Self-sacrifice in Jewish law

Jewish law requires its adherents to violate almost all prohibitions in order to preserve human life. Saving lives (Hebrew: פיקוח נפש, pikuach nefesh) is required in almost all circumstances because Judaism places a fundamental value on human life that transcends the mitzvot (commandments).

However, in exceptional cases, Judaism requires its adherents to sacrifice their lives in allegiance to God. Specifically, if a Jew is called upon to violate any of the three cardinal sins—murder, prohibited sex and idol-worship—he must refuse to act even if this will result in his death. This requirement is known as "be killed but do not transgress" (Hebrew: יהרג ואל יעבור, yehareg ve'al ya'avor).

One who does not actually sacrifice his life, but accepts great risks or hardships for the sake of observing Judaism, is considered especially righteous. Such an act of self-sacrifice is called "dedication of one's life" (Hebrew: מסירת נפש, mesirat nefesh).

Preservation of life in Judaism

Judaism places a high value on life. It is therefore permitted to disregard all but three of Judaism's 613 mitzvot (religious requirements) when a life is in danger. This rule is founded on the Biblical statement: “You shall keep my decrees and my laws that a person will do and live by them, I am G-d.” (Leviticus 18:5) The Rabbis deduced from this verse that one should not die rather than transgress the mitzvot. This verse is thus the source that one should not endanger his own life through the practice of the mitzvot.

Additionally, Leviticus 19:16 states, “You shall not stand by the blood of your fellow.” The Talmud derives from this verse that one must do everything in his power to save the life of another Jew, even if this involves violation of one – or many – of the mitzvot. If it is the life of a non-Jew or apostate Jew that is in danger, the law is not so clear, and is the matter of some debate. This also touches on Judaism's views regarding other religions; see Jewish views of religious pluralism.

Requirement of self-sacrifice

Yehareg ve'al ya'avor ("Let him be killed rather than transgress") refers to the requirement to give one's life rather than transgress a law. Although ordinarily one is permitted to transgress halakha when a life is in danger, certain situations require one to give his life.

The Three Cardinal Sins

There are three sins which one is always required to die rather than transgress:

• idolatry
• Biblically prohibited sexual immorality
• murder

The above three are ruled as being exceptions by the Talmud. In tractate Sanhedrin 74a, the Talmud records: “Rav Yochanan said in the name of Rav Shimon ben Yehotzadak: ‘It was decided by a vote in the loft of the house of Nitezeh in Lod: For all the sins in the Torah, if a man is told, 'Transgress and you will not be killed,' he should transgress and not be killed, except for idol worship, sexual relations and bloodshed.’” A Jew must sacrifice his/her life rather than transgress the above-mentioned sins.

Idolatry

The first exception, idolatry, is extrapolated from Deuteronomy 6:5 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might”, meaning that one should even surrender his soul rather than serve any god but the Lord.

Sexual immorality

The exception for certain types of sexual immorality is extrapolated from Deuteronomy 22:26. Referring to the case of a betrothed girl who is raped by a man, it says, “for as when a man rises against his neighbor, and slays him, even so is this matter.” Thus sexual immorality is likened by the Torah to murder – and one is required to give one's life rather than murder, as discussed below.

Types of sexual misconduct involved

In both Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism, the types of sexual misconduct subject to Yehareg v’al ya’avor include those mentioned in Leviticus Chapter 18, which include adultery with a married woman, various types of incest, sexual relations with a woman in the Niddah state, bestiality, and violations of the prohibition "thou shall not lie with a man as with a woman, it is an abomination." Both Orthodox and Conservative Jewish authorities agree that the latter prohibition definitely includes homosexual anal sex. Orthodox authorities and traditionalists within Conservative Judaism consider a broader range of male-male homosexual conduct, including oral sex, as forbidden, but not included in the "die rather than transgress" prohibitions.

Prohibitions by Rabbinic decree are excluded. The Rabbis made a number of prohibitions in sexual matters beyond those of the Torah. Adultery with a married man, Fornication, certain types of homosexual conduct, and various aspects of modesty in dress and conduct are among these rabbinic prohibitions not specifically prohibited by Leviticus 18. Maimonides and many current Orthodox authorities also regard lesbian conduct (any type) as rabbinically rather than Biblically prohibited. Orthodox Judaism recognizes these prohibitions as being a lesser type of transgression overridden by the imperative to preserve life.

In 2006 the Conservative movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, reflecting strong disagreement between liberals and traditionalists on the subject, approved two diametrically opposed responsa on the subject of homosexuality. One declared all rabbinic prohibitions on homosexual sex to be formally lifted and no longer applicable to Conservative Jews. The other formally declared the necessity of their remaining in effect and instructed Conservative Jews to continue to observe them. Both agreed that a prohibition on male-male anal sex, and adultery with a married woman, retained a die-rather-than-transgress character, and instructed Conservative Jews to continue to observe rabbinic prohibitions on heterosexual sex outside of marriage (fornication), although the liberal responsum also found a variety of traditional rules of modesty including prohibitions on contact and seclusion, to be no longer applicable to Conservative Jews. Under the Conservative movement's philosophy of pluralism, local rabbis choose which among the approved alternatives to follow. (See Homosexuality and Conservative Judaism)

Many authorities hold that the requirement to sacrifice one's life does not apply to purely passive behavior, so that, for example, a married woman who is raped is not required to die resisting the rape. Rather, the requirement applies only to playing an active role in one of the forbidden sexual acts. See Judaism and homosexuality

Murder

The exception of murder is derived by logic, as the Talmud states further (in Sanhedrin 74a): "It happened with Rava: A man came to Rava and told him that the governor of the city had ordered that he (the man) slay a certain man or himself suffer death, and Rava said to him: 'Rather than slay another person, you must permit yourself to be slain, for how do you know that your blood is redder than his, perhaps his blood is redder than yours?'"

Additional situations

The following requirements are according to Maimonides (Rambam).

As stated above, one is normally required to let himself be killed only for the three cardinal laws. However, in the opinion of Maimonides, certain other special situations also require martyrdom.

Public martyrdom

According to Maimonides, one is required to give his or her life to avoid desecrating God's name through the public transgression of His commandments. The desecration of God's name is considered the harshest violation of Jewish law, at least as far as heavenly forgiveness is concerned. Therefore, if the sin is to be committed in public (for these purposes, in the presence of ten Jewish adults), and the sole purpose of the persecutor is to have the Jew transgress halakha, any prohibition would be considered a matter of yehareg v'al ya'avor. (Note: According to many Orthodox authorities, women count in the minyan of ten Jewish adults required to constitute a "public" for purposes of public martyrdom, one of a number of situations in which women count in a minyan in Orthodox Judaism).

If these two conditions are not present, there is no requirement to give one's life, since God's name will not be desecrated by the transgression. For example, if a Jew is being forced to transgress the Shabbat laws for the sake of the forcer's personal profit, he would not be required to give his life.

Resisting persecutions and crises

There is, however, one more exception. During a time of crisis for the Jewish faith – for example, if a government or any other power wants to force Jews not to be religious, every prohibition in Jewish law becomes yehareg ve'al ya'avor, and one is to have Mesirat nefesh on every negative or positive commandment even when not in public. This is called "Sandal straps", and refers to the traditional Jewish manner of putting on footwear (Put on right, put on left, tie left, tie right). In this situation, one must die even for "Sandal straps".

However, if a government or any other power is not opposing the Jewish religion in itself, but rather any religion, such as in Russia under the communist regime, then according to some opinions, the above does not apply.  

It is also considered a crisis for the Jewish faith when a particular requirement within Jewish Law is in danger of being outlawed by a government or other power.

A further qualification must be noted. Only the negative commandments could potentially be considered a matter of yehareg v'al ya'avor; one would never be required to sacrifice himself for one of the positive commandments. Since refraining from the performance of a positive commandment involves no specific action, to do so would not be considered a desecration of God's name, so self-sacrifice would never be required.

According to Maimonides, in a situation where one is not required to sacrifice himself rather than transgress, to do so would be considered suicide, which is strongly forbidden and condemned under Jewish law.

Following through and sacrificing one's life in accordance with the law of yehareg ve'al ya'avor is considered to be Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of God's name).

Pikuach nefesh

The term pikuach nefesh is used to refer to the obligation to violate one - or many - of the commandments of the Torah in order to save a life. For example, a Jewish doctor must transgress the rules of Shabbat if his patient might die if he did not.

There are explicit rulings in the Talmud to this effect. in Yoma 84b, the Talmud gives a few examples of cases where the laws can be disregarded. These include rescuing a child from the sea, breaking apart a wall that has collapsed on a child, breaking down a door about to close on an infant, and extinguishing a fire to save a life. The Mishna in Yoma 83a discusses when one is permitted to break his/her fast on Yom Kippur: “If one is seized by a ravenous hunger, he may be given to eat even unclean things until his eyes are lightened.”

Maimonidies explained that the purpose of the rules of pikuach nefesh is to encourage “compassion, loving-kindness, and peace in the world” (Mishneh Torah, 2:3).

Pikuach nefesh has limitations. The individual whose life is to be saved must be a specific, identifiable individual, rather than an abstract or potential beneficiary.

Examples

Organ donation

According to some halakhic rulers, organ donation under Jewish law is one classic example of the obligation to violate a commandment because of Pikuach nefesh. Saving one's life can override the prohibition against desecrating a corpse. However, due to the limitation that a specific life must be in danger, a specific organ recipient must generally be identified before the organ is removed. Organ removal to organ banks for possible future is generally prohibited by all Orthodox Judaism halakhic decisors.

Shabbat and holidays

The laws of Shabbat and the Jewish holidays may be suspended for the purposes of pikuach nefesh. The earliest known example of this took place in 167 BCE, when Mattathias and the Hasmoneans declared that it was permitted for their followers to fight on the Sabbath day to defend themselves from attack. One is allowed to travel in order to save another’s life, and medical care may be provided to critically ill patients. According to Moshe Feinstein, it is permissible to travel to accompany a woman in labor to a hospital because the Talmud is especially solicitous of health with respect to pregnancy and childbirth. Shabbat laws can also be bent for a woman who has given birth in the last three days to make sure that she is comfortable and healthy.

One is allowed to drive a woman to a hospital on Shabbat to give birth, since birth can be life-threatening without medical supervision. Similarly, one may sign a consent form for surgery on Shabbat if the surgery will otherwise be delayed.

Non-kosher food

If necessary for recovery, a patient may eat non-kosher foods. In the Babylonian Talmud, Chapter 8 of Tractate Yoma mentions pregnancy cravings for non-kosher food (the passage discusses a pregnant women who craves pork on Yom Kippur) as the paradigmatic example of a presumed life-threatening situation where a person is allowed to eat non-kosher food (and is permitted to eat it on Yom Kippur).

Mesirat nefesh

Mesirat nefesh refers to the observance of the mitzvot through great effort, including the giving one's life, as in the situations discussed above. However, mesirat nefesh is often also used non-literally, to refer to the performance of a mitzvah with “real dedication,” even though no danger was involved.

See also

• Kiddush Hashem
• Religious views of suicide
• Martyr
• Electricity on Shabbat