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were lost in consequence of some calamity and who did not live long
after that owing to his anguish.” Why didn’t Chazal allow extinguish-
ing the fire because of the concern about danger to life?! Rav S.Z.
Auerbach zt”l7 writes, concerning this, that we must conclude that
since it is not the actual fire that poses the danger but the anguish and
aggravation that a person takes to heart rather than strengthening his
trust in Hashem yisbarach, this is considered as though the person is
causing his own death and is a form of intentional suicide.

I can cite proof to Rav Shlomo Zalman’s comments from the ge-
mara in Sukkah (25a) that says that if a person whose ship sank at sea
is not exempt from reciting Shema because of his preoccupation with
his loss – and similarly, neither is a mourner exempt from sitting in
the sukkah because he is preoccupied with his mourning – because
“he is upsetting himself; he should calm himself down.” [“…he must
calm his mind to do the mitzvah” – Rashi.]

We encounter a similar rationale in the Chasam Sofer (Even
Ha’ezer 2, 83) where he discusses the case of a chalutzah who became
affianced to a kohen with neither of them being aware of the other
one’s status and if they now have to separate she will be endangered
because they love each other deeply. The Chasam Sofer rules that
they cannot be permitted to violate even a rabbinic prohibition, just
as the gemara says in Sanhedrin (75a) regarding a man who became
heartsick over a certain woman, of whom the Sages said,“Let him die
but she should not speak to him from behind a fence [i.e. hearing her
voice even without seeing her].” The Chasam Sofer explains that since
it is owing to the vice within their evil hearts that they are endanger-
ing themselves, the Sages upheld their decrees and did not allow them
to be violated.

7. His comments are quoted in Shemiras Shabbos Ke’hilchasah, Chap. 41 Note 8.
See also in the Yeshuos Yaakov’s introduction to his sefer [printed in the vol-

ume on Orach Chaim], where he relates that he lost a manuscript of his and of
“the great anguish this caused me, and along with the great pain, accompanied
by strengthened faith and trust in Hashem yisbarach and in the end, the manu-
script was indeed found,” see there.

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