Q&A: Regarding the commandment to safeguard one's life
Regarding the commandment to safeguard one's life
Question
Hello Rabbi Michael,
I wanted to ask you about the commandment, "You shall be very careful with your lives"—is the prohibition against exposing oneself to immediate danger of death (such as a car accident / poisoning / a fall from a height, God forbid), or does it also include death that may come only much later (such as cancer / heart disease, God forbid)?
In addition, what is the maximum level of risk one may take upon oneself from a halakhic standpoint (I mean statistically—for example, suppose there is an activity that ends in death in 1 out of X cases)?
Also, does the commandment of "You shall be very careful" also apply to bodily injury even without danger to life (for example, breaking a leg/arm)?
Best regards,
Answer
No one can set a precise threshold for forbidden risk. It is commonly accepted among halakhic decisors that the threshold is the conduct of the reasonable person (not necessarily a religious one). Some explain this on the basis of "The Lord protects the simple." The reasonable person relates differently to remote risks, and therefore Jewish law will change accordingly. Strictly speaking, I do not think there is a difference in the prohibition. Smoking is a good example of this. From the moment medicine concluded that it is dangerous, most halakhic decisors prohibited it. But some wrote that as long as society at large is not careful about it, "The Lord protects the simple."
Jewish law views injury to the body (such as lashes or wounding) as partial death ("what difference is there to me between killing all of him and killing half of him?").