LEV223 The leitmotiv of our ethical system is the command of God: "Ye shall therefore keep My statutes and Mine ordinances, which if a man do, he shall live by them; I am the Lord." [this verse]. Man must eat to live, not live to eat. He has the duty to look after his physical and mental welfare as he has the responsibility to be solicitous for the well-being of others. Interesting in this connection is the shrewd remark of a Hasidic Rabbi, to whom one complained that "So-and-so" desecrated the Sabbath and ate all kinds of forbidden foods. "You have been given two eyes. one with which to see your own faults, the other with which to behold the virtues of another." Glancing at the physical robustness of the complainant, the Rabbi added this: "My friend, I would advise you to look after your own soul and the body of another, rather than make yourself censorious of another man's soul whilst feeding carefully your own body." The duties man owes to his fellow-being could not have been more masterfully stated.

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LEV224 The main purpose of the intricate network of the Halachah was to keep the nation alive through all its vicissitudes. The word Halachah (derived from the root ch-l-h "to go") suggests "Progress" and is meant to serve as a guide in daily life. The world has not yet progressed to those sublime standards of holy living and action patterned in our codes. The Jew, who faithfully adheres to the standards blazoned forth before his trail in the Codes, Biblical and post-Biblical, will be armed with a moral strength that will overpower those that rise up against Him. He will echo the words of R. Yehudah Halevi: "Men revile me; but they know not that the shame endured for thy sake, O God, is naught but honour." To study our ethical codes is to possess ourselves with a further source for strength and pride in our Judaism.

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LEV213 Drawing a parallel from the commandment against the kidnapping and subsequent sale of a person into involuntary servitude [Exodus 21:16; Deuteronomy 24:7 - AJL], Rabbi Unterman (No'am, VI, 4f; Shevet me-Yehudah, I, 9f) cites the opinion of Rashi, Sanhedrin 85d, who maintains that this prohibition encompasses the sale of an unborn child as well. Although the fetus may not be considered a fully developed person, his kidnapper is culpable because he has stolen an animate creature whose status is conditioned by its potential development into a viable human being. Rabbi Unterman further notes that the unborn fetus lacks human status. Consequently, it is excluded from the injunction, "and he [man] shall live by them" [this verse], which justifies violation of other precepts in order to preserve human life. Numerous authorities nevertheless permit violation of the Sabbath in order to preserve fetal life. Rabbi Unterman views such permission as being predicated upon a similar rationale. Anticipation of potential development and subsequent attainment of human status creates certain privileges and obligations with regard to the undeveloped fetus. Consideration of future potential is clearly evidenced in the Talmudic declaration: "Better to violate a single Sabbath in order to observe many Sabbaths" (Shabbat 151b). Rabbi Unterman concludes that reasoning in these terms precludes any distinction which might otherwise be drawn with regard to the various stages of fetal development.

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LEV214 Human life is sacrosanct, and of supreme and infinite worth. Life is of itself the summum bonum of human existence. The Divine law was ordained only "that man shall live by it" [this verse]. Hence any precept, whether religious or ethical, is automatically suspended if it conflicts with the interest of human life (Yoma 85b), the exceptions being only adultery, murder and immorality (adultery and incest)--the three cardinal crimes against God, one's neighbor and oneself--as expressly stipulated in the Bible itself (Pesachim 25a and b; Yoreh De'ah, 195:3; 157:1; based on Deut. 6:5 and 22:26). The value of human life is infinite and beyond measure, so that any part of life--even if only an hour or a second-- is of precisely the same worth as seventy years of it, just as any fraction of infinity, being indivisible, remains infinite. Accordingly, to kill a decrepit patient approaching death constitutes exactly the same crime of murder as to kill a young, healthy person who may still have many decades to live (footnote five). For the same reason, one life is worth as much as a thousand or a million lives (Footnote six) – – infinity is not increased by multiplying it. This explains the unconditional Jewish opposition to deliberate euthanasia as well as to the surrender of one hostage in order to save the others if the whole group is otherwise threatened with death (footnote seven).

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LEV222 See [[LEV903]] Leviticus 22:32 name ROSNER-BLEICH 327

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LEV217 Jewish tradition understands the verse," You shall keep My laws and My rules, and you shall live by them…"(This verse; emphasis added) as meaning that Torah laws are binding only if observing them will not lead to our death (Yoma 85; [three exceptions: Murder, (Sanhedrin 74a, Pesachim 25b, Yoma 82b); Idol Worship (Sanhedrin 74a); and certain types of illicit sexual behavior, such as engaging in incest (Yoma 82)]. For example, observing the Sabbath, one of the Ten Commandments, is a cornerstone of biblical law. Nevertheless, when the situation arises in which adhering to Shabbat laws put someone's life at risk--for example, if a person has a life-threatening ailment and needs to be driven to the hospital (normally, Jewish while prohibits driving on the Sabbath)--these laws are suspended so that a sick person's needs can be met. As the Talmud rules: "The saving of life supersedes the Sabbath" (Shabbat 132a).

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LEV215 It was taught: R. Yochanan said in the name of R. Shimon b. Yehotzadak: It was put to a count and confirmed in the upper chamber of the house of Nitzah in Lod: In respect to all the transgressions in the Torah, except idolatry, illicit relations, and the spilling of blood, if one is told: Transgress or you will be killed, he is to transgress and not be killed. [Why so? "and he shall live in them" -- and not die through them] (Sanhedrin 74a)

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LEV216 It was taught: Whence is it derived that the preservation of life overrides the Sabbath? R. Yehudah said in the name of Shmuel: From: "And you shall heed My statutes and My judgments, which a man shall do, and he shall live in them" -- and not die through them (Yoma 85b)

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LEV220 Rava said (Exodus 20:5): "You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them" -- All types of worship [voluntary and involuntary] were herein subsumed; and when the Torah specified: "and he shall live in them," but not die through them, involuntary worship [on pain of death] was excluded [from the command not to bow down, etc.]. But then it was written (Leviticus 22:32): "And do not desecrate My holy Name"-- even involuntarily! How is this to be understood? Here, in private; here, in public (i.e., in private, he does not incur the death penalty for not sanctifying the Name by giving his life; in public (i.e., where there are ten Jews looking on), he does incur the death penalty] (Avodah Zarah 54a)

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LEV228 Let us now speak about the transgressions of promiscuity, which also are of those offenses that [human nature finds more] desirable and are second only to theft in importance, as stated by the Sages of blessed memory (Bava Basra 165a): "The majority succumb to theft and a minority to promiscuity." One who desires to be completely cleansed of this sin will have to expend considerable effort, because its prohibition includes not only the actual physical act but anything that comes near to this as well. This is stated clearly [this verse]: "Do not approach to uncover nakedness." They of blessed memory have said (Shemos Rabbah 16:2): "The Holy One blessed be He said: 'Do not say, "Since I am forbidden to have intimate relations with a woman, I will [at least] hold her without incurring sin, I will embrace her without incurring sin, or I will kiss her without incurring sin,'" The Holy One Blessed be He said: 'Just like a nazir whose vow not to drink wine also forbids him to eat fresh or dried grapes, to drink grape juice, or to consume any derivatives of grapes, a man is likewise prohibited from touching any woman other than his wife.' And any person who touches a woman other than his wife brings death upon him.…" What an extraordinary statement this is, for this prohibition is compared to the vow of a nazir in which the primary prohibition relates only to the drinking of wine. Nonetheless, the Torah forbids him anything that is related to wine. By means of this the Torah instructs our Sages how to go about "making a fence" around the Torah by exercising the authority vested in them for safeguarding the Torah's safeguards; [and in this endeavor] they will learn from the [case of a] nazir that for the sake of the primary prohibition one may prohibit anything that is similar to it. What this means is that the Torah uses the mitzvah of nazir as the paradigm for what our Sages have been authorized to do with all the other mitzvos. This way we are instructed that this is the will of the Eternal [to erect fences around the Torah]. Consequently, when the Torah states any prohibition, the Sages will know how to proscribe what is not elucidated [in the Torah] on the basis of what has already been elucidated. And that way they will be able to prohibit anything similar to the [specific] prohibition. By applying this rule to the area of promiscuity, the Sages prohibited anything that is a form of adultery or that resembles that, regardless of the medium involved: physical contact, sight, speech, hearing, or even thought.

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