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An additional example is killing snakes found in a place where
they do not usually kill. As explained in the Maggid Mishnah (Hilchos
Shabbos 10:17), it is permissible to trap them because many people
are injured by them and it is viewed as danger to lives. The Machatzis
Hashekel and Sha’ar Hatziyun (#316:38) disagree with him. They al-
low trapping snakes for a different reason and not because of pikuach USE OF CHAMETZ ALCOHOL
#
nefesh. IN THE LABORATORY ON
Concerning the removal of bodies from the battlefield on Shabbos, 93 PESACH
in order to mitigate the other soldiers’ heartbreak and despair, I asked
my father-in-law, Rav Y. S. Elyashiv, and he did not allow it.
Once a soldier entered our shul, crying. He said that his command-
ing officer was killed on Shabbos, and it was difficult to find his body
at night. The next morning, he found the corpse, surrounded by ani- 1 Question ChaMetZ Alcohol on Pesach
mals who were devouring it. Without thinking, the soldier dug a hole
and buried the body on Shabbos. Now, he was weeping because he In public hospital laboratories, they use chametz alcohol throughout
the year as part of the process of staining bacteria, a crucial stage in
desecrated Shabbos, and he wanted to know whether he has to record their identification.
in his notebook that he owes a sin offering. We told him that he is How should a laboratory worker conduct himself on Pesach if it is
viewed as erring while performing a mitzvah, because he wanted to
bury his comrade but he forgot, out of mental anguish, that burial impossible to replace the chametz alcohol used in hospitals or to spoil
it [so it is no longer edible]? Is he allowed to perform the tests or not?
on Shabbos is prohibited. Therefore, he is exempt from a sin offering.

1 AnsweR
1 SuMMaRy and Conclusion
In most instances, hospital labs deal with dangerously ill patients,
According to Rav Y. S. Elyashiv, one should not desecrate Shabbos to and it is permitted to violate Torah prohibitions in order to identi-
remove dead bodies from a battlefield.
fy the bacteria causing the illnesses. It says in the Mishnah Berurah
(#466:2): “But if there is danger [in the wound] it is permitted, even if
[the medication] contains chametz, which may not be seen on Pesach,
if only this medication will help the patient and it is not easy to do
it in a permitted way.” The Mishnah Berurah is very exacting with its
words If it is not easy to make the medication in a permissible way,
one need not strain himself to do so. In light of this it is permissible
to use chametz alcohol in order to identify the bacteria of the patient
who is in danger, and one does not need to pressure himself to find a
permitted way to do so.
The question arises only for tests performed for a patient who is

236 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein Chametz Alcohol on Pesach 2 217