Violating Shabbos to Save a Life
Adapted from a shiur by Rav Yechiel
Biberfield on Parshas
Ki Sisa
ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת לעשות את השבת לדורותם לברית עולם
The Gemara cites eight pesukim, including the pasuk above, to prove that one may violate Shabbos to save a life. But the Gemara says v’chai bahem is the best, since it includes even cases of safek sakanah, while the others only allow for definite danger.
Is the permission to
violate Shabbos hutra
or dechuya?
- Rosh/Maharam: It is hutra like cooking on Yom Tov, and better than violating other mitzvos.
- Chasam Sofer: This is because v’shamru teaches that Shabbos is hutra, but v’chai bahem teaches that other mitzvos are only dechuya.
- Vyaan Yosef and Emes Lyaakov: They explain based on the Rambam that v’chai bahem is based on oness (with no choice), while v’shamru is the preferred choice – hutra to violate Shabbos to keep Shabbos again in the future.
There are a number
of other nafka
minos between these two derivations:
- Beur Halacha 329:1 — V’shamru applies if he can continue to keep mitzvos (even
not Shabbos), but v’chai
bahem shows we violate Shabbos even if he won’t live long enough to
keep more mitzvos.
- Shulchan Aruch 330:5 – If a woman dies during
childbirth before the baby emerges, we may violate Shabbos to save the baby.- Mishna
Berura (8) – Even if the
baby is not yet alive, we still violate Shabbos. This is based on v’shamru,
because v’chai
bahem applies only if it’s alive.
- Mishna
- Tosafos — Eliyahu was allowed to
approach a dead child in Sefer Melachim even though he was a Kohen because he
was sure he could resurrect him, so it was pikuach nefesh. Although v’chai bahem applies only to a live
person, v’shamru
allows violating mitzvos for the potential to do future mitzvos
even for one currently dead.