EXOD41 Jewish law does not require someone to intervene when the risk to his life is substantial. Prof. Aaron Kirschenbaum explains: "The whole purpose of the obligation 'You shall not stand by while your neighbor's blood is shed' is the preservation of life. If its fulfillment can be accomplished only by the sacrifice of the life [of the would-be rescuer], then its purpose has been undermined and frustrated. Under such circumstances, the obligation falls away." [But while there is no obligation to intervene, it is still viewed as an act of heroism, and worthy of great praise. Thus, Louis Jacobs cites several instances from the Bible in which people put their lives In great danger to save others:... Moses saw an Egyptian overseer mercilessly beating a Jewish slave and, at the risk of his life, attacked and killed the man [this and previous verse]. In addition, Jewish law that does not require us to intervene (though it encourages us to do so) even when the danger to our life is not great (e.g., at the scene of a fire, where we can pull a person out of a room that is not yet engulfed in flames) but views it as a saintly act midat chasidut to do so (Aaron Kirschenbaum). ... The Jerusalem Talmud requires a person to put himself in some danger if the danger to the other party is great; however, this ruling is not accepted as binding by most legal scholars.