I found this almost instantly, (it's long but worth the read): Rebbe Nachman and the Doctors
"It is a positive obligation and a mitzvah to turn to the doctor at a time of sickness, and the Torah itself accepts that healing can come about through natural means. For the Torah penetrated the innermost recesses of man's mind and knows that his merit will not be sufficient to enable him to be healed through a miracle from heaven." [Turey Zahav on Yoreh Deah #336, and see Birkhey Yosef ad loc]
4 comments:
totally with this! the only issue I have is that birth isn't a sickness. If i had congestive heart failure? you better believe I'd be heading to a doctor! broken arm? into the ER I would rush! a laceration in need of suturing? I would gladly accept the skills of a surgeon! Birth? nope, not and illness.
unless birth is accompanied BY an illness it shouldn't treated as an illness in need of a cure. nor should it be treated a if it has the *probability* of be accompanied by an illness. For that matter a broke arm shouldn't be treated as if it has the probability to be accompanied by heart failure, even though it could be a rare possibility depending on the patient's health situation.
there is the a huge difference between possibility and probability.
Amen!
Becoming Devoted: I am not suggesting that birth is an illness... of course it isn't... this article relates to Rebbe Nachman's views on doctors, that's all.
Torah tells us: I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed. Deut 30:19.
And there's also the old tale of the old man who was so sick he had taken to the bed. He spent his days praying to the Almighty to heal him. One day his housekeeper opened the door and there was a doctor. The woman told the sick man, but he said to turn the doc away. The man kept praying to HaShem for healing. Then a few days later another knock on the door. Was another doctor. The housekeeper went to the sick old man to ask if the doctor could come into his room to help him, but again the old man refused, saying, No. HaShem will heal me.
Well, the man died. When he met his Maker, the man was stunned and said, Almighty Gd, I had faith that you would heal me. He was met with this reply: You old fool. I sent you 2 doctors and what did you do? Refuse to let them help you...
Devorah, thanks again for your blog. It's like a ray of sunshine thru the clouds of life on this earth.
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