Question

They put me at a station with a button such that if I press it, a certain person will be saved from death (and let us assume it will cause him pain in his leg). Of course, it is my halakhic or moral duty to press that button. I can pull a bell, and then I will be removed from the station and another person will be placed there facing that same button. For some reason, I do not want to take the decision upon myself. Am I allowed to leave it to someone else? We are dealing with guarding against violating a prohibition, not with failing to fulfill a positive commandment. And what if it is somehow known that I and the other person are equally likely, for whatever decision we make, to decide either way (it may be that the correct decision carries some personal cost, and it is not certain that either I or he will make it). And what if it is known that the other person has a better chance than I do of not giving in to his inclination, and therefore will make the correct decision—would it then be permitted for me to evade and transfer the responsibility to him? Is there a Talmudic passage connected to this discussion? [In my opinion, one is allowed to transfer it to someone else if the probability of the correct decision does not go down].