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In enemy territory, soldiers grabbed a Jewish woman, a physician
by profession, intending to defile her. She screamed and pleaded that
they leave her alone because she was married to a Kohen and would
thus become prohibited to her husband forever. (Shulchan Aruch,
Even Ha’ezer 6:8) As a physician, she gauged that she would respond
[to this tragedy] by losing her sanity and committing suicide, for she
would be unable to separate from her husband, who was the source
of happiness in her life. Her single daughter, who was with her and
who saw her mother’s distress, offered herself to the soldiers in order
to prevent her parents’ lifelong separation, which she judged as en-
dangering life, for she believed that her mother the physician knew
herself well and that when she said she would be unable to continue
living without her husband [she was not exaggerating], and danger to
life sets aside the entire Torah, whereas she, the daughter, would be
able to marry a Levi or Yisroel, just not a Kohen. Did the daughter act
in accordance with halachah?

ɳ Response to Question Two

The Minchas Chinuch (Mitzvah 296:26) considers a case where a
non-Jew forces a Jew to eat neveilah [non-slaughtered meat] in private
and the Jew knows that were he to propose to the gentile that he eat
food forbidden owing to one of the shmittah [the seventh year, when
agricultural work is prohibited] prohibitions, which is less stringently
forbidden than neveilah, the non-Jew will be satisfied. Should he pro-
pose this or, since he is at present an annus [acting under compulsion]
in regard to the neveilah he is allowed to eat it, whereas even though
eating shmittah food is less stringent, since he is not being compelled
to eat it, it remains forbidden and neither may he offer to eat it?

We can learn from there that the girl may not offer to have rela-
tions with a non-Jew, despite the fact that this would avoid a more
serious transgression. Although this union would not be forbidden

guished author. He told me that the question was put to the Rebbe of Stefanesht
zt”l, and that he discussed it at length.

428 1 Medical-Halachic Responsa of Rav Zilberstein