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oath, then persuading him to talk would be causing him to violate the
prohibition of “Do not profane your words.”

Furthermore, it is possible that the physician will then reveal mat-
ters that are not as serious, those for which the prohibition of “Do
not stand idly by…” does not apply. The patient may hold it against
the physician, as he does not want any of his deficiencies to become
known to others. It would then turn out that the physician violated
his oath.
If the physician is a gentile, however, one is permitted to convince ”םשו די יתומוחבו יתיבב םהל יתתנו“
him to reveal, since a gentile is not obligated by the Torah prohibition )ה ,ו"נ ,והיעשי(
against violating his oath, as explained in Aish Das, (By Rav M. Chaim In my house and in my walls I will give them a place
Alfender, end of Parshas Korach. See Rav Akiva Eiger in the issue on of honor and renown
the Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah #236:6) who wrote: It seems that if (Isaiah 56:5)
a Jew swears with a gentile to do something, such as our forefather
Avraham, who swore to Avimelech, the Jew is exempt from that oath
as well since a gentile is not obligated by an oath. This volume is dedicated to the memory and elevation

[That is why Avraham, not wanting to deceive Avimelech by of the souls of our dear parents,
swearing together with him, said, “I will swear, just me alone.” If I the crowns of our family
swear with you, I am exempt.] Alan and Lola Weisfeld z”l.
Rav Akiva Eiger concludes (ibid): In halacha, this matter requires ל"ז ילתפנ ןב םהרבא ע"נ יכדרמ תב האל
more study. It is explained in the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah #241:9):
A ger is prohibited from cursing his gentile father or hitting or sham- .ה.ב.צ.נ.ת
ing him, so that it should not be said “We have descended from a high
level of holiness to a low level of holiness.” Rav Akiva Eiger explains
that “we have descended from a high level of holiness” applies to “their The Weisfeld Family, New York
practices.” (Porat Yosef in his Sefer Eshel Avraham in a letter published
on the title-page of the Sefer #20) In light of this, violating an oath
runs contrary to the accepted practices of the world as well, so per-
haps it is wrong cause a gentile to stumble in this. As Rashi writes
(Bereishis 34:7), “And so shall one not do” – that the nations if the
world limited themselves from forbidden sexual relations.” Therefore,
it may not be proper to cause the gentile physician to violate his oath
to the patient. This requires further study.

16 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein

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