Pikuach Nefesh

Pikuach Nefesh is a halachic category describing a situation where a Jew is in danger of death.

Overrides the Entire Torah

"One of the Alter Rebbe's sayings: We have no conception of how precious a Jewish body is in the eyes of Hashem." – Translated from Hayom Yom, 29 Elul.

The Gemara states that nothing stands in the way of Pikuach Nefesh except for idolatry, forbidden relations, and murder, but the rest of the Torah's mitzvos are set aside when they would cause danger.

The general source for this law is from the verse, "You shall observe My statutes and My ordinances, which a man shall do and live by them." Our Sages interpreted "and live by them" to mean "and not die by them," meaning that human life is more important than fulfilling the mitzvos.

The Rif ruled in his work with the familiar language: "Pikuach Nefesh overrides the entire Torah except for idolatry, forbidden relations, and murder."

Shabbos

Regarding the laws of Shabbos, there is special attention to the fact that they are set aside in cases of Pikuach Nefesh, as stated in the Gemara: "Desecrate one Shabbos for him so that he may observe many Shabbosos." The source of this principle is derived from the verse "The Children of Israel shall observe the Shabbos." An expression brought in the Gemara on this matter: "For a day-old living child, we desecrate Shabbos; for David, King of Israel, who has died, we do not desecrate Shabbos."

The Rebbe notes that the uniqueness of setting aside Shabbos for Pikuach Nefesh is also evident in the Rambam, who brings the law of setting aside Shabbos in the laws of Shabbos, and does not bring it in the place where he discusses other matters that are set aside for Pikuach Nefesh.

The Rebbe explains that there is an essential difference between setting aside Shabbos and setting aside other mitzvos - from a halachic perspective, for other mitzvos, Pikuach Nefesh pushes aside the mitzvah because it is greater and more important, whereas with Shabbos, it becomes permitted from the outset and becomes like a weekday. Therefore, there is a special source for setting aside Shabbos, teaching us that desecrating Shabbos to save a Jew is not a desecration at all, but rather, this desecration is part of observing Shabbos, since the purpose of Shabbos is to express "for it is a sign between Me and you," and when the Torah commands us to save Jewish life, it demonstrates the connection and Hashem's choice of the Jewish people.

The Alter Rebbe further clarifies in Tanya that the reason why Pikuach Nefesh does not override the mitzvos of idolatry, forbidden relations, and murder, while it does override other mitzvos of the Torah, is not because the other mitzvos are less stringent compared to these three mitzvos, but rather it is a divine decree. He proves this from Shabbos, which despite its stringency being equivalent to these three mitzvos, is nevertheless set aside in cases of Pikuach Nefesh.

The Reason Self-Sacrifice is Not Required

In Chassidus it is explained that the reason why the Written Torah does not command self-sacrifice is because the root of the Written Torah is in the sefirah of Chochmah, as the Zohar states, "The Torah emerges from Chochmah," and since self-sacrifice is not behavior based on reason and knowledge, it is not commanded in the Torah. However, the Rebbe explains that this is only an explanation for why there is no separate mitzvah of self-sacrifice, but the fact that there is no obligation for self-sacrifice due to the severity of each mitzvah itself requires the teaching of "and live by them." However, the root of Jewish souls is higher than the root of the Torah, as the Midrash states, "Two things preceded the world: Torah and Israel, and I do not know which preceded which; I say Israel preceded." Therefore, Jewish souls have the power to sacrifice themselves even though they are not commanded to do so.

"Pikuach Nefesh Overrides the Entire Torah" - Permission or Obligation

The poskim debate whether it is halachically permissible for a person to "be stringent" and fulfill a mitzvah that is not one of the three severe mitzvos even though it involves Pikuach Nefesh, or whether it is halachically forbidden to fulfill these mitzvos in a situation of Pikuach Nefesh.

Even for One Moment

It is told that once one of the Mitteler Rebbe's elderly relatives, over ninety years old, fell ill, and everyone saw that her time had come to return her soul to the One who gave it, and this was on Shabbos. A doctor was brought, and since there was no pharmacy in Lubavitch, the Mitteler Rebbe instructed to immediately send a wagon to Dubrovna to bring the medicine prescribed by the doctor. One of those present hinted to him that everyone could see that her time had come, so why go to such lengths, especially on Shabbos? The Mitteler Rebbe answered: They do not know the pleasure Above when a soul remains in a body even for one additional moment, and we are obligated to do everything we can.

Departure of the Spark from the Klipot

The things forbidden by the Torah are called "issurim" (prohibitions), which comes from the language of being "bound," because the divine spark within these things is bound by the three impure klipot [shells of impurity], and they cannot ascend and be included in holiness. However, when something is permitted because of pikuach nefesh (life-threatening situations) - the Alter Rebbe writes that the thing becomes completely permitted.

The Rebbe explains that this doesn't mean that during danger the spark of the three impure klipot leaves and is replaced by a different spark from klipat nogah (the neutral shell), for how could a limited human action change the source of vitality of the thing? Rather, the change that occurs is that the same divine spark that was called "three impure klipot" because it didn't feel its divine nature - as a result of being bound by external forces - in a case of pikuach nefesh becomes unbound from its attachment, and feels its divine nature, and that is what one elevates and refines.

Mitzvah by the Great Ones

Regarding setting aside Shabbat for pikuach nefesh, the Gemara states: "And these things are not done by non-Jews or by Cutheans, but by the great ones of Israel." The meaning of "great ones of Israel" is debated among the poskim (Jewish legal authorities). Some say it's meant to exclude children who are minors. Others say it refers to people who are greater in wisdom than the common people, as the Rambam wrote: "The great and wise ones of Israel," and as the Alter Rebbe wrote: "By Israelites who are great in wisdom and not by common people and women." One of the reasons he gave for this is to publicly demonstrate the practical halacha.

The Rebbe related on several occasions that once the Alter Rebbe, while still praying on Yom Kippur, removed his tallit and went to the home of a woman who had just given birth, who was at the edge of the town and remained alone in her house after all her family members went to synagogue. He sensed that she needed help, so he went and chopped wood, cooked soup, and personally fed the new mother.

The Rebbe once added that he heard this story from his father-in-law, the Previous Rebbe, who mentioned that "in those days, Chassidim did not customarily tell this story." But the Rebbe expressed about this (translated from Yiddish): "He certainly knew that I wouldn't be able to contain myself, and sooner or later I would make a big noise about this. I think I've already told this once, but if there hasn't been a commotion about it until now, I'm telling it now with the commotion."

On another occasion, the Rebbe explained that saving a Jewish life is similar to the law that "one who is engaged in a mitzvah is exempt from another mitzvah." The reason for this law is that in every mitzvah there is an aspect that is equal in all mitzvot, and because of this detail, one is exempt from all other mitzvot. Similarly with Jewish souls, since in every Jew there is one part and essence that is equal in every Jew (which is why it is said that "whoever saves one Jewish life is considered as if they saved an entire world"), therefore there is no difference what type of Jew is being saved, nor what type of Jew is doing the saving, since the entire rescue is founded on the aspect that is equal among all Jews.