Page 306 - 20818_park-B_efi

20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 10 - B | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Magenta
#
58 SICK LEAVE DUE TO
POSSIBILITY OF COLLAPSE
1 Question
After giving birth to her seventh child, while she was still nursing and
weak from the birth, a woman went through a difficult time due to
illness of a family member, who subsequently passed away. This took
an emotional toll on her, causing lack of sleep and great mental stress.
Fearing she would collapse from exhaustion, she asked me, as her
physician, to write a note enabling her to take paid sick days off from
work. The principal of the school where the patient was employed as
a teacher testified that she had a very difficult class as well.
Am I permitted to grant her sick leave so that she can regain her
strength? Perhaps, since she has no objective medical signs of illness,
one is not permitted to issue such a statement?
1 AnsweR
The Maharil Diskin gave a messenger money from the Diskin Or-
phan’s Fund to buy mezuzos and affix them on houses that do not
have them. When he was asked how he allowed himself to use money
slated for orphans to fulfill another mitzvah, he answered: The mitz-
vah of mezuzah gives one long life (as explained in maseches Kiddushin
34a). If a person who has no mezuzah on his door would die, it would
clearly be permissible to feed and care for his children from the Diskin
300 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein
20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 10 - B | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Cyan
#20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 10 - B | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Yellow
20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 10 - B | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Black
off if he would move. By threatening him in this way, they got the key #
to the cash box, took the money, and left.
Obviously, they are obligated to return the money. The question is:
if a person prevents a fellowman from working by frightening him in
a similar way, does he have to pay (for his lack of employment)?
1 AnsweR
This scenario very possibly resembles what is explained in maseches
Bava Kamma (56a): He who frightens his fellow is exempt in a hu-
man court but liable in a Heavenly Court. We have to explain what it
means to be liable in a Heavenly Court. Does it mean that according to
Heaven, he is obligated to pay, or that he will be punished by Heaven
but does not have to pay? Rashi in maseches Gittin (53a) writes: “Liable
in Heaven” means that Heaven punishes the wicked whose intent was
to make Jews lose money. From this it does not seem that Heaven
requires him to pay, but rather that punishments will befall him. 20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 10 - B | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Magenta
However the Chazon Ish (Choshen Mishpat 5:4) writes that the law is #20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 10 - B | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Yellow 20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 10 - B | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Black 20
not like Rashi explained it, but that according to the laws of Heaven
the damager is required to pay (see also Meiri, ibid., and more). Thus,
the simple explanation of Rashi implies that these underground men’s
fate is given over to Heaven, while according to the Chazon Ish they
would be obligated to pay for frightening the manager.
From here we can infer that the physician who frightened the pa-
tient into staying in the hospital unnecessarily for a week would be
obligated by the Heavenly Court to pay the patient for his missed
work. But if the patient needed to be hospitalized, and the physician
merely added a few days to the necessary time, it is considered grama.
And even if the first case is not grama, it is grama in the second case.
If the physician instructed that a mentally ill patient be put in a
closed ward, knowing this was not necessary, the physician is viewed
as one who directly damaged another. In this case, even according
to the Shach, he is viewed as a direct damager and has to pay for the
damage.

Prolonging hospitalization 2 297