pikuach nefesh

E42551

Pikuach nefesh is the Jewish legal and ethical principle that preserving human life overrides almost all other religious obligations.

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Label Occurrences
pikuach nefesh canonical 1

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Jewish legal principle
ethical principle in Judaism
halakhic principle
alsoSpelled pikkuach nefesh
appliesIn life-threatening situations
potentially life-threatening situations
appliesTo Jewish law
Sabbath observance
Shabbat prohibitions
Yom Kippur fasting
fast days
halakhic decision-making
kashrut observance
medical ethics in Judaism
basedOn Talmud
Torah
category Halakha
Jewish ethics
coreIdea preservation of human life overrides almost all other religious obligations
discussedIn Talmud
surface form: Babylonian Talmud

Yoma 85b
Mishnah
surface form: tractate Yoma
emphasizes duty to save life
sanctity of human life
entails duty to provide medical care
duty to seek medical treatment
obligation to violate commandments to save life
exceptionToOverride idolatry
murder
sexual immorality
influences Jewish responses to public health emergencies
contemporary Jewish bioethics
language Hebrew
literalMeaning saving a life
normativeStatus widely accepted across Jewish denominations
overrides Sabbath prohibitions
dietary laws
fasting obligations
most ritual commandments
priorityOver Shabbat
surface form: Shabbat rest

communal prayer requirements
fasting on Yom Kippur
ritual observance
relatedConcept Jewish medical ethics
rodef (pursuer) law
religiousTradition Judaism
scripturalSource Leviticus 18:5
“You shall live by them”

Referenced by (1)

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Jewish ethics hasKeyConcept pikuach nefesh