Gentleness and Patience in the Medical Ethics Decision Making of Rabbis Benzion Uziel and Haim David Halevy

The year 2008 marks the tenth anniversary of the death of Rabbi Haim David Halevy, the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv and the author of numerous halachic works. Rabbi Halevy saw himself first and foremost as a student of the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Benzion Uziel, whom he served as personal secretary for two years. In his work life and particularly in his role as a posek (halachic decisor), Rabbi Halevy tried to follow in the footsteps of his mentor. In an essay describing the halachic methodology of Rabbi Uziel, Rabbi Halevy claimed that there was an intimate connection between a decisor's love of humanity and his halachic rulings.1 Referring to Rabbi Uziel, he maintained that it was impossible for him to separate his great love of Israel from his role as a posek. Rabbi Halevy recognizes the intellectual difficulty with this position. He himself asks: how can emotional feelings impact on supposedly rational halachic decision making? The answer according to Rabbi Halevy lies in a sophisticated understanding of the halachic process. In elucidating the Talmudic statement, “both opinions are the word of God”, the medieval commentator the Ritva explains, “when Moshe went up to receive the Torah, it was shown to him that every matter was subject to forty nine lenient and forty nine stringent approaches. When he asked about this, God answered that the scholars of each generation were given the authority to decide among these perspectives in order to establish the halacha.”2 Rabbi Halevy's model is the ancient sage Hillel whose rulings were renowned for their sensitivity to the human condition and recognition of human frailty. For example, there is a famous disagreement between Hillel and Shammai recorded in the Talmud: How does one dance before a bride? [what does one sing before her?]” Bet Shammai maintained: “Each bride—as she is! Bet Hillel exclaimed “Beautiful and gracious bride” Bet Shammai said to Bet Hillel: If she were lame or blind can you say she is beautiful and pious? Doesn’t the Torah teach us to stay far away from falsehood? To this Bet Hillel answered: According to your opinion, if someone makes a bad purchase in the market should one (who sees it) praise it in his eyes or criticize it, It must be said that he should praise it! “From here the Rabbis said: a person's disposition toward others should be congenial.”3