Shabbat and a life threatening situation

1. "The laws of Sabbath are suspended in the face of a danger to life (piquah nefesh) Therefore, we may perform according to the directives of a physician everything that is necessary for the benefit of a sick person whose life is in danger." (Maimonides MT, Shabbat 2:1)

This principle is learned from the verse in Lev 18:5. HaShem said: "You shall keep My statutes and my rules; which when a person does them, he lives by them... ". Our rabbis explained: when by performing these laws "he lives" he must observe them. However, when by keeping these Mitsvot he or she would die, then the Mitsvot are suspended (except cases of yeherag ve-al ya'abor.Example: if someone tells X: kill Y or else I kill you, X cannot kill Y to save his own life)

2. Even when there is a doubt or a slight possibility to save someone's life Shabbat must be suspended.  

"When there is a doubt whether or not the Sabbath must be violated on a person's behalf, one should violate the Sabbath laws on his or her behalf, for the Sabbath laws are suspended even when there is merely a possibility of danger to a person's life (safeq piquah nefesh). The same principles apply when one physician says that the patient is not in danger and another physician says that he is in danger, the Sabbath should be violated on that person's  behalf." (Idem)

Illustrations: 1. If there is a medication or an experimental drug that has been proven to help some patients, one should suspend the laws of Shabbat if necessary to get that of medication, even when one is not positive it will save the patient's life.  2. If a building collapsed, and there is uncertainty if a person lies under the debris or if we are uncertain if that person is still alive, the laws of Shabbat should be suspended to try to save a life.

Shabbat Shalom!

Candle lighting in NYC: 6:14

Shabbat ends in NYC:  7:12

Third Commandment: You shall not "carry" the name of God in vain.

In Jewish tradition the third commandment "LO TISA" refers to the prohibition of swearing in the name of God in vain or unnecessarily (shebu'at shav). Following Maimonides, it also extends to the prohibition of reciting a blessing in vain.  Why? Ashebu'a is basically a statement, an affirmation of a belief or a fact.  In a blessing we are also making a statement. We assert an idea or a belief about God, while pronouncing His name. For example, when I say the blessing "bore feri ha'ets" I'm not saying "Thank You God for this fruit"  but literally: "Blessed are You, HASHEM our God, King of the universe, who is the Creator of the fruit of the tree". In other words: I'm stating and acknowledging that You -HASHEM- are the Creator of this fruit.   Therefore, if I pronounce this or a similar statement unnecessarily I would be transgressing the third commandment.  This is the source of the halakhic principle: "safeq berakhot lehaqel". Which indicates that in a situation where I'm not sure if I should or should not say a berakha I should abstain, lest I recite an unnecessary berakha (lebatala) and transgress LO TISA.  

The former Chief rabbi of Israel , Rabbi Shelomo 'Amar, explains that this commandment also extends to a different area. The words LO TISA which are commonly translated as "You shall not take..." literally mean: "You shall not 'carry' the name of God in vain". He sees LO TISA also as a warning against showing-off religiosity or piety.  Rabbi 'Amar denounces the unfortunate practice of some people who would disguise themselves as pious, adopting publicly extra restrictions, performing eccentric movements while praying, or carrying out religious acts in unusual ways with the intention of impressing people and making them believe that he is a pious Jew.  This behavior will be an example of "carrying God's name in vain". Pretending that one does something with God in mind when in reality is doing it for his or her own interest.

Rabbi 'Amar explains that contrary to those who display religious zeal in public to impress others, a real pious Jew is first of all humble, and his piety is observed privately and discreetly.    

You can read the full article of Rabbi 'Amar  here  (Hebrew).

Maran Rabbi Yosef Caro (1488-1575)

 Rabbi Yosef Caro (also Karo or Qaro) was born in Toledo, Spain in 1488. In 1492, at the age of four, he and his family were forced to leave Toledo due to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. His family settled in Portugal. In 1497 the Jews were also expelled from Portugal. The Jews were invited to establish themselves in the Ottoman empire. The Caro family settled in the city of Constantinople.  His father Epharim Caro was his first and most important teacher.    Rabbi Yosef Caro's earliest work was the Kesef Mishne a commentary of Maimonide's Mihsne Torah, where he shows the Talmudic sources and the logic behind Maimonides rulings.  His most famous book is the Shulhan 'arukh, considered the main Code of Jewish Law (see here) 

In 1535 Rabbi Yosef Caro arrived to Tsefat (Safed, Israel). There he met Rabbi Ya'aqob Berab who planned to reinstitute the semikha, i.e., the formal rabbinical ordination that will enable Rabbis to legislate in all subjects and for all the Jewish people. The intention of Rabbi Berab was to establish a Bet-Din in Tsefat that will be the undisputed Halakhic voice, coming from Israel, for all Jews in the world. Solving thus the current situation in which each Jewish community had its particular and separate Halahkhic practice and customs.  

Rabbi Berab ordained four Rabbis, one of the was Rabbi Yosef Caro. According to the Hida, rabbi Yosef Caro was ordained in addition by 200 rabbis from Erets Israel and the diaspora (The title Sephardic Jews have reserved for Rabbi Yosef Caro is "MARAN" which in Hebrew stands for: ממאתים רבנים נסמך = "The one ordained by 200 Rabbis"). The Hida explained that when one follows the Shulhan 'Arukh is not following the opinion of one rabbi but of 200 Rabbis. At that time, 200 Rabbis represented the majority of the rabbis of the world.  This is the source of the extraordinary authority given to Rabbi Yosef Caro, and the main reason why the Shulhan 'arukh was accepted by all Jews as final and conclusive. 

Maran Rabbi Yosef Caro died in Tsefat in 1575. 

Some of his books are 

• Kesef Mishne (כסף משנה) a commentary to Maimonides Mishne Tora

• Bet Yosef (בית יוסף), a monumental commentary on the Arba'a Turim from Rabbi Ya'aqob ben haRosh. This book was aimed to systematize the laws and customs of Judaism. 
• Shulhan 'Arukh (שולחן ערוך).  Although it is a brief and practical summary of the Bet Yosef it is considered the unquestioned authority of the whole Jewish world.

• Bedeq ha-Bayit (בדק הבית) additions and corrections to Beth Yosef.
• Kelalei ha-Talmud (כללי התלמוד) a book on the methodology of the Talmud.

Click here to download the first edition of the Shulhan 'Arukh, Venezia, 1565