For donations Click Here

Removing a Tic from body on Shabbos.

Question:

Hello,

A child is is found with a tic attached to its skin on Shabbos, is it permissible to remove the tic, which according to the medical profession may carry a risk of spreading serious disease.

The removal process will entail a possibility, but not a certainty of i. Killing the tic, or removing a limb of the tic, ii. Making a wound on the child’s skin.

Would the above be considered at the most a מלאכה שאצל״ג,( if not a דבר שא״מ) which would be premissble under these circumstances? Similar or to removing a splinter on Shabbos, or perhaps even similar to killing a viciously dangerous animal which is permissible to kill on Shabbos.
Thanks very much.

Answer:

Based solely on the information that you provided, what you are writing sounds correct, and you may remove it even though it might die of get dismembered, or that the child might bleed. The reason though is slightly different than what you wrote. It isn’t a מלאכה שאצ”ל because a מלאכה שאצ”ל is when you want to do the action which is a melacha, but not for its intended purpose, such as wanting to kill it, so it won’t cause the person pain. Here, you don’t want to kill it at all, you only want to detach it from the person’s body, so it would be a דבר שאינו מתכוון, which is permitted. Even though there is a chance that it will get killed, or a limb will come off, but if it isn’t inevitable that it will happen, then it will not be a פסיק רישא and it is permitted.

Hatzlocha

 

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *