Page 409 - 20818_park-c_efi

to endanger the life of one person if there is only a slight chance of 14 saved. We will thus have retrieved those whose chance of being saved #
saving another. One can only endanger himself for results. If endan- is minimal and lost those who could be definitely saved.
gering himself will not bring about results, he should not do so. The well known halacha is that we are commanded to desecrate
In view of the above, if the armored personnel carrier is in enemy Shabbos for the ambulance or the physician to return to the station,
territory, and does not increase its danger by approaching the burn- because of the possibility that they will be called again on that Shabbos.
ing tank, then they are certainly obligated to come closer and to try Likewise, in our case, we have to protect the medical team carefully, to
to save the lives of the soldiers in the tank. However, if the APC is ensure that they return safely, lest they be needed again.
endangered by coming closer to the tank and he exposes himself to We still need to address the question from a different viewpoint.
enemy fire, they are probably not obligated to do so. Even though It is known that going to war with a feeling of fear and weakness of
we do not follow the law of the majority in cases of pikuach nefesh spirit is likely to end in danger to the people of Israel as a whole, as
and one desecrates Shabbos even for a small chance of saving lives, explained below. If so, one can say that if the soldiers known that if
this applies only to the suspension of Shabbos or other mitzvos of the they are wounded they will be saved at any price, they will fight with
Torah. But in regard to the danger to the life of a person, it does not vigor. But if they know that at times when the chances of saving them
apply to say that in pikuach nefesh we do not follow the rule of the are small, they will be left to fend for themselves, they will fight in
majority, because the reason for this principle is the tremendous value fear. It’s possible that for this reason, we are obligated to endanger 20818_efi-ab - 20818_park-C_efi-ab | 14 - A | 18-08-20 | 13:46:25
that the Torah places on a Jewish life. If so, we should not endanger ourselves to save them, not because of the obligation to save lives but #20818_efi-ab - 20818_park-C_efi-ab | 14 - A | 18-08-20 | 13:46:25
the lives of the rescuers because of the small chances of saving lives of because of concern of danger to the nation of Israel.
the wounded, since we also value the lives of the rescuers. Let us examine how great is the danger caused by fear.
In Melachim 2 (6:15-18) it says that the King of Aram sent a large
If there was a medical team in the personnel carrier, there is an army to surround the city of Dothan, where the prophet Elisha was
additional reason not to endanger them for only a small chance of present:
success in saving lives. The Mishnah Berurah rules (#334:68): Two And when the servant of the man of G-d had arisen early and gone
people are trapped in a burning house. One is healthy and the other forth, behold there was a host with horses and chariots surrounding
is dangerously ill or wounded, and it is not possible to save both of the city, and his servant said to him: Woe, my Master! What shall we
them. The healthy one comes first. From this we learn that if a physi- do? He answered: Fear not, for those who are with us are more than
cian can save a moderately ill or wounded person or attempt to save a them and those with them. And Elisha prayed and said: Hashem,
dangerously ill or wounded person who it may not be possible to save, open his eyes so that he can see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the
he should treat the moderately ill or wounded person first, because young man and he saw. Behold, the mountain was full of horses and
we have to save those who are more likely to be saved. The same logic chariots of fire round about Elisha and they came down to him. Then
applies in our case. To our sorrow, soldiers are wounded in war, and Elisha prayed unto the Lord and said: Please smite these people with
they must be similarly triaged. Therefore, we should devote our first blindness. And he smote them with blindness, according to the word
efforts to those wounded soldiers whom we are more confident will of Elisha.”
survive and afterwards try and save the others.
The question arises: Why did Hashem perform the first miracle,
Therefore, if G-d forbid, members of the medical staff will be to open the eyes of the young lad who saw the mountain filled with
wounded, this will endanger the lives of those wounded that can be horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha? The second miracle

394 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein Saving the wounded when chances are slim 2 395