Peace and blessings. We continue our study of the laws of manslaughter from the Sefer Brit Shalom, chapter five, from paragraph 9 onward. We are dealing with matters that concern the preservation of life.
It is clear that one is forbidden to harm another person—that is, to take the life of another—but one must also adopt behaviors that protect life.
Therefore, there is a halacha that one must not injure oneself or put oneself or others in danger without purpose, for example, by driving at excessive speeds. It is self-evident that if a person wishes to donate blood, there is obviously no prohibition against harming oneself in that context—not as was practiced by a certain Christian sect that said even blood donation is forbidden. Clearly, in the case of donating blood, the purpose is to save another person.
However, injuring oneself for no reason is forbidden. There is an interesting discussion in Jewish law regarding Shylock’s demand in Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice. There, an important rabbi from the early twentieth century explained that according to halacha, Shylock’s demand that Antonio give a portion of his body—effectively harming himself—is completely contrary to Jewish law.
Likewise, one must build a railing on a roof to prevent danger to a person. If it is a roof that no one uses—say, a tile roof that no one can access by normal means—there is no need to put up a railing. But if it is a roof that is used, then a railing must be installed so that a person does not fall.
Therefore, one must establish regulations and take any measures that are beneficial to prevent danger to life—for example, traffic laws on the road.
