[Avodah] FW: chemotherapy

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Micha Berger asked:
> What are the cases we have for eis la'asos Lashem and
> hora'as sha'ah? The last few times around I asked if
> there is a case of eis la'asos Lashem involving a real
> issur and no nevu'ah. ...
> Hora'as sha'ah, OTOH, is defined in Hil' Mamrim 2:4 as
> the principle of la'aqor davar min haTorah besheiv
> ve'al ta'aseh -- which is limited to sheiv ve'al
> ta'aseh, the gezeirah being to protect something more
> chamur, etc...

I would suggest that a good example of this Horaas Shaah might be Rav YB Soloveitchik's stand on mixed-seating synagogues: That even if one's only opportunity to hear the shofar is to enter a mixed-seating synagogue, it is better not to go. ("The Sanctity of the Synagogue", page 115)

This seems to fit the definition as brought by RMB: It suspends a d'Oraisa, but only passively, and is for a specific purpose which RYBS felt to be more serious than Tekias Shofar, namely
>>> the "christianization" (I have no
>>> other name for it) of the synagogue"
(ibid, p 117, also see p 110)

More food for thought:

RMB's post seems to presume, or at least suspect, that Eis Laasos and Horaas Shaah are two different things. But my suspicion is that Eis Laasos is the source pasuk which justifies the concept of Horaas Shaah. For if the permission to make a Horaas Shaah does not come from Eis Laasos, then where *does* it come from?

Also: Horaas Shaah, as defined in the Rambam which RMB cited, refers only to *temporary* gezeros. Surely the absence of Shofar on Shabbos is a permanent measure, so we can still search for other examples. May I suggest the following: There are stories of certain individuals in the concentration camps who fasted throughout all of Pesach, for lack of chometz-free food. One could argue that this was a violation of Pikuach Nefesh, but they could answer that it was a temporary Horaas Shaah, to help inspire the others and uplift them.

Akiva Miller
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