I am very excited for the opportunity to share words of Torah with you. Each week, in this spot, I look to share an idea I've found that speaks to me and that I think will resonate with you as well. This week, I share an excerpt from an article by Rabbi Yehonasan Gefen entitled 'The Value of Life', about the Jewish value of life.
The Torah tells us that if we will keep the Mitzvot, then we will ‘live by them’. Rashi explains that the Torah does not simply mean that we will live forever by them in this world, because everyone is destined to die. Rather, the Torah is referring to life in the only place that is eternal – the Next World. However, the Gemara derives a very different lesson from this verse. The Gemara1 has a lengthy discussion about the source of the halacha that one is permitted, and obligated, to transgress any Mitzva, (with the exception of murder, Idol worship and immorality) in order to save a life. Shmuel states that the source is this verse where the Torah says, ‘you will live by them’ (vechai bahem). Shmuel explains that the Torah is coming to allude that one should live through his Mitzva observance and not die through keeping the Torah, hence one should not do a Mitzva that could result in death. The Gemara concludes that Shmuel’s interpretation is the best one.
It is instructive to analyze the ramifications that ‘vechai bahem’ is the source of the obligation to break the Torah in order to save a life. One of the other suggested sources for the source of this obligation is a verse relating to the obligation to keep Shabbat: The Torah tells us, “And the children of Israel will keep the Shabbat in order to keep the Shabbat throughout their generations.” Rebbe Shimon Ben Menasya interprets this verse to be instructing us to break one Shabbos to save a person’s life so that he will be able to observe many Shabbatot in the future. This derivation would seem to apply not just to Shabbat, but to all Mitzvot in general, whereby the Torah instructs us to break any Mitzva in order to potentially enable the sick person to keep other Mitzvos in the future.
The commentaries note that there is a very significant difference between this interpretation and that of Shmuel. According to Rebbe Shimon Ben Menasya, the reason that we break Shabbat is so that the sick person may be able to observe Shabbos in the future. It follows that in a case where it is totally certain that person will not be capable of surviving to keep another Shabbos then there is no permit to break Shabbos to save his life. In contrast, according to Shmuel’s drash that life is of more value than a Mitzvah, the permit and obligation to break a Mitzva to save a life would apply even if the sick person will definitely not be able to live long enough, or be well enough to perform any Mitzvos in the future. The Mishnah Berurah rules definitively that the halacha follows Shmuel, that we must break any Mitzva (excluding the three aforementioned Mitzvot) in order to save a life. The reason for this is that life in and of itself is of intrinsic, infinite value, even if there would seem to be no practical benefit for lengthening the sick persons’ life.
This message rings true especially this week with the commemoration of Yom HaZikaron (Israel Memorial Day) and the celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day). We must appreciate the over 24,000 Israeli soldiers who have given their lives so that we can live and flourish in our land.
Have a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Davies
Rabbi@SOICherryHill.org
