[Avodah] R Avraham

Akiva Miller via Avodah avodah at lists.aishdas.org
Fri Sep 9 13:24:53 PDT 2016


R' Eli Turkel wrote:

> ... in most areas the expert can never give a definitive answer.
> He can only supply statistics or in RMA words he provides a graph
> of the probability of outcomes as a function of either one or
> many variables.
>
> Thus, for example a doctor cannot say whether fasting will harm a
> patient on YK. ...
>
> Thus there are 3 steps in any psak.
> 1) derive the graph and statistics - this is the job of the expert
> 2) decide what level of risk is acceptable - this is the job of
> the rabbi
> 3) deliver a psak based this analysis

R' Ben Waxman asked:

> How can a rav decide what level of risk is acceptable if he isn't
> an expert in the field?

It is clear to me that - according to R Avraham and RET - that the rav's
job is NOT to evaluate whether or not a given situation is dangerous, not
to evaluate the level of that danger. For this, the rav is to rely on the
experts. *After* that point, the rav's job is to understand the issur of
putting oneself (or someone else) into sakana, and to judge whether or not
the halacha forbids or allows (or requires!) the action at hand.

I see nothing new here. The halacha accepts the idea that it is dangerous
for a choleh to fast, and I will concede that the halacha does give broad
categories (such as minor illness, major illness, pregnant, etc) and it
gives general rules for how to rule in any given situation (deathly danger
on YK, far less on a 9 Av Nidcheh).

But when push comes to shove, the bottom line is to ask the doctor. But NOT
for his opinion on whether or not to allow/require the choleh to fast;
that's the rav's job. The rav asks for the doctor's opinion on what will
probably happen if the choleh fasts. To what degree will it harm the
choleh. And then the rav decides whether or not it is serious enough to
warrant eating.

Further, there are many places where the halacha discusses what to do when
doctors disagree about a given case. Maybe you follow the majority of
doctors, maybe you follow the best doctor, maybe you follow the most
cautious doctor. THIS is the rav's job: With a given set of facts,
statistics, and opinions, what does Hashem want me to do?

Okay, having explained my views on Halachic Risk-Taking, I'd like to add
that this idea that "the expert can never give a definitive answer. He can
only supply statistics..." applies in other areas too. Specifically, I have
often used this regarding the definition of death. At most, the doctor can
give statistics like, "We have never seen anyone in this condition
improve," and then it is the rav's job to decide whether or not the neshama
has left the guf. (The fact that one rav might disagree with another rav is
irrelevant. The point here is that it is the doctor's job to supply
statistics, and it is the rav's job to make a determination.)

> A third shiur was given last night by a local rabbi ...
>
> In referring to the recent controversy in Israel on fixing tracks
> on shabbat he claimed that while it is well known that pikuach
> nefesh over-rides shabbat it is also true that a major monetary
> loss to the community also over-rides shabbat. He stressed that
> his opinion was a generality and that its application to any
> specific case would require further investigation.

To my knowledge, "a major monetary loss to the community also over-rides
shabbat", but ONLY FOR D'RABANANS! I shudder to think that someone in the
audience might have heard this comparison between pikuach nefesh and
monetary loss, and come to a terribly wrong conclusion!!!

Akiva Miller
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