The first four essays in the series extensively reviewed the Halachic issues related to medical personnel returning home on Shabbos after responding to an emergency or completing a shift in the hospital. In this week’s...
Unfortunately, patients with advanced dementia often lose the ability to remember the day of the week, and even when oriented to the day of the week may not recall that a particular action is prohibited on Shabbos. They...
The past several essays have discussed the Sugya of Hitiru Sofan miShum Techilasan – the Halachic principle that allows a person who has left the Techum to save lives to return home after completing his mission. As we...
The previous two essays in this series have detailed the Halachos for medical personnel who wish to return home on Shabbos following a life-saving act. We concluded that while some Poskim forbid violating Issurim...
The initial essay in this series discussed the Machlokes between the Rosh and Rambam regarding the application of the principle of “Hitiru Sofan miShum Techilasan” to soldiers who leave the Techum to save lives. The...
One of the most frequently discussed topics in medical Halacha is “Hitiru Sofan miShum Techilasan” (“they permitted the end due to the beginning”). Doctors, nurses, and medical personnel encounter many scenarios that...
“And Hashem E-lokim formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Targum Onkelos – l’Ruach M’malela – a speaking spirit)” (Bereishis 2:7)...
There is a fundamental Machlokes Rishonim concerning Chillul Shabbos for a Choleh sheYesh Bo Sakana. According to one view, it is ideal to perform any necessary actions with either a Shinui or through a non-Jew if this...
The Gemara (Sukka 46a) teaches that “one who enters a Sukka recites a Bracha – Asher Kid’shanu b’Mitzvosav v’Tzivanu Leisheiv baSukka”. There is no limit to how many times one may recite this Bracha each day; one should...
In a previous essay[1], we discussed the question of a Choleh who is restricted to fasting once in ten days. Should he fast on Yom Kippur or Tzom Gedalia? That discussion focused on the important Halachic question of...
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Hillel Kovacs
Rabbi Yosef Sprung