Rabbi Moshe Klein, who serves as the rav for Hadassah Hospitals in Jerusalem, appealed to the emergency room staffs with a request that if and when possible, to treat the religious patients first on erev Shabbos so they can be discharged in time for Shabbos.
According to a report by the daily Haaretz, the rav simply asked the emergency room staff to take the candle lighting time into consideration and to try to have religious people released from care in time, of course within the confines of medical triage, caring for the more serious cases ahead of the less serious ones.
Rav Klein explains that there is nothing new here and there is a directive in place from the hospital’s director, Professor Ze’ev Rothstein, and he is simply reminding the staff to comply with it whenever possible.
The Haaretz report continues by reporting some emergency staff gave statements the rabbi asked them to give priority to the religious people regardless of the severity of patients need for care. This of course contradicts what the rav reported.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
Should not be an issue as long as the triage guidelines are adhered to. However, it should not be mandatory and if someone has been waiting for hours, they should not be forced to wait even longer just because someone walks in the door late in the afternoon and insists on being put in front of the line of non-emergency cases because the are frum.
“The Haaretz report continues by reporting some emergency staff gave statements the rabbi asked them to give priority to the religious people regardless of the severity of patients need for care.”
Sheker gamur and antisemitic and loshon hara on the Rav.
Is this “shmiras shabbos” worth the bad feeling that will result between frum and not yet frum?
I’m surprised such guidelines exist. While of course, it would be more difficult for a shomer shabbos Yid if he were taken care of after Shabbos started, wouldn’t the chillul Shabbos be worse for a non Shomer Shabbos Yid? A Shomer SHabbos Yid would only do what is permitted on Shabbos. A Mechalel Shaboos would go home by any means available and would do anything he wants to do. Wouldn’t the Chillul Shabbos be greater in that case?
This should be thoroughly investigated. If, as I hope, it is not true, the fact should be publicized. If, ch”v it is true, the Rav should be relieved of his responsibilities immediately and placed in a position where he will have no contact with the public or influence on the hospital’s interaction with patients and families. Consideration where it’s medically advisable or permitted, yes. Favoritism which could lead to harm to people, “even” non-Shomer Shabbos people, is probably by most poskim assur. It is definitely a chillul HaShem and will not help in our desire to help the not-yet-Shomer-Shabbos come home to Yiddishkeit.
charedi amiti your great! you show your true colors very blatantly… you would sure sound better if you at least changed your name cause charedi you sure aint
charedi amiti who do you refer to when you say “not yet frum” yourself?
Just what the doctor did not order: a kibitzer in an emergency room.