[Avodah] Leading Charedi Posek Says metzitza' Should Not

hankman hankman at bell.net
Sun Apr 1 11:41:26 PDT 2012


RMB wrote:

The question is whether halakhah makes this chiluq.

I argued that one in hundreds of thousands is milsa delo shekhachah, and
thus ignorable. See Arukh haShulchan OC 544:5. I don't see anyone being
choleiq between being the sibah or not being mosir hamoneia. I think
that is why the debate isn't over the piquach nefesh side of things,
but whether the chiyuv of beris milah means that metzitzah bepeh is
a chiyuv.

CM responds:

Your cite (Arukh haShulchan OC 544:5) puts me in Hilchos Chol Hamoed, and does not relate, was there a typo here?

Walking home from shul I mentioned this thread to a prominent Rov in town, (not named as I did not ask if I could quote him publicly on this) he responded that for pikuach nefesh there is no lower limit – mephakchin olov es hagal if there is the SLIGHTEST chance the man is still living – without concern for the issur Shabbos. So I don’t think (at least in the opinion of this Rov) that “milsa delo shekhachah” will play here at all. (of course that is but one Rov’s opinion, others may disagree). Then wrt to one who is a known virus carrier not withstanding the small probability, he did mince words. He said “is er a roitseach.” When  asked about your argument about crossing the street is a risk to life as well, he answered, “you need to apply some common sense.”

When I got home I thought about this a little more and using “common sense”  besides the diff I already pointed out in my earlier post, there is another clear difference. Sure if you cross the street there may be a small risk to life, but if you choose not to cross the street and remain where you are, say in your “safe” bedroom, you are still exposed to some risk (maybe a fire will start, maybe the gas furnace will explode, maybe the house will be robbed and you kidnapped etc etc) so it is highly questionable whether you have improved your risk profile by staying put and not crossing the street. However, the mohel who is a carrier is a definite new and additional (if small) risk with no counterbalance risk if you chose instead a mohel who is not a carrier.

I found on my Otzar HaChachma in a collection of divrei Torah from talmidim (koveitz Chidushei Torah) where he uses the well known chakira if rov is a birur or a din to explain the machlokes between Rav and Shenuel whether holchim bepikuach nefesh achar harov. In a case of 9 Cusiim and one Yisroel where one was poreish to the next chatzer so kol deporush meruba porush applies and the km’l is that you still remove the gal lefi Shemual. So we need to understand to what extent Shemuel would go or whether this would be a flat out rule with no exceptions.? See the Tos. Yuma 85a (top Tos.) where he says, “vechai bohem ... shelo yuchal lovo BESHUM INYAN lidei misas Yisroel.”

Kol Tuv

Chaim Manaster


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