טיפול בדלקת שיניים אצל ילד בשבת

If the husband did not agree to have his semen removed after his death in order for his wife to bear his children, then it is forbidden to do so and there is no halakhic dispensation.

However, if the husband did request such a procedure to be done after his death, the matter depends on a difference of opinion among posqim. Therefore, the counsel of a qualified rav poseq must be sought.

2. Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Valdenberg unequivocally ruled that treating a tooth abscess due to infection on Shabbat is considered piquah nefesh according to halakha and therefore one performs forbidden activities on Shabbat in order to treat the child.

The following is taken from The Proceedings of the First International Colloquium on Medicine, Ethics and Jewish Law (1993: 286, 288-89). Please note that it is a synopsis of the full response, which can be found in the Hebrew edition of the same book (pp. 236-38).

R. Waldenberg was asked:

“A dental alveolar abscess is dangerous. An infection of the nerve inside the pulp (pulpitis) on the other hand, which is a very painful condition requiring root treatment, causes severe and unbearable pain but presents no danger to life according to dentists.

“May such a tooth be treated on Shabbat by performing an activity prohibited on Shabbat by the Torah?”

The answer:

“The Talmud lays down the principle that any internal damage to the body—including inside the mouth—is life-threatening. Hence it is permissible to perform a procedure otherwise forbidden on Shabbat in order to treat it. Accordingly, the Rambam rules: ‘If a person has suffered a blow to his body, from his lips inward—whether it be in his mouth or in his intestines or in his liver or in his spleen or anywhere else in his body—then he is considered someone who is dangerously ill, and there is no need to evaluate his condition exactly, since it is assumed to be serious. Hence we perform [necessary] forbidden action on Shabbat for him immediately, without evaluation.’

“Following in the footsteps of the Rambam, Rav Yosef Karo states: ‘For any internal damage, i.e., from the teeth inwards and including the teeth, we may perform forbidden activities on Shabbat.’ The types of activities referred to here include even those activities which would be forbidden by the Torah were it not for saving his life (Avoda Zara 28a; Rambam, Hilkhot Shabbat 2:5; Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim 328:3).

“It must be emphasized that whenever the Talmud defines a specific illness as posing danger to life then in every case it must be treated as such even if the doctor or the patient himself claims that there is no danger. For example, scurvy is characterized inter alia by bleeding of the gums and from the intestines. In contrast, when there is no defined illness but rather a general description, such as ‘internal damage’—for example, toothache (in the absence of a medical diagnosis)—then it is permissible to perform activities otherwise forbidden on Shabbat for the sufferer pending a definitive diagnosis by a doctor. But as soon as the doctor (or patient) is certain that there is no danger, then it is no longer permitted to perform forbidden actions on Shabbat (Mishna Berura 328:8, Peri Megadim; Mishbatsot Zahav ibid. 2; Eshel Avraham no. 1).

“Hence someone who is suffering from acute toothache may travel to the dentist to determine whether his situation is dangerous, since toothache is included in the definition of internal damage. And with regard to the pain in the internal organs it has already been determined that one may set aside Shabbat laws in order to be examined by a doctor (Biur Halakha 328:3).

“With regard to removing teeth on Shabbat the rulings of the posqim as to what should be done differentiate between unbearably sharp pain and reasonable pain, and between removing a painful tooth without a dentist’s instructions, and pulling the tooth on the instruction of a dentist (Beit Yosef Orah Hayyim 328; Bayit Hadash and Sefer ha-Levush; Rama; Orah Hayyim 328:3; Biur Halakha 10, Eliyahu Rabba, Peri Megadim, Eshel Avraham no. 2, Mor u-Qetsiya; Sefer Issur ve-Heter 59:18; Halakhot Qetanot 2:10).

“We may draw the following conclusion: pulpitis, ‘which causes severe and unbearable pain,’ is included in the list of cases which are defined as internal damage. Therefore it is permissible to travel to a dentist who will administer the necessary treatment on Shabbat in order to heal the tooth, to take painkillers, or to remove the tooth, even if such activities involve actions which are forbidden on Shabbat by the Torah. However, it is preferable—where possible—that such cases are treated by a gentile dentist who is not subject to the laws of Shabbat. If this is not possible, or if the patient relies more on a Jewish dentist, then he is permitted to go to the Jewish dentist even if the treatment will involve activities forbidden by the Torah on Shabbat.”