Transcript
lost compensation, they have to cover medical expenses, cover embarrassment or shame that was incurred, and so on and so forth. So one of the things they have to cover is medical expenses. So the חז״ל Chazal derive from here ורפא ירפא v'rapo yerapei. If you have to cover medical expenses, what does that suggest about medical expenses? They are legitimate.Now that's why can't the perpetrator say to the victim, I'm not covering your medical expenses. If you really were a person of faith, you'd stay at home, you'd דאווען daven to השם Hashem that you heal and get better, and that's what a person of faith does. You, of low faith, you pathetic, are you so afraid, you feel you have to go to a doctor to get healed? What do I have to pay for that? That's a failure in your faith, an inadequacy in your own אמונה וביטחון emunah u'bitachon. If you had real אמונה וביטחון emunah u'bitachon, you'd stay home, זאג תהילים zog Tehillim, and you'd get better. The Torah and חז״ל Chazal say that. What does it say? ורפא ירפא v'rapo yerapei. Reimburse me, here's my medical expense. Why? Because the whole medical industry and medical expense and medicine is legitimate. And not only is medicine legitimate, medicine is mandated. Listen to what Rav Soloveitchik says. Because I had a recent exchange with a beloved friend and colleague, I met with him yesterday, who just has a very, very different view on something which I think has lethal and fatal consequences, the issue of vaccines, which I am not touching with a 10-foot pole right now. But the meta issue to that discussion is, do we have a right to say, you know, שומר פתאים השם shomer pesaim Hashem, that I'll take the risk, and I believe in השם Hashem, and I put my faith in השם Hashem. Is that an appropriate and correct way of living? So Rav Soloveitchik writes on ורפא ירפא v'rapo yerapei. On this phrase, חז״ל Chazal say, this teaches us, it's a גמרא בברכות דף ס״א Gemara b'Brachos daf samech aleph, it's a גמרא בבא קמא דף פ״ה ע״א Gemara Bava Kamma daf peh aleph. דבי רבי ישמעאל אומר, ורפא ירפא מכאן שניתן רשות לרופא לרפאות d'bei Rabbi Yishmael omer, v'rapo yerapei, mikan she'nitan reshus l'rofeh l'rapos. From here we learn that permission is given to a doctor that a doctor can heal. Why does a doctor need permission to heal? A doctor needs permission, a הלכתי halachic permission to go to medical school, and to hang a shingle, to open an office, and to apply therapy, to diagnose, to prescribe, to heal, to do surgery? Why does a doctor need permission to heal? You only need permission when you would think that something should be forbidden. So why would you think it would be forbidden for a doctor to heal?Anyone? There's a הלכתי halachic argument or objection you might have to a doctor healing, and there is a meta-הלכתי halachic or השקפתי hashkafic argument you might have, objecting to a doctor healing. What are they? So the הלכתי halachic argument would be that we have a prohibition of the Torah, we just read it in our פרשה parsha of חבלה chabalah. You're not allowed to hurt or damage another person. When you draw blood, it's on שבת Shabbos, חבלה chabalah is one of the ל״ט מלאכות lamed tes melachos, and it's a מחלוקת ראשונים machlokes Rishonim which מלאכה melacha, which אב מלאכה av melacha is it? According to some it's נטילת נשמה netilas neshama. When you draw blood or you cause a black and blue mark, it's the beginning of taking someone's life. Blood is our life source, כי הדם הוא הנפש ki hadam hu hanefesh, and when you draw blood or create a black and blue mark, which is breaking a blood vessel beneath the skin, when you've begun to draw blood, you've taken a portion of their life. You've begun to murder. Murder is not all or nothing, there are stages of murder, and when you draw blood, you've begun to murder. So חבלה chabalah is אסור assur, you're not allowed to be חובל chovel. Not only is חבלה אסור chabalah assur, חובל בעצמו chovel b'atzmo is אסור assur. We once gave a שיעור shiur on boxing. Are Jews allowed to be boxers? There were many prominent Jewish boxers, not today, but there were many prominent Jewish boxers in the early 20th century in America. Are Jews הלכתית halachically allowed to be boxers? You're חובל chovel someone else, חובל בעצמו chovel b'atzmo. Are you allowed to be מוחל mochel on חבלה chabalah? Can you say it's okay, you could punch me and draw blood, you could create a black and blue mark? So there's a הלכתית halachic prohibition of חבלה chabalah. So you might say, the doctor, you can't cut someone open. You can't give a shot. You can't remove a skin cancer. You can't, that's חבלה chabalah. מכאן שניתן רשות לרופא לרפאות mikan she'nitan reshus l'rofeh l'rapos. The doctor doesn't have to worry about violating חבלה chabalah because he's given רשות reshus. חבלה Chabalah in the context of healing, damaging for the purpose of healing, is not called damaging, it's called healing. And how do we know that? What right do we have to derive that? ורפא ירפא V'rapo yerapei. פסוק Pasuk is teaching me. What's the השקפתי hashkafic argument that you might have thought that a doctor is not entitled to heal? Illness is punitive, but put more sharply, who are you to override the will of the Almighty? Hashem has determined that this person should have this illness, should suffer from this sickness, and you are going to change Hashem's reality? You're playing God? You're trying to play God? So the ריבונו של עולם Ribbono shel Olam says, you're not playing God. God has granted you the license and given you the permission. We don't know why God creates illness or or gives illness or sickness, but he also gives us the tools and the resources to heal it. And that too we learn from ורפא ירפא v'rapo yerapei. מכאן שניתן רשות לרופא לרפאות mikan she'nitan reshus l'rofeh l'rapos. This is from רש״י Rashi and תוספות Tosafos there in בבא קמא Bava Kamma. Rashi says, ניתן רשות לרופא לרפאות, שלא לומר רחמנא מחע ואיהו מאסי nitan reshus l'rofeh l'rapos, shelo lomar Rachmana macha v'ihu masei. We don't say Hashem made him sick and you're going to heal him. We don't say that because ורפא ירפא v'rapo yerapei, Hashem gave us the רשות reshus. תוספות Tosafos says the same thing. תוספות Tosafos says איכא דמפרש דלאו הכי נמי הווה אמינא יש לומר דהני מילי מכה בידי אדם, אבל חולי בידי שמיים, כשמרפא נראה כסותר גזירת המלך. קא משמע לן דשרי Eicha d'mefaresh d'lo hahi nami hava amina yesh lomar d'hani mili maka b'yedei adam, aval choli b'yedei shamayim, k'she'merafeh nireh k'soser gezeiras hamelech. Ka mashma lan d'shari. Maybe I'd think a doctor can only heal an injury that was caused by man. But when Hashem made someone sick, that's the will of God, don't interfere, don't intervene. ורפא ירפא V'rapo yerapei. מכאן שניתן רשות לרופא לרפאות mikan she'nitan reshus l'rofeh l'rapos. So on this, Rabbi Soloveitchik writes, the רמב״ם Rambam rules that healing the sick is not only permissible, the רמב״ם Rambam in פירוש המשניות לנדרים Peirush Hamishnayos l'Nedarim. Healing the sick is not only permissible, but mandatory. It's obligatory. It's not just that you're allowed to, and it's okay if you want, but rather you have to. The שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch adds, he who withholds service is considered services is considered as if he were shedding blood. שולחן ערוך יורה דעה Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah. If a physician advises an ill person to eat on יום כיפור Yom Kippur, he is to be obeyed even if the patient wishes otherwise. To prolong life and enhance its quality are dignified and noble endeavors. The Torah supports scientific research in the healing arts and sanctions the physician's role. Clearly, sickness and death are not to be accepted with complacency as divine decrees, but are to be resisted on the premise that the Creator wishes us to utilize all resources to preserve life and health. We cannot defeat death, but we can alleviate its effect upon us, both medically and psychologically, to limit its frequency and terror. Longevity can be expected through humane initiative. And that is why perhaps Hashem put at our disposal such powerful means as our intellect, our capacity for controlling nature. Not only can man interfere, but man should interfere and subdue the environment to his interests and needs. הלכה Halacha idealizes a scientific intervention on behalf of man in his desperate struggle for control of his environment at all levels. הלכה Halacha also preaches active opposition to evil. That's why the הלכה halacha cannot understand, and not only הלכה halacha, but we Jews cannot understand a philosophy of passive resistance to evil. It cannot assimilate its philosophy preached by Gandhi and then by Nehru not to combat evil actively, not to fight evil the way יעקב Yaakov engaged in combat with the mysterious antagonist. We are to be Hashem's partners in creation. It's also a גמרא Gemara based on this week's פרשה parsha. Any judge who does דין לאמיתו din l'amito, if you establish truth, if you hold up justice to truth, you're Hashem's partner in creation. Hashem created an imperfect world so that there's room for us to step in and be his partners in perfecting it. He said in the very moment of creation, פרו ורבו ומלאו את הארץ וכיבשוה pru u'revu u'milu es ha'aretz v'kivshuha. Go and propagate and promulgate and fill the world and conquer it. Study biology and chemistry and physics, experiment in laboratories, innovate and invent, use your creativity, and conquer my world. Invent medicines and therapies, go through the journey of discovery. To sit back and say that we don't take advantage of the gifts we've been given to eliminate deadly illnesses, and we'll put our trust in Hashem, is not an act of faith. It's an act of heresy. ורפא ירפא מכאן שניתן רשות לרופא לרפאות V'rapo yerapei, mikan she'nitan reshus l'rofeh l'rapos. We were given the gift of discovery, of ingenuity, of using our creativity, of our intellect, of our minds, וכיבשוה v'kivshuha, to go conquer and manipulate the world and use it to preserve life and extend life and heal life and protect life from illnesses that if left unvaccinated would infect and did take millions of lives previously. It's not an act of faith to ignore, it's an act of faith to practice.There's another opinion, the פנים יפות Panim Yafos says, what does ורפא ירפא v'rapo yerapei mean? It's getting late. He says, שניתן רשות לרופא לרפאות, הרי מחלל שבת על פיקוח נפש, על זה יש לומר אסור ליקח שכר על זה כדין כל מצוה שאסור לעשות בשכר she'nitan reshus l'rofeh l'rapos, harei mechallel Shabbos al pikuach nefesh, al zeh yesh lomar assur likach schar al zeh k'din kol mitzvah she'assur la'asos b'schar. So we know that saving a life supersedes even observing Shabbos. Saving a life is so paramount, is so prioritized, is so important, that it supersedes observing Shabbos. So you might say, yeah, but the doctor who saved a life by violating Shabbos, should he get paid for that? Get paid for working on Shabbos? So that's ורפא ירפא, שניתן רשות לרופא לרפאות v'rapo yerapei, she'nitan reshus l'rofeh l'rapos, the פסוק pasuk comes to teach me שצריך לשלם שכר הרופא, מותר ליתן שכר, והטעם שהתיר התורה, שיזהרז הרופא ברפואתו she'tzarich l'shalem schar ha'rofeh, mutar litein schar, v'hataam she'hitir Torah, she'yizhareiz ha'rofeh b'refuaso. Because the doctor's gonna say, I'm not even gonna get paid, I have to leave the Shabbos table and leave my family and give up the cholent and the kishka, and I'm not even gonna be reimbursed for my time. You know what? I'm not going. And that moment of pause, that moment of hesitation could cost a life. None of our doctors would say that, in our shul. I'm just saying. Could be other doctors would say that. So that moment of pause of hesitation could lose a life. מכאן שניתן רשות לרופא לרפאות mikan she'nitan reshus l'rofeh l'rapos, even on Shabbos and even to get paid for it. That's the פנים יפות Panim Yafos's חידוש chiddush. רב משה Rav Moshe has an enormous חידוש chiddush. רב משה Rav Moshe פסק׳נט paskened הצלה Hatzalah members, who volunteer, הצלה Hatzalah, EMS, or whatever form of life-saving emergency, are allowed to come home on Shabbos. I understand the היתר heter to drive the ambulance to bring the patient to the hospital. I even understand the היתר heter during the week to put on the lights and siren because you want to get to the pizza store faster than everyone else. But what היתר heter is there, what היתר heter is there on Shabbos to come home? You dropped off the patient, they're being treated in the emergency room, you're allowed to get in the car, turn on the ignition, and step on the gas pedal to get home? So רב משה Rav Moshe had what was a very, very radical פסק psak, not agreed to at all by all, but relied on by הצלה Hatzalah until today. רב משה Rav Moshe said, you know why? Because that הצלה Hatzalah guy with all his key chains and beepers and walkie-talkies is going to get the call that somebody's in dire circumstances, and he's going to say, \"You know, but I don't want to miss שלישיות shalosh seudos in shul. Or lunch with my family, or the בר מצוה bar mitzvah I was supposed to attend, or this is the only day of the week I see my kids.\" So in that moment of hesitation or pause, or perhaps even conclusion not to go, it could cost a life. Allowing the הצלה Hatzalah members to drive home is saving the next life because it will cause them to go. מכאן שניתן רשות לרופא לרפאות Mikan she'nitan reshus l'rofeh l'rapos. Saving a life is so paramount, is so important. We won't go through it now, but I once gave a שיעור shiur on the corollary of our גמרא Gemara based on our פסוק pasuk ורפא ירפא v'rapo yerapei, is as much as we hold doctors in great esteem, and they're granted license not only by the state or the boards, but by Hashem himself to go heal, to go control the world, manipulate it, extend life, protect life, preserve life, but we also have to be very careful because the גמרא בקידושין דף פ״ב Gemara b'Kiddushin daf peh beis says, טוב שברופאים לגיהנום tov she'b'rofim l'gehinnom. The best of doctors are headed where? גיהנום Gehinnom. So what exactly does that statement mean? So there's a lot of different interpretations. רש״י Rashi, מהרש״א Maharsha, בן יהוידע Ben Yehoyada, עץ יוסף Eitz Yosef. I once gave a whole שיעור shiur but we'll run out of time. What does it mean? It's not a knock on doctors. Doctors are phenomenal, wonderful, virtuous, noble, generous, magnanimous, fantastic people. So what does it mean that most of them are going to גיהנום gehinnom? It's worth, especially for doctors, to review the different interpretations of that, but for another time. Okay, continuing in our, in our פרשה parsha. We want to get to the פסוקים psukim for our last 15 minutes. What are you murmuring about? Am I insulting all your kids? What's, what's, what are you worried about? You want me to tell you what the פשט pshat is? Okay, we're not going to get to our פסוקים psukim at the end then. Okay, ורפא ירפא v'rapo yerapei. So what does it mean most doctors are going to גיהנום gehinnom? So רש״י Rashi writes, אינו ירא מן החולי, ומאכל מאכל בריאים, ואינו משבר ליבו למקום, ופעמים שהורג נפשות ויש בידו לרפאות העני ואינו מרפא eino yorei min ha'choli, u'ma'achil ma'achal b'ri'im, v'eino meshaber libo la'makom, u'f'amim she'horeg nefashos, v'yesh b'yado l'rapos ha'ani v'eino merapeh. רש״י Rashi piles on. The רמב״ם Rambam, the רמב״ן Ramban, they were doctors, so they're gonna be a little bit more careful with their interpretation on this. רש״י Rashi was a vintner. So he was sipping a glass of wine when he wrote this פשט pshat and said about doctors, you know what the problem is? He says the problem with doctors is number one, they're gonna think that they have such personal power to heal, they're not going to be as careful with their health. Number two is, they won't feel as connected to Hashem. There is a phenomenon, again, not in our community, but it's well-known, that there are many surgeons who are very arrogant because when you think I walk into a room where a person's about to die and thanks to me, I walked out and they're alive, they feel they're God, literally. They feel they're God. So that's the second thing. ואינו משבר ליבו למקום v'eino meshaber libo la'makom. Their heart is not going to be given over to Hashem. And lastly, ופעמים שהורג נפשות u'f'amim she'horeg nefashos, their arrogance could cause fatalities. That arrogance, thinking they're God, could cause cutting corners, being less vigilant or mindful, and could cause fatalities. And lastly, רש״י Rashi piles on, ויש בידו לרפאות העני ואינו מרפא v'yesh b'yado l'rapos ha'ani v'eino merapeh. Because the doctor could be, \"Yeah, what insurance do you have? HMO? PPO? Co-pay? Reimbursement's a little for that. I don't take that insurance.\" So what happens to the poor person who can't have their health covered? So טוב שברופאים לגיהנום tov she'b'rofim l'gehinnom. That's a rough פשט pshat. That's רש״י's Rashi's פשט pshat. מהרש״א Maharsha says a different פשט pshat, רב שמואל אדלס Rav Shmuel Eidels. מהרש״א Maharsha says, יש לפרש טוב שברופאים, דהיינו שמחזיק עצמו לטוב ולמומחה שברופאים, שאין כמוהו, וסומך ביותר על מחקרו מתוך גאוותו, ולפעמים טועה בטבע זה החולה, וממית זה החולה ברפואתו, בדבר שמזיק לחולה זה. אבל יש לו לישא וליתן עם שאר הרופאים, כיוון שהוא סכנת נפשות yesh l'faresh tov she'b'rofim, de'hainu she'machzik atzmo l'tov ul'mumcheh she'b'rofim, she'ein kamo'hu, v'somech b'yoser al machkoro mi'toch ga'avaso, v'lif'amim to'eh b'teva zeh ha'choleh, u'meimis zeh ha'choleh b'refuaso, b'davar she'mazik l'choleh zeh. Aval yesh lo lissa v'litein im she'ar ha'rofim, keivan she'hu sakanas nefashos. The מהרש״א Maharsha is much kinder. The מהרש״א Maharsha says most doctors are wonderful and good and have great faith and they're humble. But you know, טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim, the best of doctors, they're going to גיהנום gehinnom. Why? Because טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim, the one who has the frames hanging, \"I was awarded doctor of the year for 400 years in a row, and I graduated summa cum laude, and I'm the best doctor in the world.\" So that doctor, because they're supposed to be the best doctor in the world, you know how long you have to wait to get in to see them? That doctor is the best in the world, even in a complicated case, they'll never consult. They'll never get a second opinion. And because their arrogance, since they are טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim, since they hold themselves out to be טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim, if a doctor has an attitude that I am the טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim, I am the best among the doctors, they consult me, I don't consult them. I'm the second opinion, I don't get second opinions. טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim, the doctor who holds himself or herself out that they are the best of doctors, לגיהנום l'gehinnom. That doctor is going to גיהנום gehinnom. So the מהרש״א Maharsha is much more generous. Most doctors, they're good to go. The doctor who knows their place, they're fine. But the טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim, that's the one who could have problems. The בן יהוידע Ben Yehoyada has a different פשט pshat. Says the בן יהוידע Ben Yehoyada, and this is I'm doing for you. We're going to be out of time, but this is for you. טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim. Okay, he says, הרופא שאינו פקח ומומחה, לא יסמוך על דעתו ליתן סם חריפים ותקיפים, אלא יתן סם קל ופשוט ha'rofeh she'eino pike'ach u'mumcheh, lo yismoch al da'ato litein sam charifim u'tekifim, ella yitein sam kal u'fashut. He says a doctor who's not so brilliant shouldn't hold himself out to have all the answers and don't prescribe very aggressive medications and therapies. שאם לא יועילו, ודאי לא יזיקו. ואם כן אין תקלה יוצאת מסיבתו she'im lo yo'ilu, vadai lo yaziku. V'im kein ein takala yotzeis mi'sibaso. Give the more proven and tested things, which even if it doesn't work, it won't be harmful, and don't think yourself so fancy. Right? The בן יהוידע Ben Yehoyada was writing before FDA testing phase one, phase two, phase three. He was writing before safety, efficacy studies. So what would doctors do then? They would experiment on their own, they would try things. So he says טוב שברופאים לגיהנום tov she'b'rofim l'gehinnom, don't fancy yourself so brilliant, worthy of experimenting on other people's lives. Safe, secure, offer what you know is going to work. ועל ידי זה לא יגיע שום נזק מחמת הסם שנותן לו לאכול או לשתות. אבל רופא שהוא בקי ומומחה, סומך על דעתו ונותן סמים חריפים ותקיפים, להוציא בהם מחלת החולי, ולגרשם מכוחו V'al yedei zeh lo yagia shum nezek meichamas hasam she'nosein lo l'echol o l'lishtos. Aval rofeh she'hu baki u'mumcheh, somech al da'ato v'nosein samim charifim u'tekifim, l'hotzi bahem machlas ha'choli, ul'garsham mi'kocho. ולפעמים יסגלו סם חריף יותר ממה שצריך החולה לפי מזגו וכוחו, The arrogant doctor who thinks they're such an expert will sometimes overmedicate, will be inexact or imprecise in the prescription, ומחמת חריפות התוכן הסם יזיק לו, ועוד לפעמים יסגלו עיקר החולי, ויתן סם דלא שייך לאותו החולי כלל u'meichamas charifus hatochen hasam yazik lo. V'od lif'amim yisgalu ikar ha'choli, v'yiten sam d'lo shayach l'oso ha'choli klal. You'll be so fast, \"I'm the best doctor, I have four seconds for every patient. I run in and out of the room, and just by looking at him I can tell him what they need, and I run out and I prescribe, and they don't spend enough time, and they don't ask enough questions, and they don't listen with two full ears.\" What we spoke about last week, פרשת יתרו parshas Yisro, the importance of active listening. I'm already in the next patient's room, and I'm on my phone, and I'm talking to my stockbroker, and I'm ordering my new Tesla convertible, while I spend the three seconds with the patient. So I didn't really hear them right. And you know what? Because of that, the doctor who fancies himself טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim, will be in גיהנום gehinnom because it's people's lives they're playing with. Talking about life and death, these are דיני נפשות dinei nefashos. And and there's no room for error. The margin for error is negligible. One little thing you didn't pick up on, you didn't hear, you weren't careful about, a delayed diagnosis, a delayed prescription, the wrong prescription. ויבוא סיבה למיתה על ידי בר מינן. על זה נאמר טוב שברופאים, קרוב ודומה לארייה לגיהנום, בשביל שפיכת דם של החולה, מה שתולה על ידו v'yavo siba l'misah al yado bar minan. Al zeh ne'emar tov she'b'rofim, karov v'domeh l're'eih l'gehinnom, bishvil shefichas dam shel ha'choleh, ma she'toleh al yado. Yeah, the doctor gets all the credit for healing a life. And if the doctor did everything right, they bear none of the liability for losing a life. But if the doctor wasn't careful. What if the doctor didn't get enough of a night's sleep the night before? And now he's not on their game, and because of that, the surgery or the the visit or the diagnosis is imprecise. So טוב שברופאים לגיהנום tov she'b'rofim l'gehinnom. Nobody wants to be a doctor by the end of this. But the responsibility on on the doctor is enormous, is enormous. And lastly, the עץ יוסף Eitz Yosef says the following. The עץ יוסף Eitz Yosef says, יש רופאים בעלי גאווה, המתנפחים ומתעלבים, כשאומר החולה רוצה לראות מלבדו עוד רופאים אחרים ונותנים מלבדם. yesh rof'im ba'alei ga'avah, hamisnaphim v'misalvim, k'she'omer ha'choleh rotzeh liros milvado od rof'im acheirim v'nosnim milvadam. רופאים כאלה יש בהם סכנה rof'im ka'eileh yesh bahem sakana. There are doctors who are arrogant and insecure that when the patient says, \"Do you mind if I get a second opinion?\" You know, when I'm going on the table for me is life and death, so if you don't mind, I trust you, you're brilliant, but more opinions, the more wisdom, ארבעה עיצות, ארבעה תובנה arba eitzos, arba tevunah. And the doctor who will be insulted or injured by that and who will get rid of the patient or discourage the patient from it, bears the responsibility and the liability if there's a negative impact to the patient. רופאים כאלה יש בהם סכנה. ועליהם נאמר טוב שברופאים לגיהנום. הכוונה היא רופא המהמר שהוא טוב שברופאים, הטוב והמומחה הגדול, הוא מיטיב לדעת יותר מן הכל rof'im ka'eileh yesh bahem sakana. V'aleihem ne'emar tov she'b'rofim l'gehinnom. Hakavanah hi rofeh ham'hamer she'hu tov she'b'rofim, hatov v'hamumcheh hagadol, hu meitiv lada'as yoser min hakol. He says, \"I'm the טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim. Don't you see what's hanging in my mother's refrigerator? It says I won doctor of the year last year. And you're gonna go get a second opinion about me? I'm the טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim. It doesn't get better than me. So someone who considers himself the טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim, דינו לגיהנום dino l'gehinnom. Such a doctor who ever thinks he's the טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim should go to גיהנום gehinnom. רופא כזה לעולם לא יצא מגיהנום rofeh kazeh l'olam lo yeitzei mi'gehinnom. Such a doctor will never get out of גיהנום gehinnom. רופא מן זה גורם בגאוותו אסונות רבים rofeh min zeh gorem b'ga'avaso asonos rabim. So, listen, you wanted me to tell you. That's what the different interpretations say. So the answer is it's very simple. It's not a negative statement about doctors. Doctors are, it's a noble profession, they're incredible, they're selfless, it's incredible. Absolutely special people. Really. We're very privileged in our shul, we have close to 200 doctors in our shul, medical professionals. Absolutely incredible, the selflessness and the giving, and whatever you think they're paid, the underpaid, and the risks, and the education they went through. Doctors are absolutely incredible. The גמרא Gemara is not making a negative observation or statement about doctors. ורפא ירפא V'rapo yerapei. It's quite the opposite. We began this whole thing, if you remember way back when. ורפא ירפא V'rapo yerapei is saying that the Torah, God gives a license and said doctors are amazing. You're not interfering with my will, you're carrying out my will. You are my agents. You are helping me complete the creation of the world. You're helping me repair the world. Doctors are the greatest, as long as they remain humble. Doctors are the greatest as long as they remember where they came from. As long as they remember they're just agents. They are not the שליח shliach, they're—the משלח meshaleach, they're the שליח shliach. So טוב tov, the only statement the גמרא Gemara is making is טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim. Only if you consider yourself, \"I'm the טוב tov, I'm the best, there's nobody better than me.\" And I am responsible and I take the credit for the success. So such an attitude, only when one says טוב שברופאים tov she'b'rofim, such a doctor should go to גיהנום gehinnom, is going to גיהנום gehinnom, should go to גיהנום gehinnom. H-E-double hockey sticks, as my kids would say. That's what the—we don't talk like that, but the גמרא Gemara talks like that. What could I do? Okay, we have very few minutes left. Very few minutes left. So, instead of going through the פסוקים psukim I was going to go through, I'll just tell you a few quick more דברי תורה divrei Torah. Does that work? Okay, good. I was going through even if you said no, so it's good you said yes.So we're going through. So we have the different laws of damages. We have the laws of שומרים shomrim, the responsibility, שומר חינם shomer chinam, שומר שכר shomer sachar, שואל sho'el, and so on, and שכר sachar. We have the four different types of guards. If I ask you to watch my object for free, what kind of liability? Torah here describes the notion of responsibility, of taking ownership. And depending on my status as a שומר shomer, determines the level of liability that I take. If you paid me to watch your thing, I have a much greater, higher level of liability if something happens. If I'm doing you a favor, I'm a שומר חינם shomer chinam, do you mind? If I'm a שואל sho'el, if I borrow and I get all the rights to benefit from it, I have the highest level of liability. So the degree to which I take responsibility and I gain personal benefit from its use determines my exposure and liability and responsibility for that object. גניבה ואבידה Gneivah v'aveidah, what if it's stolen, what if it's lost, what if it's damaged but something happened by accident, is it something that got damaged but it happened with negligence? These are questions that come up every single day. And they too are part of the moral code of of Torah and הלכה halacha. We put out the sheet every week, I'm sure many of you see or subscribe, the Business Ethics or whatever it's called, the Business Institute, the הלכתי Halachic Business Institute, I forgot the name of it. Every week it is a fascinating business dilemma, dealing with these things. I lent someone my car. Somebody stayed in my apartment over ישיבה Yeshiva week, and the pipe burst. They live beneath me, but it went through the floor, who's got to pay? The car had the thing. Every—so we don't just come to these conclusions from our own intuition and instinct. We have a Torah and הלכה halacha. This goes back to how we began. ואלה המשפטים V'eileh hamishpatim. We have a whole system of Torah and הלכה halacha that regulates and that dictates what we do. The חזון איש Chazon Ish has a ספר sefer called אמונה וביטחון Emunah U'Bitachon. Everyone knows that ספר sefer because of the essay in it called אמונה וביטחון Emunah U'Bitachon. He has a wonderful essay, we studied a few years ago in our אמונה שיעור emunah shiur, the whole the whole chapter on אמונה וביטחון emunah u'bitachon. The חזון איש Chazon Ish really redefines what ביטחון bitachon is. It's a very, very important essay he has. But it's only one essay in a book that has five or six essays. And in another essay, I think it's such critical reading for our children, anyone learning in ישיבה yeshiva, anyone getting a Jewish education, any adult who continues to engage in Torah study. And in that other essay, he deals with the following question: why learn Torah? Why learn Torah? Why learn about these damages? You have children and grandchildren or maybe you later today are going to go and open up a גמרא Gemara and learn these technical, detailed, מינישאַ minutiae laws, damages, really, who cares? If I guard it for free then an insect gets stolen, then I'm not responsible, but if you paid me to guard an insect, but what if a שואל sho'el, what if I lend something to you but I'm there when it got damaged? Then you're not responsible because בעליו עמו ba'alav imo, I happen to be—such technical details, laws. Why are we studying that? Why is that noble? Why is it כי הם חיינו ki heim chayeinu, that's our life. I understand when you study סדר מועד Seder Moed and you learn מסכת ברכות Maseches Brachos, I'm learning all about דאווענען davening and making ברכות brachos. And I learn, I'm learning מגילה Megillah, פורים's Purim's coming up, so I'm learning to interpret מגילת אסתר Megillas Esther and I'm learning the laws of פורים Purim and how to tap into the energy of פורים Purim and then פסחים Pesachim, and I learn סוכה Sukkah and יומא Yoma and ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah. I get it. But נזיקין Nezikin? And the רב Rav said correctly, referencing the גמרא Gemara, you want to become a חסיד chasid, you have to learn נזיקין Nezikin. What is it about נזיקין Nezikin? So the חזון איש Chazon Ish says the following. You know why we're learning this? What we're trying to tap into is the notion that this is Hashem's world. And we are puppets, we're pawns, we're actors on the stage of Hashem's world. And we don't get to write the next scene. We don't legislate or adjudicate law based on our own intuition or instinct, based on our בויך boych. It's not what we feel, what we think, what makes sense to us. We are here to reveal and we are here to apply the will of Hashem. He gave us his blueprint, he gave us his manual, his instruction guide for this world. And when I sit and I study about the ד׳ שומרים daled shomrim, the four types of of שומרים shomrim, of of people who guard objects, I'm not, and I'm supposed to, this is what the חזון איש Chazon Ish writes, but our educational system fails to do it. Every גמרא שיעור Gemara shiur should end with saying, and how better do we now understand, in what way do we better understand Hashem's vision for this world? What did it teach me about property, about possession, about liability, about responsibility? What did learning בבא קמא, בבא מציעא, בבא בתרא, סנהדרין Bava Kamma, Bava Metzia, Bava Basra, Sanhedrin, מהרש״א Maharsha, what did it teach me about the moral living and lifestyle in this world? What does it mean to have ownership? What does it mean to take responsibility? What does it mean to be a שומר shomer? What does it mean to have liability? What are accidents that couldn't didn't have to happen, accidents that had to happen? The process of studying Torah should not be removed from being a religious activity. It is the ultimate religious activity, תלמוד תורה כנגד כולם Talmud Torah k'neged kulam. But it rises to be that ultimate religious activity when we connect it with Hashem. That's what we're failing to do, so our children are like, \"It's boring. The גמרא Gemara is boring. When will I learn גמרא Gemara? I can't wait to get rid of it, to be done with it, to take my final, to graduate.\" And how many tragically of our young people never open a גמרא Gemara again and don't connect to it because it was never taught in religious context, the way the חזון איש Chazon Ish writes. So רב קוק Rav Kook supposedly said, שניים אוחזים בטלית, זה אומר כולה שלי וזה אומר כולה שלי shnayim ochzin b'tallis, zeh omer kulah sheli v'zeh omer kulah sheli. The משנה Mishnah says, two people are holding a טלית tallis, this one says it all belongs to me, the other one says it all belongs to me. רב קוק Rav Kook would read the משנה Mishnah, הקדוש ברוך הוא אומר יחלוקו HaKadosh Baruch Hu omer yachloku. And the ריבונו של עולם Ribbono shel Olam says, what's the ethical and moral thing to do? We've got to bring the ריבונו של עולם Ribbono shel Olam, the language of Hashem, back into the classroom. The שיר השירים Shir Hashirim into the ואלה המשפטים V'eileh hamishpatim. We got to, while we're talking about these detailed, מינישאַ minutiae laws, realize that we're not just having some intellectual gymnastics, some debate based on our own instinct or intuition. We're trying to reveal what is Hashem's vision for his world. And how do these laws teach and tell us about what these principles are morally and ethically? Ownership, liability, responsibility, and so on and so forth. All that is within פרשת משפטים parshas Mishpatim. So even if you don't get into the nitty-gritty, you don't get into the weeds of פרשת משפטים parshas Mishpatim, the details of the laws, even if you don't get past the opening letter, the ו׳ vav. ואלה המשפטים V'eileh hamishpatim. This is such an incredible פרשה parsha just because of one letter. This פרשה parsha is brought to you by the letter ו׳ vav. ואלה המשפטים V'eileh hamishpatim. The letter ו׳ vav. מה הם מסיני אף אלו מסיני ma hem mi'Sinai, af eilu mi'Sinai. It's not just about the שיר השירים Shir Hashirim, it's about the highs and the spirituality. It's not just about the amazing דאווענען davening or the טיש tish or the קומזיץ kumzitz you had in shul. It's what happens when you walk out of shul. How do you behave? To pay the babysitter or the teachers or the workers? Are you honest at work? Do you gossip? What are you what do you charge? Fair prices or do you extort others? How do we act and engage in the world? Do we take responsibility? Are we injuring or damaging others? ואלה V'eileh, ו׳ vav, that's also where we show we're a ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש mamleches kohanim v'goy kadosh.
