Sh'lach 5778

“…and they found a man gathering wood on the day of Shabbat”

(Bamidbar 15:32)

Emergency Recall 

(From Shu”t Harav Harashi, pg. 329)

Shmuel woke up from his Shabbat nap, and slowly sat up in bed. Suddenly, he felt as if he could barely breathe! Desperately, he gasped “Yehuda! Doctor!” His son was immediately at his side. He took one look at Shmuel, and ran to the phone to call an ambulance.

Once he had called the ambulance, he ran across the hall to a neighbor’s apartment, and pounded on the door. Yehuda waited for a few tense moments. He silently prayed that his neighbor, who was an experienced emergency room doctor, would open the door. To Yehuda’s great relief, the door opened, and there was the doctor. 

Yehuda explained what had happened, and he and the doctor raced back to Shmuel’s side. By then, Shmuel’s breathing had improved, and his color had returned to normal. The doctor examined Shmuel, and announced “everything looks fine. There’s no need to go to the hospital. I just performed the same examination that would take place in a hospital. If I had any concerns, I would send him for further testing, but there’s really no need. You see for yourself that, baruch Hashem, Shmuel is alright.”

Yehuda breathed a deep sigh of relief. Then a thought struck him. He had just ordered an ambulance! Given that it was Shabbat, should he call back and say that the ambulance wasn’t needed? 

Answer:

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, zt”l:

If a person orders an ambulance on Shabbat, but then sees that there is an improvement in the condition of the patient, such that the ambulance is no longer needed, the person should call back, and relate this information. This is for two reasons. Firstly, it will prevent unnecessary chilul Shabbat on the part of the ambulance team. Additionally, this will allow the ambulance to be available for other sick people who do need it urgently.

This ruling applies in Israel. Outside of Israel, if the driver is a non-Jew, there is no concern about the ambulance staff performing chilul Shabbat unnecessarily. However, there is still the concern of tying up an ambulance that could be used for another person who needs it. Taking all of the above into consideration, in this case, if there is no concern of chilul Hashem, it is best to refrain from action, and not call back the ambulance company.

(Additional sources: In the book HaTzava K’halacha, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l (chapter 32, section a 3) is cited as saying that it is forbidden to call to cancel the ambulance. This is because the ambulance driver is allowed to drive on Shabbat, because he is driving for the purpose of saving a life, however there is no allowance to desecrate Shabbat in order to prevent him from driving.

Similarly, in Sefer Torat Hayoledet, it is stated that Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, zt”l, forbade calling in order to cancel a request for an ambulance.

However Sefer Peninei Halacha cites a dissenting opinion. The author asserts that it is, in fact, obligatory, to cancel the ambulance request, because every “false alarm” to an ambulance service may cause the ambulance staff to take future calls less seriously, possibly resulting in negligence, G-d forbid. This is all the more so if ambulance drivers were aware that people making calls on Shabbat, in error, were not particular to rescind their requests).

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“…and he came to Chevron…”

(Bamidbar 13:22)

Rashi: Kalev went by himself and prayed at the graves of his forefathers, that he would not be influenced by the other spies.

(ed. note: this is a loose translation)

A Day to Pray

A number of years ago, two friends, Avi and Mordechai, decided to organize a special Shabbat event for their classmates. They didn’t want this to be just any Shabbaton. They arranged for their class to spend Shabbat in Chevron. They looked forward to the highlight of the trip: praying at Me’arat Hamachpeila, the burial site of our forefathers and foremothers. The two boys carefully organized the details of the event. When the planning was nearly complete, one of the hosts for the Shabbaton inquired “Just checking, did you boys get clearance from the army to hold the Shabbaton in Chevron?”

Avi and Mordechai admitted that they hadn’t thought of that. They didn’t realize that they needed permission from the army. The host explained that, because of the difficult security situation, all gatherings in the area required permission from the army.

Left without a choice, Avi and Mordechai got in touch with commander in charge of the area. The commander immediately gave permission, and assured the boys “Don’t worry, it’s no problem. I’ll send a troop who will accompany your group throughout Shabbat. Everything is taken care of!”

Avi and Mordechai hung up with the commander. Avi noticed that Mordechai seemed lost in thought. “What happened, Mordechai?” asked Avi.

“I don’t know,” began Mordechai. “Do you think it’s OK for us to necessitate a whole troop to follow us around all Shabbat? We’re causing chilul Shabbat for them! We can go to Me’arat Hamachpela on a weekday, without making soldiers be mechalel Shabbat for us.”

Is Mordechai correct? Should Mordechai and Avi cancel the Shabbaton?

Answer:

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, zt”l:

It is permitted for the group to pray in Me’arat Hamachpeila, and it is permitted for the soldiers to guard them. In fact, it is a mitzva. The reason is that if people were unable to pray there, Jews would lose control of the area. 

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“…the Land is very, very good” (Bamidbar 14:7)

Good Vision

Rabbi Asher Weiss, shlita, relates the following story: 

“When I was a child, my father would take me to the Kapshnitzer Rebbe Rabbi in New York. The Rebbe was an exceptionally pure person.

One time, the Rebbe had just returned from Israel, and spoke with passion about the Land’s purity and holiness. One of the attendants of the Rebbe interrupted, and questioned how the Rebbe could speak this way. ‘I don’t know what the Rebbe saw,’ he began, ‘but what I saw was rampant desecration of the Torah! There was so much chilul Shabbat and immodesty!’

The Rebbe sighed. ‘What can I say? I didn’t see the bad things that you saw. I only saw the holiness of the land of Israel. I don’t see bad, when I’m looking at Jews!’”

Rabbi Weiss concluded by saying that it is certain that the Rebbe witnessed cars driving on Shabbat. However, as he saw the cars, rather than assuming that the drivers were acting improperly, the Rebbe assumed that they were taking women in labor to the hospital, or that the drivers never had the opportunity to learn about the Torah, and were acting out of ignorance, and not rebelliousness.

Similarly, we must also look at Israel favorably, and see all the good that there is here. Hopefully, in the merit of seeing the good in this land, Hashem will, in turn, look favorably upon us, and we will merit the coming of Mashiach!

(Rabbi Weiss adds that this was the mistake of the spies. Ostensibly, they merely acted according to the instructions which they were given! They reported all that they saw, while spying out the land of Israel. However, the problem was that they chose to see the negative about Israel. Therefore, they were punished with having to spend forty years in the desert, rather than entering the land immediately. This was a punishment for the forty days that they spent spying out the Land, because, for the duration of their trip, they continuously saw only the negative).