When to Disregard the Majority?

This is the second time that the writings of the the third Rebbe of Chabad, known as the Tzemach Tzedek, have been misinterpreted and/or misquoted in attempt to endorse covid policies! The first time was discussed a previous post.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch (1789-1866) wrote in his Responsa Tzemach Tzedek (Yoreh Deah 359, pictured above) that if some doctors recommend a certain treatment and others say it's preferable not to do it, then: if the two groups are equal in number and expertise, then שב ועל תעשה עדיף -- it's preferable to stay put and NOT take it, but if the majority of doctors recommend the treatment, then one SHOULD take it. This is because when trying to assess a situation, we follow the majority opinion.

However, he notes that this rule applies only when there is no concern of questionable mortal risk, in which case we would NOT follow the majority (but instead we'd be required to err on the side of caution and heed the warning of two doctors who advise the patient NOT to fast on Yom Kippur, for example, even if they're contested by a hundred even more competent doctors who maintain that it's safe for the patient to fast [1]). Nevertheless, in the case under discussion there is no such concern. It's simply that some doctors claim the treatment is not recommended while the majority claim it is. In such a case, concludes the Tzemach Tzedek, the dictum "shev v'al taaseh" (i.e. when in doubt one should opt to not take action) does not take precedence over the majority view recommending the treatment.

Why am I sharing this here?

Several rabbis have erroneously misconstrued this responsum as a source that one is required to follow the alleged majority of medical experts who recommend the experimental covid injection over the minority of experts who recommend against it.

I write “alleged majority of experts” since:

a) doctors who did speak out against this injection have been censored, suppressed, or threatened, so we cannot know with certainty that there isn’t a silent majority of experts who are simply afraid to speak out;

b) this is a new experimental technology concerning which no doctor has any experience, and surely not with regard to long-term risks. Consequently, no doctor can be relied upon as a medical expert to vouch for its safety, unlike the therapy discussed by the Tzemach Tzedek with regards to which both groups of doctors presumably had expertise;

c) the vast majority of doctors who are currently recommending this injection are merely parroting medical policy dictated by others (like the CDC). Their opinion is NOT based on their own experience or expertise, and cannot be considered halachically-binding medical testimony. [1]

All this aside, there are three glaring reasons why this responsum is totally irrelevant to the experimental covid injection under discussion:

1) In our case, the minority of medical experts are not saying that it’s merely “preferable” not to take this treatment. Instead, they are earnestly warning us of their concerns of serious life-threatening risks associated with this treatment, including antibody-dependent enhancement, pathogenic priming, cytokine storm, autoimmunity, lifelong injury, infertility, or death. In this case, the Tzemach Tzedek himself clearly acknowledged the הלכה רווחת that we do NOT follow the majority view when there is possible mortal risk, but instead err on the side of caution and heed the advice of the two experts who caution against taking it, even if they are VASTLY outnumbered by experts who maintain that it’s safe. [2]

2) The concern here is not only based on any one (or two) doctor’s prognostication concerning mortal risks of this product, but about actual adverse effects, including fatalities, that have already occurred. As of this writing, there have already been well over a thousand reported deaths – and nearly two-thousand hospitalizations – in the immediate aftermath of receiving these injections. In this case, all doctors’ opinions are largely irrelevant [3]. Halacha obliges us to err on the side of caution and avoid the well-documented risk of this injection. Or at the very least, it MUST be a personal choice.

3) The Tzemach Tzedek was discussing a patient with a diagnosed condition (he began with “לענין רפואה לחולי”). A patient’s obligation to heed a majority of doctors concerning a treatment does not relate to a healthy person’s decision on whether to take a prophylactic treatment to prevent a disease that he may or may not even catch in the first place. While doctors have been granted a certain degree of authority with regards to healing, “ורפא ירפא”, this authority does not necessarily extend to prevention. In this latter area, the doctor might have a vote but not a veto. [4]

Attempts to derive from this responsum that a healthy person is required to expose himself to the risks of an experimental injection – against the dire warnings of potential mortal risk from countless independent medical experts, and just for the sake of theoretically preventing symptoms of a potential disease that has a 99.9% survival rate – is totally absurd and without basis. Rabbis who cite this teshuva to enforce compliance with the new state-sponsored vaccine policy are demonstrating that they are either seriously misinformed or suffer gross lack of rabbinical competence, or both. Rabbis should never seek to misconstrue halachic texts to conform with popular secular agenda. In rabbinic parlance, such a person is called “מגלה פנים בתורה שלא כהלכה – one who insolently misinterprets the Torah.” [5]

While I would normally desist from expressing such words about anyone, let alone rabbis whom I’d otherwise hold in high esteem, I must unambiguously highlight their grave error in this case, since we are discussing a serious matter of life and death affecting millions of yidden worldwide. We cannot remain silent while their adherents and students are being misled in such a dire situation of sofek sakonas nefoshos. We also may not remain silent while the Tzemach Tzedek's words are being misconstrued to the peril of klal Yisroel everywhere. [6]

May we merit a complete healing for all the sick of our people, and a complete return to sanity, truth, and objective reality.

Rabbi Michoel Green

Notes:

[1] Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim Harav 618:9

[2] Ibid s'if 5

[3] See recent letter by Rabbi Wosner. Halacha authorizes medical experts to establish a concern of risk, but not necessarily to establish a din of incontrovertible safety.

[4] Observation attributed to Rabbi Chaim of Brisk. It should also be pointed out that the Lubavitcher Rebbe never said that one should heed the advice of doctors with regard to vaccination. Instead, if it was tested and proven to be incontrovertibly safe, the Rebbe recommended taking it ומכלל הן אתה שומע לאו. In our present situation, that condition has not been satisfied, which is the entire crux of the matter.

[5] Sanhedrin 99b

[6] Read about another recent misinterpretation of the Tzemach Tzedek's writings in attempt to condone halachically-unjust and indefensible covid policies: Rabbi's Blog: No Authentic Halachic Source for Masks (westbororabbi.blogspot.com)