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  • The Value of Human Life

Risk to Life Supersedes All Mitzvot

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Risk to Life Supersedes All Mitzvot
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The purpose of Torah and mitzvot is to preserve life. As it says, “Keep My decrees and laws, which a person shall do and live by; I am the Lord” (Leviticus 18:5). God gave us the mitzvot to live, not to die. Therefore, risk to life (piku’aĥ nefesh), meaning the obligation of saving life, supersedes all other mitzvot. This occurs most frequently when people’s lives may be in danger, and saving them would involve desecrating Shabbat. In such cases, one must desecrate Shabbat in order to save the life.

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    The Jewish tradition with all of its mitzvot, practices, and ambitions for the perfection of the world, in the life of the individual, the family, society and the nation, in the cycle of life and the cycle of the year, on weekdays, on Sabbaths and on holidays.

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    Except where otherwise noted, The Jewish Tradition by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.