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if at all possible, the patient is treated at home (whether
Should a Son Tell His Father of his Terminal “home” is his own house or an old-age home). This mini-
Illness? mizes the possible damages wrought by the need to adapt
to a new environment and strange people.
1 Question Since clearly, the patient’s emotional stability and
mindset affect his physical wellbeing and rehabilitation,
A terminally-ill patient commanded his son to tell him the whole one must certainly consider the elderly person’s desire.
truth. Should the son inform the father that he is terminally ill or There is a tendency to relate to children and to old people
not? as though they are incapable of making logical decisions
regarding their own care. As a result, they are often not
1 AnsweR asked for their opinion, and if they express it anyway, the
physician will disregard it.
One needs to clarify. Will revealing to the patient that he is termi- In summary: From a psychological point of view, there
nally ill cause him harm or not? If it will cause harm, then the son is no benefit in transferring the elderly from one institu-
should not fulfill his father’s request. As we find in Tractate Baba tion to another, and much damage may be caused.
Metzia (90a), the prohibition not to muzzle an ox while it is plowing Dr. B. Schwartz
does not apply to an animal with a loose stomach, because the Torah Assistant Manager of Psychiatric
intended for the animal’s benefit and not for its detriment. So, too, Department, Geha Hospital, Petach Tikvah
regarding the mitzvah of honoring one’s father, one should not honor
his request if doing so will hurt him.
Regarding the actual question as to whether or not one should To the honorable Rav, shlita.
reveal a patient’s situation to him, Responsa Be’tzel Hachochmah (Vol. Regarding Dr. Brayer’s question, I am not an expert on
2 #55) prohibits it. This is based on what it says in Tractate Horayos the facts. I do not know what the municipality’s consider-
(12a). There are certain signs that indicate whether or not a person ations and policies are, or the possible effects of leaving the
will return from his journey to his house in peace. The Gemara ad- patient in the institution. Therefore, my comments are not
vises that a person should not use these signs, because he may mis- to contradict the facts, as clarified by Dr. Brayer. I will only
takenly interpret the signs for the bad, and this will affect his reality. try to guess other approaches that are possibly worthy of
The author of Be’tzel Hachochmah explains, according to the Rabbenu consideration.
Bachya (Devarim 11:13), that tefillah can change nature, and a person For example, if the cost of maintaining the nursing-care
who gives up hope comes to a state of despondency and loses the one patient in the Givat Hashloshah institution is high (for
conduit to saving his life through prayer. Likewise, if a terminally-ill example: purchasing catheters, feeding tubes, diapers,
patient knows his condition, his mazal will become bad and he will nursing hours, etc…), and if there is a global budget de-
stop praying. fined in advance, then the presence of patients in need
In my humble opinion, one can differentiate between these two of nursing care will decrease the resources for the other
scenarios. The Gemara in Horayos deals with a healthy man, who, if patients in the institution. Perhaps, to bring an extreme
120 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein Transfer of a Patient 2 141
