The Shulchan Aruch (O”Ch 328:2) rules, “Some one that has a life threatening disease, it is a mitzvah to violate shabbos for him. The one who rushes is praised, and the one who asks is [as if he] spills blood.” The Yerushalmi that he is quoting adds, “The one that is asked is disgusting.” He, being the Rabbi in town, is disgusting either because he should have publicly announced this law, or because he made everyone afraid of doing anything with out his permission. If this is true, how does one know when to rush? The Shulchan Aruch (O”Ch 328:10) also rules, “A doubt in life [threatening situations] is lenient,” meaning that one is lenient regarding the violation of shabbos. This is the overriding principle, and the Shulchan Aruch (O”Ch 328:15) rules, “If [doctors] estimate that he needs one date [to be healed], and ten people run and each [violate shabbos to] bring him a date, all of them . . . have good reward from Hashem, even though he was already healed from the first,” and the others were unnecessary.
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