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giving does not violate the prohibition of “Do not stand idly by the
blood of your fellowman.” There is, however, a mitzvah of chesed, to
help put him at ease.
We can cite proof to the words of Rav S. Z. Auerbach (in Shulchan
Shlomo, cited above), from the words of the Gemara (Sotah 12a), where
Rav Eliezer asks: From where do we learn that tzaddikim’s money is
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dearer to them than their bodies? From the verse (Shemos 2:3) “And
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she took an ark of reeds.” Although wood would have protected his
body better, she took reeds. The Maharsha explains that obviously,
Moshe’s body was protected even with reeds, but the protection
would have been better with wood. Had the reeds been inadequate
as protection, then she would have been obligated to obtain wood.
Nothing that stands in the way of pikuach nefesh, and certainly not
money. We learn from here that if we have reeds, then there is no
obligation to expend money on a stronger form of protection.
This applies in our case. If there is a qualified surgeon who has
already successfully operated on many people, then although there
is no obligation to hire a better one, or to contribute money towards
that end, it would still be permissible to desecrate Shabbos in order
to have the surgery performed by a more expert surgeon. This is be-
cause even for a mere possibility based on another mere possibility,
we desecrate Shabbos, as explained in Tractate Yoma (85a). The Tosfos
(ibid, s.v. ulefake’ach) explains that Rav Yitzchak says, “the reason we
do not follow the rule of the majority in pikuach nefesh is because it
says (Vayikra 18:5): “And you shall live by them,” and not die by them,
so that one should not, in any way possible, come to the death of a
Jew [as he fulfills a mitzvah].” This was not, however, said in regard
to spending money to save a life, which is based on the verse “Do not
stand idly by the blood of your fellowman” (Tractate Sanhedrin 73). In
other words, one is forbidden to stand by as his friend dies without
trying to help out. In the case where there is a good surgeon who
can operate on the child, this is not considered standing on the side
without helping. Therefore, one is not obligated to give a donation for
this purpose, except as an act of chesed, as explained in the Shulchan
Shlomo cited above.

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