Regarding the commandment to guard the soul

שו”ת › Category: Halacha › Regarding the commandment to guard the soul

asked 9 years ago

Hello Rabbi Michael,

I wanted to ask you about the commandment “and be very careful for your souls”, does the prohibition refer to risking immediate death (such as a car accident/poisoning/falling from a height) or does it also refer to death after a long time (such as cancer/heart disease).

In addition, what is the maximum amount of risk that is permissible to take on from a halakhic perspective (meaning statistically, let’s say there is an activity that ends in death 1 in X cases).

Additionally, does the mitzvot and their observance also refer to physical harm without mental danger (for example, breaking a leg/arm)?

Best regards,

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מיכי Staff answered 9 years ago

No one can set a threshold for a prohibited risk. It is accepted among the jurists that the threshold is the behavior of the reasonable person (not necessarily religious). Some reason this by saying that “God protects the foolish.” The reasonable person behaves differently towards distant risks, and therefore the law will change accordingly. From the point of view of the law, I do not think there is a difference in the prohibition. Smoking is a good example of this. Since medicine has come to the conclusion that it is dangerous, most jurists have prohibited it. But some have written that as long as the world does not strictly adhere to it, God protects the foolish. Halacha considers bodily harm (such as whipping or mutilation) as partial death (what I killed is a prison, what I killed is a plague).

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