Many people assume Judaism values religious rules more than human life. In reality, Jewish law contains a powerful principle called Pikuach Nefesh – the obligation to protect life, even when that means breaking Shabbat or other commandments.
Have you ever wondered whether you’re allowed to “break” Shabbat in an emergency? (Meaning to stop observing the traditional rules of Shabbat.)
In this video, I share a recent personal experience that sent me to the hospital on Shabbat and explore what Judaism actually teaches about medical emergencies, uncertain danger, mental health crises, and the guilt many religious people feel when they need help.
If you’ve ever wondered whether Judaism expects people to suffer in the name of religion, this video is for you.
Join my mailing list and get free access to my Resource Library, including Jewish Enough: A Self-Talk Toolkit – a guide for those moments when you’re wondering if you’re doing Judaism “right” or feeling like you’re not “Jewish enough.”
Transcript below.
Transcript:
 It was around 10:30 PM on a Friday night, and I knew something was wrong.
I knew I probably needed to go to the emergency room, but I hesitated because it was Shabbat.
Traditionally on Shabbat, the Sabbath, Jews observe a lot of rules, and we go basically off the grid. We don’t use electricity. We don’t drive cars. We don’t use money. It’s a day of rest.
But this Shabbat was not restful. I was in a lot of pain, and something happened that I had a good feeling meant that I needed to go to the emergency room, but I didn’t wanna break Shabbat.
But one of the strangest parts of Jewish observance is realizing that sometimes the right way to keep Shabbat is to break it.
But still, I sat there doing the same thing that a lot of religious Jews do in emergencies: ” do I really need to go? Am I making a fuss? Is it really that bad?”
But Jewish law was clear. I needed to break Shabbat and go.
Hi, I’m Kochava. I’m a Jewish convert, and I’ve been helping people convert to Judaism since 2010 through my blog, buildingajewishlife.com.
If you’re trying to build a Jewish life from scratch without drowning in all the conflicting advice, I’d suggest joining my mailing list.
When you join, you get access to a Resource Library full of free guides, and one of them might be useful in situations like this. It’s called Jewish Enough: A Self-Talk Toolkit. It’s for those times when you feel like maybe you aren’t being “Jewish enough,” and you doubt yourself and whether you’re being a good Jew or not.
Spoiler alert, you’re probably fine. We’re all human, and life is not perfect.
And here’s the real truth that I think most of us struggle with when we deal with emergencies on Shabbat or holidays.
I didn’t hesitate because I thought Shabbat was worth more than my life. I am certainly not that holy. You probably aren’t either.
I hesitated because human beings, especially women, are very good at convincing ourselves that things aren’t serious enough.
You are probably not immune to the “am I overreacting” spiral. It just becomes a lot more serious when you attach, like, sinning to the equation.
Now I’ll sum up the story really quickly because I know people will probably ask about this. Um, it did end up being quite serious, and I was admitted to the hospital for my first ever hospital admission ever. This was just a couple of weeks ago. The problem is manageable right now, but it is ongoing, so I do appreciate any prayers you’ve got for Kochava Yocheved bat Sarah.
Thank you so much for the kind words I already got when I shared this in an email I sent.
So let’s talk about Pikuach Nefesh.
Pikuach Nefesh is often translated as saving a life. You can also translate as preserving or protecting a life.
It overrides almost all of the mitzvot, all of the commandments.
There are only three rules you can’t break for Pikuach Nefesh: murder, incest, and idolatry. If someone holds a gun to your head and tells you to eat a bacon cheeseburger, eat the cheeseburger.
The principle that our teachers gave us is that you should break one Shabbat in order to be able to observe many more in the future. Makes sense, right? Judaism is a fairly reasonable, rational religion.
But here’s the thing. It’s easy to break Shabbat for Pikuach Nefesh when someone gets hit in the head and is laying on the ground bleeding and unconscious. Calling an ambulance is a no-brainer in that situation. Obvious heart attacks, no-brainer.
Someone has pneumonia and is struggling to breathe, no-brainer.
Someone getting hit by a car, no-brainer.
The hard part comes when it’s not the no-brainers. When you’re pregnant and you think you might be in labor, but you’re not sure, especially because you’ve never given birth before. Been there, done that.
Inevitably, every problem of my pregnancies happened on Friday afternoon.
But Pikuach Nefesh means a lot more than the no-brainers.
It includes possible danger, uncertain danger, and situations that might become more serious. We are encouraged to be lenient in this matter, to protect life as much as possible.
You are not expected to wait until something becomes life-threatening to get help.
In Judaism, “better safe than sorry” is the rule, not a loophole.
It is the actual expectation.
But we hesitate ‘ cause we don’t wanna cause a fuss.
Like we already said, we’re afraid that we’re overreacting, that it’s not as serious as we think it might be.
Or we have religious guilt coming in.
It can also be as simple as you don’t want the neighbors seeing you drive off in your car on Shabbat, even though they should judge you favorably and say, “Maybe she’s driving to the hospital.”
A lot of people feel like religious observance across religions means pushing through suffering. Judaism does not ask that of you, and in fact would tell you not to do it.
The sin is in continuing to observe Shabbat.
The danger is not in people recklessly violating Shabbat for no reason. The danger is in people waiting too long and things become far more serious than they would’ve if you acted when you knew there was danger.
And you will hear stories of extremely religious Jews doing extremely foolish things when it comes to breaking Shabbat or other religious rules around Pikuach Nefesh.
Men refusing to be helped  because the EMT that arrived was a woman.
Fasting past the danger zone until they need to go to the hospital and get IV fluids.
Now, I’m not your rabbi, and I’m not your doctor. I’m a lawyer with a YouTube channel. 
But real Halakhic authorities, rulers of religious law, overwhelmingly prioritize safety.
There is no reward in heaven for dying of stupidity. And quite frankly, that’s what a lot of that is. It’s stupid.
You don’t get bonus points for upholding a rule and dying .
But here’s the thing. It’s not just about dying or childbirth or other obviously really serious concerns.
It’s also those things that are probably fine, but they could be very serious, so you should get them checked out. For instance, this wasn’t on Shabbat, but just last week, my daughter was sick. And she started complaining that her neck hurt. Obviously, even though she probably just had a cold, we’re heading off to the doctor to get her checked for meningitis.
That’s a Pikuach Nefesh situation.
So even when you’re sitting there saying, “It’s probably fine. It’s probably nothing,” Jewish law probably still says you need to go.
So some of those things you can do to break Shabbat when you need to: Googling on your phone to see if this really is a symptom that you need to go to an ER for, calling an ambulance, driving if necessary, using your phone to call your pediatrician. All of these things and more are allowed.
But there can be better and worse ways to go about things. The key is you don’t ask about that in the moment. You learn that before you need it. So if you’re observing Shabbat or you’re interested in observing Shabbat, this is a conversation you should have with your rabbi relatively early on.
” What should I do if there’s an emergency? Is it preferable for me to call a cab or drive myself? What should I do?” In some Orthodox communities, they’ll actually have set up a cab system where you have a number for a certain cab company, and there is already an account set up for the community, and you won’t have to pay them for that trip.
Either they can bill you later or the community fund itself will pay for that as a community service. They also won’t require you to sign anything or fill out any paperwork.
It’s basically making the best of a bad situation. But if you need to fill out paperwork, like when you get to the hospital, fill out the damn paperwork. It’s fine. I don’t know how many different ways I can say this, but people still don’t do it, and it drives me bonkers.
This is one of the hills I will die on gladly.
And the whole point is that no one should die, and that is why I’m willing to die on this hill. I don’t know. I’m just being silly at this point, I guess.
What you don’t need to do before doing any of this? You don’t call your rabbi. You don’t walk over to their house. You just go.
Judaism values life and caring for your body and this world.
We do not want martyrs.
And your body is not an obstacle to Jewish life.
Your body is an integral part of your Jewish life. That’s why Jewish law demands that you care for it.
If you are ever in a situation where something feels wrong, get help. You can start low, googling your symptom or calling your doctor or pediatrician. But if it needs to escalate, escalate gladly and without guilt.
Go to the urgent care. Go to the emergency room. You are not failing in Judaism by protecting your health or the health of someone else.
Sometimes the best thing you can do on Shabbat is stay alive.
And here’s the question that comes up in the modern era and that people are most likely to downplay: mental health crises.
Pikuach Nefesh applies to your mental health. If you are a danger to yourself or someone else, that is a situation for Pikuach Nefesh.
If you’re not sure: the answer is go, not wait and see.
The laws exist to protect and sanctify life. When they conflict with life, life wins.
My Shabbat was not great, but it could have been a lot worse if I had continued to hesitate.
If this video got you thinking about Shabbat, I have another video that’s gonna help you actually do something with that.
It’s called Your First Shabbat Experience. And it’s exactly what it sounds like. No overwhelm, no perfection required. Just three things to start with. I’ll link it here.
