Shabbat 129: Lenient about Shabbat, Strict about Health

Talking Talmud - Een podcast door Yardaena Osband & Anne Gordon

To be stringent or lenient when it comes to not quite a case of pikuach nefesh? Note that lenient with regard to Shabbat in this context means being stringent with regard to health - and that is the psak. Also: Bloodletting - seems to have been done frequently, for the sake of basic health, and even nourishment. Look at the extent to which Chazal were focused on health, even if their bloodletting approach does not align with current medical practice. Namely, a fully rounded sage is well-versed in this practice. Plus: A post-partum woman who is no longer at risk to her life, but still within 30 days of having given birth - turn to a non-Jew to do the necessary actions to accomplish what she needs. Note this key distinction between "no danger to life" vs. "a question whether there's danger to life." And: what about the baby? What are you allowed to do for the baby upon a Shabbat birth? Answer: everything necessary, which is aligned with an otherwise metaphorical passage from Ezekiel.

Visit the podcast's native language site