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his opponent as necessary. He must also accept upon himself to re-
pent for his insolence, and for transgressing the negative precept of
“Do not wrong one another,” if the beis din heard the arguments of
both sides and their excuses and found that Reuven is guilty, as above.
This is, in total, the Chasam Sofer’s response to the case presented to
him.
#
We learn from here that one obligate’s the trickster to pay ten gold
pieces. This is indeed the halacha in the case of the prankster who
called for the ambulance. We obligate him to pay the equivalent of ten
gold pieces to each of the ambulance medical staff.
The words of Chasam Sofer are novel because in his case, it is not
mentioned that the mohel lost out on another mitzvah of circumci-
sion. If so, why should he pay the mohel ten gold pieces? The Tosfos
on Baba Metzia (76b) explains that if one hires a worker and then
cannot find work for him, he is obligated to pay the worker, since he
made him lose a day’s wages. By hiring him, he prevented him from
finding work elsewhere. But, in the case of Chasam Sofer, it is not
stated that the mohel lost money because he could have performed a
circumcision in another place.
In our case, however, the members of the ambulance staff fulfill the
mitzvah of saving lives every minute, even if they are doing nothing
other than being available for an emergency call. When they were or-
dered to come on a false alarm, they lost out on this constant mitzvah,
since they were not on wait for other calls at the time
Now, let us return to our cases.
In the first case, he who ordered an ambulance in order to take
revenge on his friend has violated four prohibitions:
1. The prohibition of “Do not wrong one another,” both in regard
to Reuven whom he shamed and frightened, and also in regard
to the medical staff. This is like someone who deliberately sends
donkey drivers to the wrong place. This sin of “Do not wrong…”
is very severe and comparable to idol-worship. The heavenly
curtain do not remain locked to the cries of he who has been
hurt, and as explained in Chasam Sofer. In order to atone for
172 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein
Transferring an Elderly Patient to a Nursing-
Care Ward because of his Repulsive Behavior
1 Question
In an old-age-home devoted to self-sufficient patients as well as those
in need of nursing-care, whose minds are completely clear, one of the
old men began to lose his clarity of mind. He would shout from time
to time. He would also cough up phlegm, hold it in his fingers, and
wipe it on the tablecloth, among other things. The other old men are
greatly disturbed by his behavior and yell at him to stop.
Are these considered acts that are repulsive to the public?
The elderly residents of the old-age home asked members of this
patient’s family to transfer him to the nursing-care ward. The family
claims that remaining with healthier patients would be better for him
than being around patients who are in need of nursing care. They also
believe it would be difficult for him to adjust to a new place, especially
since his health has deteriorated.
The question is whether one should sympathize with his suffering
or with that of the other old men, especially since they enjoy praying
in comfort, without disturbances like these or others. The elderly res-
idents also enjoy when young men and their children join the minyan,
and this is only possible if these repulsive acts are not present.
Moreover, his mere presence in the home causes families seeking a
private and pleasant home for their loved one to seek another facility.
This is a private facility, dependent on its residents for its income.
Does the old age home need to lose money because of this patient,
who has already been there for many years?
1 AnsweR
The old man’s actions are most certainly considered repulsive. Proof
of this can be found in the Gemara (Kiddushin 81a):
Plimo used to say every day: An arrow in Satan’s eyes. One day,
Transfer of a Patient 2 153