MB 329.1 - 329.3 - – Saving Life and Extinguishing Fires on Shabbos
Description
This episode opens a new discussion in Siman 329 of the Mishnah Berurah, focusing on the laws of saving life on Shabbos. The shiur explores how the principle of pikuach nefesh—preserving life—overrides Shabbos prohibitions, including cases like extinguishing a fire or rescuing individuals from danger. The Mishnah Berurah analyzes when it is preferable to extinguish a fire versus carrying people to safety, weighing Torah-level versus rabbinic prohibitions and practical modern concerns such as urban housing and fire spread.
The discussion continues with classic halachic principles applied to doubtful life-threatening situations (safek pikuach nefesh): when a group includes both Jews and non-Jews, when rubble collapses and it’s uncertain who is trapped, and when or if one may violate Shabbos to save. The episode also examines complex cases of moral status—such as saving a willful transgressor or a pursuer (rodef)—and when saving them is halachically prohibited.
A thought-provoking and text-based journey through Mishnah Berurah 329:1–3, highlighting practical, ethical, and halachic reasoning in real-life emergencies on Shabbos.
United States
