Wednesday, October 18, 2017

hashkafah philosophy - Whose life comes first? Apparently contradictory Rabbinical statements


There seem to be two contradictory statements of the Rabbis.


One is: Sanhedrin 74a



מי יימר דדמא דידך סומק טפי דילמא דמא דההוא גברא סומק טפי


who knows whether your blood is redder than his blood, maybe his blood is redder than your blood.



This refers to a case where one is told to kill another Jew on pain of death. One may not kill. So one has to give up one's life which implies precedence given to the life of the other person.



The other is: Bovo Metzia 62a



חייך קודמים לחיי חבירך


your life and your friend's life, your life comes first.



This refers to the case of two people on a journey with sufficient water for only one to get to his destination. Rabbi Akiva teaches that your life comes first.


At first sight the statements seem contradictory.




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