Ra'anana Community Kollel - Mishpatim 5764

                                 My Child, the Doctor

                                                     Rabbi Dovid Horwitz

This week’s parshah contains within it the wherewithal for Jewish mothers around the world to kvell over their kids with those famous words, “my son (or daughter) the doctor”. Where would mothers be today if it wasn’t for those two small words verapo yerapei, which permit us to practice medicine and seek medical care? Perhaps no other two words have had such a profound effect on the world as these! The Gemara clearly states that if it weren’t for these words, one would indeed be forbidden to practice medicine, and to seek medical treatment in times of illness. Why do we need a license from the Torah to practice medicine?

The commentators explain that in truth, practicing medicine is philosophically untenable from a Jewish perspective. As we believe that every occurrence in our lives does not come about by chance but is rather a precisely calculated event governed by G-d, an attempt to heal an illness that was decreed on high should certainly be viewed as nothing less than an attempt to undermine the plan of G-d. If Hashem wishes that a particular person be ill, who are we to attempt to relieve his suffering? However, the Torah teaches us that although a doctor’s attempt to heal the patient presents a seeming contradiction to the concept of divine providence, nevertheless, the very same G-d who made the person sick also wants us to engage in healing him in accordance with the laws of nature.

Another concern about healing which the Midrash discusses is the possibility that in the attempts to heal the patient the doctor will make an error in his diagnosis and accidentally bring about his untimely death. Every doctor runs the risk of harming patients in one way or another through mistaken treatments. Thus, when the Torah gave a doctor the permission to heal, it also absolved the doctor from legal liability provided that he or she is truly qualified to practice medicine and dispenses the treatment to the best of his or her ability. The Rambam writes that not only is it permitted for a doctor to practice medicine, but he or she also fulfills a positive mitzvah by doing so, as the doctor is restoring the lost health to the patient, an act no different and certainly no less significant than returning someone’s lost property.

In light of the above, why does the Mishnah state that “the best of doctors are destined for gehinnom?” As a physician is involved in saving lives on a daily basis, he or she may grow arrogant and begin to rely solely on his or her own knowledge when tending to the ill. Failing to seek the counsel of other professionals, and failing to realize that even a doctor is a human being who may not know all of the answers, a doctor may come to dispense incorrect treatments and cause the unnecessary and avoidable death of a patient. The challenge of being a good and conscientious doctor is indeed very great. However, one who is able to rise to this challenge while helping to ease the suffering of others is certainly deserving of his or her mother’s kvelling!