Question: Dear Rabbi Sprung, I am a surgeon in an Israeli hospital. This year Purim falls on Motzei Shabbos and I am scheduled to begin operating shortly after Shabbos ends. I will need to leave for the hospital...
Yom Kippur 5780
Rabbi Yossi SprungTiny Beginnings: Halachic Considerations on Prematurity and Incubators
Medical and technological advances have raised many Halachic questions that the earlier Poskim did not contemplate. Some have become the subject of immense debate, such as paternity testing or determining maternity in...
Are Thermometers Muktza?
Medida shel Mitzva In the past[1], we have discussed measuring and weighing on Shabbos for medical purposes and identified two reasons for the Issur d’Rabbanan of measuring on Shabbos. First, it may constitute...
Age vs. Wisdom
It was taught in a Beraisa, R’ Yishmael b’Rabi Yosi says: Torah scholars attain increased wisdom as they age, as it states (Iyov 12:12): “With aged men is wisdom and length of days brings understanding.” As for Amei...
“Take a Little Off the Top, Doc”
A Practical Halachic Guide to Shaving and Haircuts in the Medical Setting Shaving and haircuts are routine activities that are subject to many wide-ranging Halachos. Comprehensive Halachic knowledge is required to...
From the Rabbi’s Desk: Making It Up
Question: Dear Rabbi Sprung, I work in the hospital emergency room. I try to find the time to Daven, but I don’t always manage to due to the intense nature of the work. This is especially common in the winter when...
From the Rabbi’s Desk: Shabbos Showers
Question: Dear Rabbi Sprung, I am a resident in Chutz laAretz. My supervisor allows me to go home for Shabbos, provided that I leave the hospital just before Shabbos begins and return immediately after Shabbos. Baruch...
From the Rabbi’s Desk[1]: In Hot Water
Question: Dear Rabbi Sprung, Last Shabbos, I stayed at my father’s bedside in a hospital (in Eretz Yisrael). As I walked through the hallway, I saw one of the workers repairing the Shabbos urn. The urn in question had a...
Etzem Yom haZeh: A Halachic Guide to Asara b’Teves[1]
On the 10th of Teves, Nevuchadnetzar, king of Babylon, arrived and laid siege to the holy city of Yerushalayim. This marked the onset of the destruction of the first Beis haMikdash, prompting the Sages to designate this...
