Rabbi Yosef Sprung
מרן הגאב”ד הרב אשר וייס שליט”א במה ששאל לדעתי במנהג כל העולם כולו שאומרים תהלים לרפואת החולים, דלכאורה מנהג זה נסתר מדברי הרמב”ם שאסור להתרפאות בדברי תורה, אבאר בזה את הנלענ”ד. כתב הרמב”ם...
Rabbi Asher WeissI Struck Down and I Will Heal
Haazinu 5780 See, now, that I, I am He – and no god is with me. I put to death and I bring life, I struck down and I will heal, and there is no rescuer from My hand. (Devarim 32:39) One of the core axioms in Jewish...
Reciting Krias Shema In the Presence of Urine or Excrement
Haazinu 5779 “For it is not an empty thing for you, for it is your life, and through this matter shall you prolong your days on the Land to which you cross the Jordan to possess it.” (Devarim 32:47) The...
Medical Professionals, Patients, and Rosh Hashana
Nitzavim – Rosh Hashana 5780 This week, with the Yom Tov of Rosh Hashana approaching, we will discuss a number of common Halachic questions that are relevant to medical professionals and patients regarding Musaf...
Alzheimer’s Disease and Yom Kippur
Vayelech 5780 Moshe spoke these words to all of Israel. He said to them, “I am a hundred and twenty years old today; I can no longer go out and come in”… (Devarim 31:1-2) Although this Pasuk implies that Moshe was...
Panic Attacks in Halacha
Ki-Tavo 5780 And among those nations you will not be tranquil, there will be no rest for the sole of your foot; there Hashem will give you a trembling heart, longing of eyes, and suffering of soul. Your life will hang...
The Risk-Averse Physician
Ki-Teitzei 5780 “…and so shall you do for any lost article of your brother that may become lost from him and you find it; you cannot hide yourself.” Devarim 22:3 Many readers are familiar with the famous Derasha...
Dayan. . . M.D.?
Shoftim 5780 Judges and officers shall you appoint in all your cities which Hashem your G-d gives you for your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. (Devarim 16:18) A Dayan (rabbinical...
Tattoo Removal and Erasing the Shem Hashem
Reeh 5780 You shall break apart their altars; you shall smash their pillars; and their sacred trees shall you burn in the fire; their carved images shall you cut down; and you shall obliterate their names from that...
Tube Feedings and Bracha Rishona
Ekev 5780 And you will eat and you will be satisfied and you will bless Hashem your G-d. (Devarim 8:10) Patients who are unable to meet their nutritional requirements through normal eating often require formula feeding...
Preventive Medicine and Disease Screening
Vaetchanan 5780 “But you shall greatly beware for your souls.” (Devarim 4:15) In our essay for Parshas Va’eschanan last year[1], we focused on the Mitzva found in the Posuk above – “v’Nishmartem M’od l’Nafshoseichem” –...
Fasting AMA (Against Medical Advice)
Devarim 5780 “You shall not tremble before any man, for judgment is God’s.” (Devarim 1:17) This Posuk obligates the Dayanim of Beis Din not to fear the litigants that stand before them, even if they are powerful or...
All in the Family
Matot-Masei 5780 The daughters of Tzelafchad, as described in the Posuk above, married their first cousins. Previously, Moshe Rabbenu had been told that they could “marry whomever was good in their eyes, but they should...
A Doctor’s Salary
Pinchas 5780 The Gemara (Bechoros 29a) famously rules that one may not take compensation for performing Mitzvos. This is derived from the Pasuk, “See, I have taught you statutes and laws just as Hashem...
Inserting Vascular Catheters on Shabbat
Shlach “The Children of Israel were in the wilderness and they found a man gathering wood on the Shabbos day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moshe and Aaron, and to the entire assembly. They placed...
Pikuach Nefesh After a Suicide Attempt
Kedoshim 5779 “You shall not stand over the blood of your friend.” (Vayikra 19:16) This Posuk serves as one of the sources for the Mitzva of saving human life (Sanhedrin 74a). Elsewhere, Chaza”l derive this Mitzva from...
Performing Medical Procedures on Parents
Mishpatim 5779 ‘And somebody who strikes his father or mother shall surely die’ (Shemos 21:12) Paragraph In this verse we learn of the grave sin of striking one’s father or mother. The Gemara in Sanhedrin (84b-85a)...
