Pikuah Nefesh Jewish Value: Pikuah Nefesh Jews have an obligation to save another person. It is rooted in a principle of halakhah (Jewish law) called , pikuah nefesh, saving a soul. Protecting a human life is a major Jewish obligation. Our rabbis learned this lesson from two different places in the Torah. Leviticus 19:16 says, “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor.” In a midrashic collection, Sifra, we are taught that “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor” means “Do not watch without doing something when your neighbor’s blood is shed. If you see someone in danger of drowning in the river, being carried away by wild beasts or being attacked by robbers, you must try to rescue that person.” (Leviticus 19:16) The second verse, Leviticus 18:5, reads, “You shall keep My L aws and My rules, you shall act on them, you shall live by them.” The key words here are “Live by them”. In the Talmud we are told “You shall live by them, but you shall not die because of them” (Yoma 85a). This teaches a second meaning of pikuah nefesh: that one may abandon most mitzvot in order to save a life.
83
