Q&A: Self-Harm
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Self-Harm
Question
Is a person who harms himself—for example, eats unhealthy food, scratches himself, or in an extreme case even commits suicide—an immoral person?
Answer
As long as he is not harming others, I do not see any immorality here.
Discussion on Answer
There is a halakhic prohibition involved.
I wrote that if there is harm, then there is room to discuss the morality of the matter. However, if the harm is the suicide itself and the absence it creates, it is very doubtful that this establishes a moral prohibition. A person has the right to commit suicide, and if others suffer, then that’s how it is. I do not have to remain in the world suffering so that they will not suffer. ‘My life’ comes first.
But it feels like there is a problem here—if not in terms of morality, then what is it? And suicide harms his relatives, so is there no moral problem here?