[Avodah] SHOMER PESA'IM HASHEM

[Ilana Sober Elzufon]

RRW:* *The concept of *Shomer Pesa'im Hashem* only applies to people who
cannot help themselves.
>
> ...there are people sufficiently disturbed mentally where they cannot be
> held responsible (as we would) for committing suicide. My question is: Why
> didn't HaShem protect them?  To answer He only protects fools but not mentally
> ill people would not be a satisfactory answer in our enlightened day and
> age. Also, to commit suicide is certainly a foolish act, so why wouldn't *shomer
> pesaim HaShem *come into play?
>

I think shomer pesa'im H' applies to actions that carry a pretty low risk.
For example, riding in a car without a seatbelt or riding a bike without a
helmet, or snowboarding. Most people who do this will be just fine, even
without Divine intervention. So if a person acts this way out of
foolishness, H' protects him. But jumping off a bridge or shooting oneself
is an action that carries an almost certain risk of death. I don't think
shomer pesa'im H' means that G-d will do a nes to save a person who does
something super-dangerous.

Shomer pesa'im also applies only to normal actions that normal people do
(once upon a time, this included not using seatbelts and helmets; normal
people still snowboard). B"H most normal people do not attempt suicide.

- Ilana
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