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not found mentioned by anyone… and much further reflection is
needed before implementing it.”

We learn from this that we do not desecrate Shabbos in order to
prevent a death that has been brought about through the victim’s
negligence, according to the Or Gadol and all the more so will we not
desecrate Shabbos in order to prevent a deliberate suicide.8

It appears though that all this will apply to a healthy individual
who is capable of helping himself, which is not the case here where
the young woman is unbalanced and is incapable of overcoming her
problems. Even if we don’t consider her as a complete shotah in every
respect it will still be permitted to violate a Torah prohibition in order
to save her life because she can be categorized as annus [acting under
compulsion] and cannot be compared to a healthy person who will-
fully commits suicide, whom we are not obligated to save.

It appears further that even in the case of a fire on Shabbos, where
we mentioned that a person is expected to fortify his trust in Hashem
yisbarach and not become sickened from the anguish, this applies to
a healthy person. However if a fire breaks out in the home of a heart
patient for whom any distress or aggravation may prove fatal, it’s pos-
sible that it will be permitted to put out the fire because he is an annus
[this is beyond his control] and he doesn’t have the physical resources
to overcome the anguish he will suffer.

The second approach: The second approach to understanding the
rulings given by the Etz Chaim and Melemed Leho’il is that when the
Torah states “And [man] shall live by them [i.e. the mitzvos]” (Vay-

8. See earlier, at the beginning of siman 164 and siman 274, where it is explained
that even according to the Minchas Chinuch and those who share his view [in
regard to there being no obligation to rescue the victim of an attempted suicide],
it is nevertheless permitted to desecrate Shabbos to save him. A slight distinc-
tion can be drawn between this situation and that of removing the dough from
the oven [which constitutes the Or Gadol’s proof that Shabbos should not be
desecrated], in that removing the dough is not an act of rescue per se but a sinful
act that saves the baker by uprooting his sin, whereas action taken to rescue a
suicide victim is first and foremost an act of rescue, which the Torah does not
forbid even if it entails Shabbos desecration.

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