Eli Reich started the discussion by reviewing works he is
reading about the development of Jewish intellectual thinking through history,
with a particular focus on the Enlightenment era. We spent some time dealing
with opinions espoused by Spinoza and Mendelsohn about applying rationality to
try and prove that what the Bible says is correct. It is well-known that the
Enlightenment ushered in an era wherein traditional religious belief came under
attack and religious thought was relegated to being purely a matter of faith
that does not stand up to scientific reasoning.
This was an entree to David’s review of some his father’s
work on religion and the scientific method. David’s father, Rabbi Dr. George
Natan Schlesinger, Z”L wrote extensively on this topic. David read a small
excerpt from an article entitled, “The Surprise of Our Lives,” published by Bar
Ilan in 1987. The thrust of the article is that scientific reasoning leads us
to propose causes for observed phenomena that determine the observed outcome
rather than ascribing the outcome to pure chance. This is especially the case
when the outcome would constitute a significant surprise – or highly improbable
event – if things were left to chance. This is a precursor to the Argument from
Design, or the Anthropic Principle, which the group intends to pursue further
in the coming weeks.
We then moved the discussion to the weekly Torah portion,
Shoftim.
David related a thought from Rav Yissachar Frand about the
juxtapositioning of the command to set up a justice system with the prohibition
of worshipping and Asheira (tree that is worshipped as an idol). The idea of
observing the beauty of a tree in order to recognize the greatness of its
Creator is a positive one. However, elevating that creation to a god status is
a distortion, and a misuse of the tools we are given to achieve a greater
awareness of our Creator. Worship of nature by necessity brings along with it a
subscription to one of the main features of nature, namely, the survival of the
fittest. This is the point where the Asheira issue relates to a justice system.
Without a true justice system, human affairs would also be settled by survival
of the fittest. In any conflict, the strong would prevail rather than justice
prevailing.
Efroni raised a question on the prohibition against a king
seeking to gain too many horses being linked to not going back to Egypt. Slava
suggested that the linkage relates to horses being a major feature of ancient
Egyptian culture. The idea of this linkage is to tell us that a king must be
very careful not to do things that would lead Israel to be influenced by
aspects of foreign cultures that are antithetical to Torah.
Other parsha thoughts were offered by Efroni, Yaki and David
W. [Please contribute details.]
We spent the rest of our time learning from Pninei Halacha
(R. Eliezed Melamed) the laws of Shabbat as they relate to saving lives.
We learned that there is a fairly broad definition of what
constitutes a life threatening situation. This includes all situations that are
commonly known to be life threatening, any time a medical professional would
suggest there is a life threatening situation, any time the sick or injured
person believes that his or her life may be in danger (even if the experts says
there is no danger). In addition to broad definition, we treat any doubtful
situations as life-threatening, and we avoid wasting any time by looking up
laws, seeking out Halachic guidance or finding a non-Jew to perform any of the
required activities (unless the non-Jew is present and asking him to do what is
needed does not introduce any delay or unnecessary risk).
We learned about driving the patient to the hospital. You
drive on Shabbat the same way you would drive on a weekday (e.g., don’t think
about coasting, if it’s night time, turn on the headlights). After the patient
is dropped off, move the car out of the ER drive-up lane so that others can get
it, and go to a parking space. When it comes to turning off the engine, if
there is a non-Jew readily available to do that, it’s preferable to ask him/her
to do it. However, if no one is available, do it yourself so you can quickly go
back to the ER and be with the sick or injured person.
This led to the Halachot of accompanying someone to the
hospital. Rav Melamed’s position is that it has been observed that when a
patient has an advocate, he/she receives better care than if left alone in the
hospital. This gives the advocate the status of someone who is contributing to
a life-saving effort, and therefore permits the advocate to ride to the
hospital, and is why you can turn off your car to get back into the ER quickly
if there in not a non-Jew available to do that.
We also covered Halachot that deal with what you can bring
to the hospital, what do if you are discharged from the hospital while it is
still Shabbat, and what to do if the patient demands more than one advocate.
The above represents our discussion. No specific Halachic
rulings are intended or should be inferred. The Halachic portion of the discussion,
while representing fairly clear Halachic guidance on the subject of saving
lives, should be reviewed. We encourage people to develop good knowledge about
how to handle life-threatening situations before such situations should arise
(i.e., study the Halachot and confer with your local Halachic authority, but
not during the situation!).
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