Do not Stand by While Your Brother’s Blood is Shed (לא תעמוד על דם רעיך) 2 by Rabbi Shai Finkelstein

okay hello everyone so last time we spoke about um saving someone's life uh so we spoke about that one of the one of the issues that we definitely need to try to understand is the word Y which means capable and this is obviously something very subjective and um and also not only subjective very hard to Define okay so R who was at the end of 13th century beginning of the 14th century inan he said the following like Southern friends maybe you can come a little closer I just finished to sh him so my voice is gone so if you can come closer if you can't hear it will be just much better for me okay so if you see that your friend is drowning in the river or he's being um attacked by animals or thieves are coming to attack him the wording is very interesting he must what to try you need to you're definitely obligated to try to save him s oh basically it says without Sak now I will tell you that with all do respect everything you do there is a little bit of a Sak you see a person who needs little help to cross the street and you give him or her a hand and you try to help them to cross the street and God forbid a truck can come right you see a little kitten okay uh in the bushes and you try to get him out and then you get uh stinged by a bee I don't know I mean everything you do in life has some kind of a danger so what does it mean Bel Sak I guess that you can save him without any real s which is more than the average that's what I would assume so this is obviously a quote from thear if you are obligated to what to bring back a lost object obviously you need to bring a lost body meaning someone is alive I'm talking about trying to save someone's life so what can you do you also can hire people who are like professions are Professionals in what they do so if you see someone in the fire you need to bring the firefighters if you need to see someone drowning in the river you bring what the lifeguards so if I spend money I hired people to help this guy guy to save his guy he he needs to pay me back if he doesn't and I recognize he does not have money I know this guy he has no money I still need to what to hire those people even though I will not get paid um now he says here something very important he basically says that we have an I mean mostly meaning I cannot save myself with someone else's property so for example if someone is running after you and start shooting okay like in the movies don't take someone else's plates and start throwing that on those arrows you know and and try to save yourself with someone else's uh property we can't do that why because the Bim does not know about it but if the Bim knows about it he himself is definitely obligated to what to save you with his money even though you will not be able to what to pay him and then he says and if you didn't do it you obviously violated the prohibition that you should not stand aside while your brother's blood is shed which means as we said before this idea it's not only about saving someone else's life but it's also saving someone else's reputation future business everything if you hear a conspiracy against a friend you hear that non-jews or Jews want to extradite him or to do something to harm him you need to what you need to tell him okay says the to the is ROV is the son of the Ros who was born and was a Dian in Spain and he says the following so again if you see your friend drowning in the river or he's being attacked you need to save him you need to even hire people to do it and if that guy has money he needs to pay you back okay now if you are sense um sensible to the wording you immediately see that the T said something and immediately after that he says what and the ramb wrote which means I wrote something and then the rambam probably disagree with it oh has an additional requirement which is for so he brings the R Who says what that you need to save your right so what's the difference between the rambam and what the tool says seems to be the same thing right yes or no take a look [Music] what also more more okay so there is more it's more elaborate elaborated for sure but also there is one thing the two quoted the Brier that says which means what you have to what to save the B who is the Bish Rish from the 17th century in Poland so he wrote a per on the tour it's called so he says the following what he the two quoted the rambam saying and the rambam wrote it means what meaning when you look at the bright it says it means what I don't care if you can or cannot you jump because you need to save him the ram added or deviated from the bright and says what that you can meaning you make some kind of a risk assessment and then after the risk assessment you make a decision so therefore [Laughter] says which means basically the two understood that the r disagree with the Bri meaning the Bri says what and I don't care if what if you endanger yourself or don't the ROM says no no no you need to make a risk assessment after you make an assessment you decide that you can jump jump if you can't don't the problem with the rambam is what if you can't swim you're going to drown no no you can swim a even if you assess that you can save him you never know a wave can come and you know how to swim but you don't know how to swim with a person on your shoulders again it's a wave okay okay so that's a b if you are a fearful person your risk assessment is obviously different than someone else that his risk that he's willing to take more risks okay so it's also still very subjective so the r didn't help us here so then he says says so now according to the which was a talid of the mahen he says that in thei it says that you are allowed to what to put yourself in saf Sak which means even if you made the risk assessment and the risk assessment says don't jump because it's really you cannot save him without any danger you need to still jump even if there is somewhat of a danger so now we have a Bri we havei and the r way was the one to deviate and also all the others the and others the says just just said what okay that sounds very nice but uh doesn't mean too much okay so obviously we have what we have what I will call talik or even tan sources that says that you need to take upon yourself a risk where R and says don't the says that's the title the title is obviously borrowed from the Bri he doesn't say what says is's obligated to save him says the if you see that your and is drowning in the river oh thieves are coming to attack him an animal a beast come to attack him so the is definitely does what he quotes from which means he quotes the r um what I don't understand is where is the am had to jump first and then there was a miracle so why don't we we do that the same way why doesn't somebody say JUMP try we don't rely on Miracles that's the only answer I can give you we don't rely on Miracles the what and also right did not save anyone he just jumped because they were told to go into the yam uh the fact that he jump because he wanted to be first not because he so that's the the major reason here we don't do it no one is telling you and also you just don't rely on Miracles how many people did jump to try to help a friend and they died with him by the way even in the when we have this famous between R and Ben when you have two people walking in the desert and there is only one bottle of water we don't say yeah drink and God will provide RAB AKA says what that's yours drink it and see your other friend die because we don't rely on miracle so it seems to be that in the time of thei and the Bri which is a t SCE so there you had to what to put yourself in danger in order to save someone else's life the rambam 12th century and then later on the and others basically says no no no you need to what only meaning that now I will just say one thing I want to be clear when I say does not mean means I have the capabilities I know how to swim and I'm a big guy and I can carry this guy it doesn't mean that if this guy start pulling me down that I need to do what to go down with the guy I tried I jumped I really put him on my shoulders but he don't let go I told him to put his hands on my shoulders not on my neck okay and he's pulling me down in that way you know what you need to do you let them go you let them go and you still try to fulfill the oblig I want mean the ra says even the r understand I I'm now here he's drowning in the ocean there is no way that you can assess that if you can really what save him the only thing you can assess that if I'm jumping into the ocean that can I swim and potentially save the guy okay said this so the says look in the it says that you need to put yourself in a from the get-go meaning the difference between the rambam and thei is what thei says even if you're not sure if you can swim it or not you jump according to the ram you need to make sure that what that you can swim okay now he says so how come that the is not being brought by theim answer is it was not forgotten but it was omitted purposely meaning theim decided that thei maybe because the B didn't say anything or maybe because of whatever it is thei was omitted and therefore since the rambam did not mention thei the the everyone else didn't do it so now thei is out it might be it might be or maybe or maybei there is a problem withi it was always had a lot of mistakes meaning it was not that uh Ed it was not edited well and also not many people have it so maybe this is also a reason in the it says the following okay why is it that theef the and the did not bring that they think that the this with thei and according to the laws that we have between thei and the B is that every time that there is a contradiction between the B and thei we follow the B only if the B does not say anything in the it does not contradict the B you follow the Yushi was probably between the second century to the 4th Century according to most it was done around 378 Max 429 probably 378 the bav it's a long story some people say it was uh signed and sealed at the fifth century uh many believe that it was seventh 8th Century yeah much um what exactly was added at what what exactly was added to the B that's a different thing but uh but yes um it's not that they learning morei there is more interest in learning Yami a b there is more interest in learning Yami as a separate um entity than the B meaning in the theim looked at in order to explain the B only around the 18th century there was a movement that really realized you know what the am in is they did not they did not write interpretation to the B they wrote their own talmud and we need to treat it as their own talmud and therefore there is a an some kind of an evolution in the research of thei and now we all look at thei not as an interpretation for the B as different entity and sometimes we can understand that they are which means you have a in the you have it in sometimes you don't have it in the so that's what there is more interest in which means what Last Words the with me is more important than your V which means I see you drowning in the river I know that if I don't jump you'll die I know that if I will jump I might might die my might die is stronger than you will definitely die and you know why because with all due respect I need to take care of first and foremost of myself and therefore he says so then he says look I can't really tell you exactly what to do and you know why cuz you will never listen the P one of the commentators he says thear cannot tell you you must go even if there is Sak again because different people have different risk assessment different uh risk taking Risk Takers okay you have a person that sees water and he runs away and there is a a person who sees someone drowning in the river and for him it's a challenge okay and he's going to prove everyone that he can do it okay you know for some people Iron Man is not something on the screen and for some of them it's an aspiration okay no it depends on the person says the says look I really can't tell you what to do but don't be such meductic such meductic don't be that meticulous and so careful say this is really dangerous me you see someone drowning in the pool in the shallow water don't make an assessment if you can really know how to swim talking about water that can cover you until here you don't need to swim you just need to jump to the pool and take this baby out okay don't say you know or maybe the water will not cleaned and I will get an infection because they didn't put the you know the the the chlorine do what invol yeah I'm not getting involved or no no no no no and we don't because sometimes when you have a little bit of a Sak people start making all that all kind of considerations that they will not appreciate when someone else does it when they are in danger okay I'll give you a prime example prime example is not necessarily of saving someone from drowning in the river but rather some of the other details that the Ramba mentioned for example you sit with a group for coffee and they say group of non-jews or Jews and they say we're going to trap this guy we're going to conspire against this guy and we're going to ruin his reputation the rambam says what you have to tell him now when you tell him they will know that someone told them and they will be suspicious of you and you will sit there and you hear it and you say to yourself between one sip to another H you know what what if I'm going to tell him I'm going to ruin my friendship with them and there will be envy and they will be upset and you make all these considerations and you come up to the conclusion that what I shouldn't say it why because I'm afraid for myself says the P you need to be honest with yourself if you're not going to be honest with yourself I can say take a risk assessment don't take a risk assessment I can't push you to do anything if you always will say look I'm not putting myself in a harm ways in order to save my friend I can tell you from now until tomorrow that you are you will not you will not do it says so just quotes the beginning that what that we have thison brings that what that you need to put yourself at risk in order to save your friend's life and the rambam the T the r Reef all of them they did not mention it and the reason according to thei why do you need to put yourself at risk in order to save your friend's life is because of what he's V and you are saf because he will definitely die if you're not going to jump and you maybe yes maybe no so you need to jump exactly the opposite from the we brought before he says says I don't understand this at all so he's asking a very good question he says I don't understand how can you obligate someone to put himself in danger even if there is a doubt if he's in danger basically we know thatat right so he says therefore you are asking me to put myself in danger which means what you're putting me in a situation of now I don't understand the Tora says this is a positive commandment or a negative commandment it's like sounds like a negative which means when I don't do a love did I do anything wrong seems to be that the answer should be no right so by me not fulfilling this prohibition of I'm not doing anything wrong I am but I'm allowing this guy to drown but I'm not me myself I'm not doing anything wrong A and B why would I put myself in a situation of I need to save first and foremost whom myself not someone else and if you will tell me that it's because he is in and you need to do everything in order to save that guy he says Ah what would you tell me because of this guy that's true only when I'm being forced to kill him actively which means if I come to you and I put a gun to your head and I say look if you don't kill her I'm going to kill you you know what you need to do that for you need to kill her but why because who says that your blood is rather than hairs okay however if I tell you not telling you to kill him I'm taking you and I'm pushing you knowing that you're going to be I'm pushing you from the fifth floor on you God forbid I'm not then you don't need to resist why you don't do it actively someone else did it to to you you are with me you see the difference putting a gun to your head and say kill this guy if not I'm killing you you can kill the other guy you going to be killed why because my it why did you see why do you think that your blood is R than this guy so therefore you're going to be killed and you can kill someone else but if someone's throwing you on a person you can fall on that person and kill him and save your life instead of what while in the air to try to I don't know how you can do it I know you know fly with your wing somehow and and basically fell on your your face and kill yourself and not kill your friend and therefore he says it says and therefore I don't understand this entire thing why is it such an expectation that I need to put myself at risk in order to save someone else's life I did not put him there no one put a gun to my head right I'm just need to ignore him it's painful but I don't do anything to harm him I didn't do anything to save him but I don't do anything to harm him it's the same thing or it's very similar to the case of what if I'm being thrown from the roof and I find myself on you killing you and not killing myself says he says you know what I don't know what to do with this if it's which means if that's the tradition we're going to accept it but he says this entire de he's not only go against thei he goes against the entire thing he says why would I put myself in danger in order to risk someone else's life now before we go to the tat and to try to find a proof for where is that expectation comes from I can tell you that when I saw this what came to my mind was we are talking about two different cases really even three different cases one case is what a gun to the head there what you need to do die and not to kill your friend second is they are throwing you on your friend knowing that what that he's going to die what do you need to do CL just find the parking face on your friend right and you don't need to watch to try to save the guy and he Compares it to what to if I see him drowning in the river I want to claim that first and foremost the two cases are not the same the two cases are not the same what do I mean by that I mean by that that the guy who is walking and I'm being thrown from the roof he's not at risk now he's not at risk he's not he's not at risk he's walking in the street I just find him right when I land he doesn't know what's going to come down no no not it's not about what's going he is not at risk at all now and also he can protect himself he can protect himself if he sees if he seees someone you know after him from the fifth floor maybe move and you know what even if you are tied put your legs up I don't know cover your head do something meaning in a way who is really at risk me the case with the drowning in the river or whatever it is I'm not in in in in what do you call it in Sak he is in Sak he's in I see a huge difference between the cases to some extent I don't understand what the is really asking I think that each case is very different the to do you know who is the T EP who was his very famous uh relative okay so he says like that he says look at says that you don't need to want to put yourself at risk in order to save someone else's life say there is a a tremendous discussion do you need to put yourself at risk in order to save someone else he says he's bringing a very interesting we were going to question it that he thinks that you need to put yourself at risk in order to save someone else well I don't know if you remember the story the story was that there was an animal they like a beast or something that can cause uh damage like a snake or whatever it was they they don't know what exactly it's aod and it came from a hole and it caused damage to the people and they told raon to go and to do something about it so raon experienced many miracles in his life so he went to the little hole where this arod was and he put his heel on that and he killed the arot the arot came and basic they don't know exactly it might be a snake it might be a there something like I guess was poisonous it bites and he's killed he's di he died so the says how come put himself in danger in order to what to save the others and in a way by the way that case it was not really saving others immediately it's in the future so that guy will that animal will die we know that was someone who experienced many miracles this is really interesting so he says look the mar asked the question of what how come put his leg his feet on that hole he put himself in danger answer is he was always trained in Miracles he was always had Miracles okay now the fact that I had Miracles yesterday and the day before does not mean that what that I have it today which means for him it was what maybe there is a miracle maybe there is none now for all the others they knew for sure there are no miracles for them which means for them is what is from here the says what you need to put yourself in in order to save others now he says look it's an A so you don't learn from but you definitely see what you definitely see that he did it yes similar very true yeah very good Dr K suggested it's very similar to comes to and says to go into the inner garden and tell to stop it right and she says to him what everyone knows that if you go without being called you will die and M says I know but you should go in now the only difference is that I can tell you that there is to save the entire Jewish people that's also why she also married someone who was not Jewish okay so there I can say that maybe sh meaning to save many is different then saving an individual yes no no he had maybe will and maybe not so it still only I agree yeah but it's very similar to what to someone who knows how to swim it is a stormy weather but he rely on the fact that he's a really good swimmer and a very strong person and he will be able to what to take this guy out of the ocean so you see why isn't it that he has Fai that will help him because because he's doing what he's supposed to do how many people went on a Mitzvah and with all the respect to they did they did they did they were damaged they were hurt no I I I don't need to I don't want to bring those examples right no say you can say that well she should has a because she all the nations on the other hand you have to do it I'm not worried about it sounds like is really not concerned that will be destroyed entirely because he say it might be it might be or he's just saying that to encourage her to basically his question was that it seems to be that M says to Esther look if you're not going to do it we will find another way to save the Jewish people so it seems to be that it's really Esa didn't do it to save she was the only one M would find another way I suggested that maybe m is just saying that just because to force her to do it meaning if you don't want to do it we will find another way and then we will abandon you meaning to put pressure on here not necessarily because he believed because if he did believe in a different way why did he ask her and put her in danger if there is another way not to endanger her why to do it now the only thing is that I I don't want to give now aush on puim but this entire thing you see that morai maybe he goes every day to the Palace to see what's going on with eser but he gave her to the Lion's Den okay when you put her in the Lion's Den you can walk around the den as many times as you want but if the Lions wants to eat the pre they will eat it okay so it's very nice that he go and ask how is she doing every day but uh but you see she would have asked Mor asked the people to fast if she she put in that so somewhere either she had Faith or she was exercising maximum using all of Cl Ro to save her I I don't know what was her in her mind I can tell you one thing I'm looking at that not from a midic perspective I'm looking at that from a perspective which means hey Esther basically endanger herself in order to save the Jewish people so asked yeah obviously she asked for prayers and everything thinking that that will help her but still it might not help yeah but it might not help how many times that Jewish people pray and nothing happened okay so now let's learn one of this uh very famous that we mentioned before as well the two people were walking they took a little hike together and one of them was holding a water bottle if both of them drink they both die if one of them drinks he can survive get to the city get treated whatever and the other guy will die Ben so Ben P says it's better for both of them to drink die and one of them should not see the other guy dies who is is very famous and known for what for I guess it's not right until death if I know that I'll die and you will be alive then I don't need to love you too much right okay now we all are like very shocked with I will tell you whenever I see this I'm very shocked from B this is one of the silliest things I ever heard in my life both of them should drink and die just because I'm concerned about the psychological effect of knowing that you will have the the symptom of a Survivor and because your actions killed your friend that's called so survival like Ben P lives on a different planet almost every person will tell you when you have I mean I know you have stories from the Shah that people took their little crumb and they do you know how many stories are not like that that people stole a piece of bread in order to survive knowing that the other guy will die because they assess that this person is already dying I don't know what the percentage I have no idea I'm not God trying to M La those people were Heroes but when you are in a very very difficult position and you know that there is only one way you can survive I don't know if you remember there is a testimony in Yash I will never forget I mean I remember it since I was a child a testimony of someone who says that every time that they did the counting they had to come with a hat and his hat was stolen forgotten whatever he is when he was sleeping on this dgim on this beds with 10 people together he saw a guy who was sleeping and the hat they will hold the hat but his head was like a on the side what did he do he stole the hat and knowing that what that the other that his friend will stand up for the counting without a head a hat and you know what will be the punishment he heard him being shot he didn't look but he heard a shot and he knew it was his not a friend whatever someone who was with him that did not have a hat now why am I telling you that I'm not judging and I don't cannot estimate the psychological damage that it will cause but what Ben P says it makes no sense also how come the would say okay both of you should die when some when one person can what can jumpa is the obvious answer one drinks and that's it especially if that water bottle belongs to what to you so I know I look at your faces you're like little amazed I know whenever I look at the I always don't understand Ben I mean it sounds very altruistic but in away very stupid sorry excuse my language what's the gain in both of you die so you have two widows and you have more orphans and you have more homes that are destroyed what's the gain do what okay you know what you are a woman so I'll pick on a woman uh issue isn't that better that this guy will go home so first his wife will not be a widow or auna and he will tell the other wife that he died and she's not a auna that's beautiful I mean it's obviously it's not optimal but in such a case it's much better for one guy to survive goes back to his family continues the life with his family and can also share the story with someone else and he will you know what he can see that this guy died and and he solve quote unquote all the problems what's the gain in both of them die together it's nice so don't get me wrong I don't want to be in that situation okay but in terms of if I take it to a what I would call an intellectual lab Ben P makes no sense if you Dr ker I know what you say Let each one of them will share the Little Drop of water and maybe a helicopter will come and they will see an SOS and they will bring the and they will bring them and save them nice but not here yeah yeah I understand but it's very difficult to understand okay I think I over dramatized it I think everyone already got the point no no yeah yeah you rais your hand oh take the water and walk away so what R says so what did Raba added if that's the opinion before what that goes back so so what do we have here so take a look at the the was written by ra page six page six it's like the third paragraph on page six wrote that to his son basically every has on and they take the like from the so he says like that so there is a a spring or a water source a water body in the city that people of the city drink their water from that uh water source so the neighborhood City comes to them and say we don't have water you have water share with us and they make a calculation that the water is sufficient only for what for the people of the city they need to tell the other City sorry we cannot share the other neighborhood City says look we have water for us but we don't have water for our flock you have water let share you say to them what no [Laughter] laundry okay their laundry takes precedence over the neighborhood city is a laundry okay now until now the S I somewhat understand if it's sufficient only for my life I can't share it if it's sufficient only for my FL now take a look now we going to have it compli meaning I have enough water too for my for me for my flock and for my laundry those guys don't have water for their lives so I cannot say that my laundry is more important than your life okay do you see how how important is laundry especially dirty laundry this is unbelievable this is this is not what you expected right meaning I look at this guy he is coming to me like that can I get water sorry I'm doing laundry you see him D dying and you do your laundry isud so that's what Rab's opinion not the T opinion R's opinion is didn't go to the shield that RI gave in the midi so R the son of RI found why didn't you come to the sh that my father gave I'm taking attendance why didn't you come I don't know I don't understand your father your father say things that I I don't understand the reasons behind it I don't understand what he's saying so why do I waste my time in going to his shoe yeah I go to his shoe I don't understand the world what's your problem like what didn't you understand my father is a great why are you saying that on him because he said that what that our laundry takes precedence over someone who is about to die because he didn't drink for seven days he can for a day that but don't understand it says it's in because it says what that when God gave the cities uh I think to the Levites if I'm not mistaken it's for be to their FL to to their property what is if you're talking about animals it says already what it's laundry that gives you life laundry a clean clothes I guess will give you life now why it might be because of a health reason meaning if you don't put your clothes to for laundry that can bring diseases so basically says the laundry is basically their lives why because of two reasons one reason is laundry is a way good way to keep you busy and if people are not busy they are bored and if they are bored they are going to do stupid things and therefore we will basically tell them to be engaged with laundry because if not it will cause them to die and therefore it's life for life so it's and a lot and even though laundry sometimes makes things shrink so here we are stretching it so the thing is here is what is according to the the is what laundry is before life because laundry is considered as life so when we have that obviously we have m in three minutes we'll need to stop but we will stop here with this very interesting opinion of rosi laundry is considered as life and therefore he St precedence over someone so based on that can you understand Ben P what Ben p with the water bottle obviously RAB AKA is correct and rabos if RAB with r we cannnot understand so we will see the later on not no next week is sh there's no