Medicine On Shabbat
Rabbi Aryeh Citron
Parasha Halacha
Parshat Bereishit
Medicine on Shabbat
Our sages forbade the taking of medicine on Shabbat. The reason for this prohibition is to ensure that one does not actually grind the medicine oneself.[1] This decree is similar to many decrees made by the sages to protect one from violating the Shabbat.[2] There are types of (major) illnesses for which one may take medication on Shabbat, and there are certain types of medication that one may take on Shabbat even for minor ailments. This article will explore these laws in more detail .
A Patient Whose Life Is in Danger
If a patient has a life-threatening illness, he may take medication for that illness on Shabbat. This is because of the principle that saving a Jewish life supersedes all of the mitzvot of the Torah (including the mitzvah of keeping Shabbat).
A patient with a life-threatening illness may take a medication even if this particular medication will not heal him from the illness. But since the medication is part of the general treatment for the illness, one may take them.[3]
If one can wait until after Shabbat to take the medicine and the medicine will have the same effect, it is better to do so.
Life-threatening Illnesses Include:
1) Any internal wound[4]
2) Any infection in an internal organ that is considered dangerous[5]
3) Sunstroke or heatstroke
4) One who was bitten by an animal which may be infected with a serious illness
5) Poisoning
6) Blood-poisoning
7) A person who is sick with a high fever and the cause is not yet known.[6]
8) A woman who has had a baby (or a miscarriage) within seven days.
9) Any illness that doctors consider to be dangerous[7]
· If the patient needs a shot that is not urgent, he may receive it on Shabbat. However, no Torahlevel violation should be transgressed in order to do this.[8] (One should consult their rabbi as to what is a Torah level violation.)
· One may inject a person who has a life threatening illness with morphine. Although this will not cure him, it will calm him and give him strength to fight his illness.[9]
· One who needs dialysis should schedule his appointments in such way that they don’t take place on Shabbat. If Yom Tov and Shabbat are consecutive, it is better to have the dialysis on Yom Tov than on Shabbat. [10]
A Serious But Non Life--Threatening Illness
One who has a serious illness that is not considered life threatening, yet it is serious enough that he is confined to his bed (or he should be confined to his bed), is categorized as a choleh she’en bo sakana (a sick person who is not in danger). The law in this case is that he may ingest the medications necessary for his treatments but should not apply medications topically. (As mentioned above, if taking the medication can be postponed until after Shabbat with no ill effect, it is better to do so.) Any external medication should be applied by a gentile. If there is no gentile present, a Jew may apply the medication in an unusual way (k’lachar yad). In addition, all of the needs of this patient may be attended to by a gentile.[11]
The following conditions are included in this category:[12]
1) One who has a fever and therefore remains indoors
2) One who has a serious migraine headache
3) One who is ill or in pain to the extent that his entire body is weakened
4) One who has: asthma, diabetes or the flu
5) A (non-life-threatening) heart condition
6) One who has a condition which may cause permanent damage to one of his limbs
7) One who has an eye infection
8) A woman who had a baby from the 8th day to the 30th day
9) Small children are also considered to be in this category because of the fragility of their health
A Minor Ailment
One who has a minor ailment (e.g., a cough or a cold) may not take any medication. Nor may he eat or drink foods or drinks that are healing unless those foods are normally consumed by healthy people.
Exceptions
· Many authorities permit the use of pain medications such as aspirin and Tylenol. Since it is common for healthy people to take these medications, these authorities do not consider them medicines.[13] Others disagree.[14]
· Any food or drink that is commonly consumed by healthy people may be consumed by people with ailments, despite the fact that their intention is for healing purposes. For instance, one may drink alcohol (but not swirl it in one’s mouth) with the intention of soothing a toothache.[15] One who has a cough or cold may drink hot tea with lemon or honey.[16] One should simply put the wedge of lemon in the hot water (that is in a kli sheini at least) but should not squeeze it in.
· Similarly, if one dissolves his medication in water before Shabbat he may drink that water on Shabbat if it appears that he is simply drinking water.[17]
· If one started a course of medication before Shabbat and must continue taking the medicine on Shabbat for it to be effective, some permit doing so.[18] Others permit this only if it is a seven-day course (or more). Their reasoning is that: Were it forbidden to take the medication in this case, it would mean that the person would never heal from this ailment. This may be so distressing to the patient that it may cause a more serious condition.[19]
· A woman who takes birth-control pills (in a case where one is Halachicly permitted to do so) may take the pill on Shabbat as well.
· A woman may also take pills that aid in fertility on Shabbat if the course of medication includes Shabbat.[20]
· Some permit taking sleeping pills on Shabbat as they are not considered a medication.[21]
Other Treatments
The sages also forbade treating illnesses in ways that do not involve medication for fear that this will lead to taking medication (and then to the grinding of those medications. Several examples are:
· One may not use a hot-water bottle to soothe a stomachache unless he (or people in his area) use it for warmth even when they are feeling fine.[22]
· One may not exercise for medicinal purposes,[23] nor may one lift weights.[24]
· One may not do physiotherapy on Shabbat or Yom Tov.[25]
· One should not “soak” in the Dead Sea on Shabbat or Yom Tov.[26]
If the treatment is one which cannot be done with medication, then it may be done on Shabbat.[27] For this reason, one may use a retainer for adjusting one’s teeth on Shabbat.[28]
Healthy People
Even a healthy person should not take a medication to prevent illness on Shabbat.[29]
For this reason, some say that one may not take vitamins on Shabbat.[30] Some permit it[31] especially if the vitamins are being taken as a food supplement.
Yom Tov
All of the above prohibitions regarding medications on Shabbat apply to the first day of Yom Tov as well as both days of Rosh HaShana. They do not, however, apply on the second day of Yom Tov (with the exception of the second day of Rosh HaShana).[32]
[1] In ancient times (and even today in certain civilizations) it was common for people to grind and prepare their own medicines. Although nowadays most people buy prepared medicine from the pharmacies, the decree of the sages remains in effect. The same is true of many other decrees whose reasons seem obsolete. This is because of the principal that a decree of the sages remains in effect until it is repealed by a court which is greater in number and in wisdom then the court that issued the decree in the first place. According to most commentaries, this is true even when the reason for the decree seems outdated. For more information on this topic, see Responsa of the Torat Chessed, Siman 17.
[2] Several examples of such decrees are:
a. Not to leave a partially cooked food on an open flame lest one adjust the flame (O.C. 253)
b. Not to move a soaking wet garment lest one squeeze it (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 301, 59)
c. Not to drink juice that oozes out of fruit on Shabbat lest one squeeze those fruits for more juice (ibid 320, 3)
[3] Shmirat Shabbat Kehilchato 32, 56
[4] Ibid 3
[5] Shmirat Shabbat Kehilchato 32, 11
[6] Ibid
[7] Shulchan Aruch HaRav 328, 10 See there regarding a case where different doctors have different opinions.
[8] Shmirat Shabbat Kehilchato 32, 62
[9] Shulchan Shlomo 328,6
[10] Ibid 328
[11] Ibid 19
[12] Shmirat Shabbat Kehilchato 33, 1
[13] Be’er Moshe 1, 33
[14] Minchat Yitzchok 3, 35
[15] Shulchan Aruch HaRav 328, 38
[16] Shmirat Shabbat Kehilchato 34, 4
[17] Ibid, 5
[18] Minchat Shabbos, 91, 9
[19] Igrot Moshe O.C. 3, 53
[20] Shmirat Shabbat Kehilchato 34, 19
[21] Ketzot HaShulchan 138, Badei HaShulchan 131
[22] Shmirat Shabbat Kehilchato ibid, 11
[23] Ibid, 47
[24] Tzitz Eliezer 12, 45
[25] Shmirat Shabbat Kehilchato 34, 23
[26] Mishna Berurah 328, 137
[27] Shulchan Aruch HaRav 328, 45
[28] Shmirat Shabbat Kehilchato 34, 29
[29] Shulchan Aruch HaRav 328, 43
[30] Mishna Halachos 4, 51
[31] Igrot Moshe O.C. 3, 54, Shmirat Shabbat Kehilchato 34, 20
[32] Shulchan Aruch HaRav 496, 4 and 5