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loss is obvious and recognizable.” The words of the Perishah imply
A patient is asked to testify against a physician that basic halachah does not exempt one from chessed and tzedakah
who healed him unless the loss is an obvious one, and that doing chessed without ex-
cessive calculation is not over and above what is required.
1 Question The same holds true for giving testimony in a beis din. When a
A physician abroad committed an offense and the authorities sought witness wants to be exempt from testifying because of loss and dam-
out a patient to testify against him. This patient feels a debt of grati- age to himself, he has to judge the likelihood that he will actually
tude to the physician who healed him. Should he testify against him? lose something because of his testimony. If the loss is not obvious
and recognizable but only a general concern, the witness should not
excuse himself from testifying.
1 AnsweR All this applies if the testimony relates only to monetary laws. If,
Our holy Torah teaches us that if one who benefitted from his fellow however, the testimony relates to laws of life and death, a person has
should not be the one to punish him. This we find in two places: no right to refuse to try and save a person’s life, even if the matter will
cause him financial harm. As explained in Sanhedrin (cited above)
1. In Shemos (7:19), Moshe is commanded to tell his brother when it comes to saving the life of one’s fellowman, the Torah says
Aharon to hit the waters of the Nile with his rod. Rashi ex- “Do not stand idly by the blood of your fellowman.” (Vayikra 19:16)
plains: Because the river protected Moshe when he was cast This teaches us that a person is even obligated to lose money in order
into it, therefore it was not hurt by his hand, neither in the first to save the life of his friend. According to the view of the Yerushalmi, a
plague nor in the second.
person is obligated to even put himself in a situation of possible dan-
2. In Bamidbar (31:1-6) Hashem commands Moshe to take revenge ger to save his friend from a definite danger. The Sefer Shaar Mishpat
on the Midianites, and Moshe sends out Pinchas ben Elazar, (Hilchos Eidus 28:2) writes that in a case where the obligation to testi-
the kohein, to wage war. Why did Moshe not fulfill Hashem’s fy flows from the negative precept “Do not stand idly by the blood of
command on his own, and go out to war himself against the your fellowman” then the obligation applies even without the request
Midianites? The answer given by the Sages in Daas Zekeinim of the litigants or the beis din. Likewise the Rambam (Hilchos Eidus
mibaalei haTosafos is that Moshe rose to greatness in Midian, 1:2) and the Kesef Mishneh write that in matters of life and death a
and he did not want to fight against those from whom he had person is obligated to testify, even without being asked to do so. The
benefitted. As it is said, one should not throw earth into a well Chinuch (mitzvah #122) also asserts that every person is obligated to
from which one drank water. Although Moshe did not receive testify to save his fellowman’s life, even without being asked to do so.
his bread for free - he worked for his bread in Midian - he is still Every person is halachically considered a litigant for the purpose of
not exempt from gratitude towards them and should not go out saving another’s life.
to war against them. In light of the above, the physician who finds that a patient’s vision
We can learn from the above that a patient should not cause harm does not meet the requirements for a license established by the public
to the physician who was good to him, and he should therefore not (6/15) is obligated to notify the authorities, since it is for the public
testify against him. benefit. Since his obligation is based on the requirement to do acts
However, this case is different from the proofs we have brought, of lovingkindness, if there is a possibility that the patient will take
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