזה נגד רצונו של החולה (או אפילו לנסות לשכנע אותו להסכים לניתוח) כיון שמדובר כאן בניתוח גדול ומסוכן שרק יוסיף לסבלו של החולה בלי סיכוי כל שהוא לחיי עולם.

One may not conduct such a surgery against the patient's will, or even try to convince him to agree, since this is a great and dangerous surgery which will only add to his suffering without any chance of restoring 'eternal' life.

The Kaddish Rules

[This is my article from this week's edition of Toronto Torah]

On its most basic level, the chazzan's kaddish is a call for the Name of G-d to be elevated, to which we respond with a similar blessing of the Name of Gd. However, our davening is dotted with "half" and "whole" versions of kaddish (aside from the mourner's own varieties of kaddish, which we will not address in this article). What rule determines where the chazzan recites kaddish?

The half-kaddish, also known as "chatzi kaddish", is the basic kaddish, and its role is to separate the various mitzvot we fulfill in the course of our davening. (Raavad, cited in Beit Yosef Orach Chaim 55)

At Shacharit:
The chazzan recites a chatzi kaddish after Yishtabach to show that the preceding paragraphs do not connect to the ensuing amidah, and then another after the amidah to show that the amidah is complete. [The latter chatzi kaddish is delayed until after tachanun because tachanun is meant to be an extension of the amidah.]

An additional chatzi kaddish is recited after the Torah reading on days when we read from the Torah, in order to demonstrate that this Torah reading is a separate mitzvah.

Shema is not followed by a chatzi kaddish to demarcate its separate identity, because this would disrupt the required continuity between Shema and the amidah.

At Minchah:
A chatzi kaddish before the amidah at Minchah demarcates this special mitzvah.

An additional chatzi kaddish precedes the Torah reading on days when the Torah is read, for the same purpose.

At Maariv:
A chatzi kaddish precedes the amidah to identify it as a unique mitzvah. Mateh Moshe 388 notes that this also demonstrates that the amidah at Maariv need not be connected to Shema and the preceding passages describing our redemption from Egypt.

A chatzi kaddish follows the amidah after Shabbat, to mark the amidah as separate from the readings (V'Yhi Noam, v'Yiten Lecha) which follow it.


The whole kaddish, also known as "kaddish shalem", is meant to conclude our formal prayer with its "Titkabel" request that HaShem accept our prayers (Terumat haDeshen 15). Therefore, the chazzan recites kaddish shalem after Uva L'Tzion at the end of Shacharit, and at the end of Minchah and Maariv. When there is Musaf, this kaddish terminating Shacharit appears after Hallel. [When Hallel is recited but there is no Musaf, such as on Chanukah, kaddish shalem is recited in its normal location after Uva L'Tzion, and the chatzi kaddish for the end of the amidah is recited after Hallel.]

What is the role of the listener? Rav Yosef Karo (Beit Yosef Orach Chaim 55) noted that we try to respond to at least seven recitations of kaddish each day, to fulfill King David's declaration, "I have praised You seven times each day." Per Rav Moshe Isserles (Orach Chaim 25:13), we should make sure that our tefillin are on when responding to four recitations of kaddish on weekday mornings, although others contend that the text should read "three recitations" (Magen Avraham 25:28, Mishneh Berurah 25:56). These quotas include recitations of the Mourner's Kaddish.