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father-in-law, Rabbi Y. S. Elyashiv, ruled that since the parents are not #
joyous or happy, they should not recite the bracha.
A hospital patient fell into a severe depression after overhearing
the doctors say that his life was hanging in the balance and that ev-
31 ERRED IN REFRACTION he didn’t understand, but in truth he did, and the knowledge caused
ery minute he was still alive was a miracle. The physician thought
AN EYE DOCTOR WHO
him more harm than any benefit the medications and treatments may
MEASUREMENTS FOR
have given him.
GLASSES
Likewise, the knowledge that he is suffering from Hunter disease,
and that the courts declared he would have been better off had he
never been born will certainly affect the child emotionally. While the
secular courts obligated the geneticist to pay for the child’s “inferior-
1 Question ERRoR in RefRaction MeasuReMents ity,” the knowledge that he is indeed “inferior” will certainly increase
his inferiority manifold. Moreover, there are patients suffering from
An expert and experienced eye doctor erred in the refraction for the same illness, as well as carriers, and this publicized story is like
glasses for two brothers who were cross-eyed. The eye doctor’s error an arrow in their hearts! This is not the Torah way, as we will explain
was probably due to tiredness. After wearing glasses according to the below. 20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 2 - A | 18-08-20 | 13:29:01 | SR:-- | Magenta
doctor’s prescription, the boys had difficulties learning and perform- Even according to a secular outlook, the courts did not rule prop- #20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 2 - A | 18-08-20 | 13:29:01 | SR:-- | Yellow 20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 2 - A | 18-08-20 | 13:29:01 | SR:-- | Black 20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 2 - A | 1
ing basic daily activities. The eye doctor re-examined their eye-exam erly here. With my own eyes I have seen pictures of patients with
results, found his mistake, and corrected it. He also informed the Hunter syndrome in medical literature. These non-Jewish patients
mother that he would compensate her fully for the purchase of the reached middle age and did not put themselves into eternal sleep
lenses (a few hundred shekels). somewhere along the way. They found reason to live despite their dis-
The mother did not want to accept the money until she clarified abilities, and they feel they are better off alive than dead, in contrast
the halachah on this matter. Is the eye doctor halachically required to to the assertion of the courts.
pay her? The father’s description of his son with Hunter syndrome also
implies that the son feels he has reason to live. He says that the boy
1 AnsweR is “exceptionally sweet and intelligent, a happy child who loves life
despite his many restrictions and suffering.” (May the Holy One,
It says in the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah #336:1): If he healed with a blessed be He, have mercy on him and his family and send him a
license from a beis din and mistakenly caused damage, he is exempt in complete recovery, speedily among all other Jewish sick people, and
a human court but held accountable in the Heavenly Court. The rea- may he see Torah, mitzvos, and joy in his lifetime.)
son for the exemption is a Rabbinic decree, as we discussed in detail Hunter syndrome, as described and portrayed in medical text-
in the previous sections. Now we need to determine whether an eye books, is a genetic illness that is transmitted by the female chro-
doctor who erred in his measurement of the refraction for glasses is mosome. The illness itself is due to the lack of an essential enzyme.
included in this exemption. During the course of this disease, most affected are the bones, the

50 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein Erroneous genetic advice 2 35