[Avodah] Costa Concordia and halachah

[Micha Berger]

Since no one else has done so (surprisingly to me), here is a link to
RGS's discussion of the topic on Hirhurim
<http://torahmusings.com/2012/01/evacuating-a-sinking-ship/>.

He meantions the mishnah in Horios, which has the ranking bsed on
number of chiyuvim and other such factors, as we did here. (For that
matter, could you picture a modern hospital doing triage that way?
Or did we discuss that here already?)

The IM minimizes the role of the mishnah to "if all else is equal".

The Tzitz Eliezer invokes a conflicting beraisa, one which says that if
there is limited money for food, women nd children do go first. The Shach
and the Taz resolve the conflict differently, but the TE invokes this
to pasqen lemaaseh.

RGS concludes:
    [I]t would seem that a sinking boat qualifies for R. Feinstein's
    example of equal illness but not equal distance. If I understand his
    position correctly, he would advocate that evacuation should proceed
    according to proximity to lifeboats. In other words, everyone has to
    get on line and enter lifeboats in the order of that line. Similarly,
    R. Waldenberg would argue that the rules of priority do not apply
    and some other rule -- perhaps also first come, first served --
    should apply.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
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