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According to the Gemara (Yoma 85a-b) and Poskim (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 328, Rambam, Hilchot Shabbos 2 [English Rambam]), one is allowed to violate Shabbos in order to preserve his life. This is learned from the verse (Leviticus 18:5) "וחי בהם," "and one should live in them [the laws of the Torah]," on which Shmuel says (in the above Gemara) "ולא שימות בהם" "and one should not die by them [the laws of the Torah.]"

So one is allowed to violate Shabbos to save his life. What if a person should decide he doesn't want to? What if someone wants to "be strict" on themselves, and keep Shabbos even in the face of danger to life?

May a person choose not to treat a life-threatening disease on Shabbos?

MTL
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    aloowed to violate Shabbes??? REQUIRED!!! – havarka Dec 13 '14 at 17:11
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    @havarka I know that -- see my answer ;-) ......I posted this Q/A set because someone on this site thought otherwise, and I wanted to show them exactly how they were wrong. – MTL Dec 14 '14 at 01:03
  • Ehm, seemed strange to see such a question from you. – havarka Dec 14 '14 at 09:22
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    @havarka Sometimes you have to ask the stupid questions so that you could show people the right answers. – MTL Dec 14 '14 at 19:45

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Short answer: NO. Long answer: also NO.

Here's why: Rabbi Yosef Karo writes (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 328:2):

מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ חֹלִי שֶׁל סַכָּנָה, מִצְוָה לְחַלֵּל עָלָיו אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת; וְהַזָּרִיז, הֲרֵי זֶה מְשֻׁבָּח; וְהַשּׁוֹאֵל, הֲרֵי זֶה שׁוֹפֵךְ דָּמִים

Someone who has a life-threatening illness is commanded (מצוה) to violate the Shabbos to preserve his life; someone who hurries to do this is praised; someone (who pauses and) asks about this is a murderer.

Mishna Berura there (328:6) follows up:

....ואם החולה בעצמו מתירא שיעברו עליו את השבת, כופין אותו ומדברים על לבו שהוא חסידות של שטות.‏

....if the patient is afraid to have Shabbos violated for him, we force him to violate Shabbos, and try to convince him (lit. "speak to his heart") that this [not violating Shabbos in a dangerous situation] is idiotic.

See also Shemiras Shabbos K'Hilchasa (by Rabbi YY Neuwirth) 32:5 (in my third edition [Feldheim, 2010 (blue cover)], volume 1 [Most of the time when I cite Shemiras Shabbos K'Hilchasa, it's from the second edition (red cover); I misplaced it today, and borrowed someone else's for the purposes of this answer]) says that if someone were to decide that he would rather not have Shabbos be violated on his behalf, we try to convince him to save his life, telling him that he has to; if he doesn't listen, "אף כופין אותו," we'll even force him to save his life through Shabbos violation. (MB 328:6)

חולה שיש בו סכנה....שמסרב לחלל את השבת להצלת חייו....אף כופין אותו

A patient who is in danger of his life....who refuses to violate Shabbos in order to save his life....we even force him (to violate Shabbos to save his life).

In a footnote there (16), Rav Neuwirth cites Pri Megadim (328:6) who writes that this is the case even in a case of possible danger to life.

I would also violate Shabbos to save the life of someone who is committing suicide -- see Hilchos Rof'im uRefuah (rulings of Rabbi EY Waldenburg on medical halacha, compiled by Rabbi Dr. Avraham Steinberg; Mossad Harav Kook, 1978), 2:2:11:

מי שמאבד נפשו לדעת....מותר לחלל עבורם את השבת.‏

Someone who willingly endangers his life....we may violate Shabbos for him.

He cites Magen Avrohom to Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 329 (number 5), as well as many תשובות (responsa) from many and varied rabbis in support of this argument.

For more about suicide on Shabbos, see Violating Shabbos for a suicide emergency.

Human life is more sacred than Shabbos -- Shabbos must be violated to preserve life, in any instance. One is not allowed to opt out of this מצוה.

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MTL
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  • Someone reminded me that I ignored שעת השמד. I will put that in as soon as I find proper sources ( if you can help me with the sources that would be great ). – MTL Nov 25 '14 at 23:20
  • YD 157 is the locus classicus – Double AA Nov 26 '14 at 06:12
  • @DoubleAA Thanks! I'll take a look at it sometime today. – MTL Nov 26 '14 at 16:08
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    +1, although there was a camp of Rishonim who held you could give up your life rather than violate any mitzvah. – Y     e     z Nov 26 '14 at 18:48
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    @YeZ Who were they? ( I could integrate them into this answer, or you could post your own; whichever you prefer ) – MTL Nov 26 '14 at 19:12
  • I don't believe I will add שעת השמד to the answer -- it's really a separate topic. Maybe as a new question.... – MTL Dec 14 '14 at 05:33
  • I'm not going to downvote this answer, because it isn't wrong, but it is severely incomplete. Firstly, you give sources from the Shulchan Aruch and afterwords that state that you cannot choose Shabbos over life, but you don't actually give a reason (there's a machlokes in the achronim as to how to understand this din, if it's an extension of וחי בהם or לא תעמוד על דם רעך). Secondly, the Shulchan Aruch does pasken like the Rambam, but the Baalei Tosfos thought that one is allowed to die instead of violating shabbos, and one can find such an opinion in later sources arguing with the S"A – הנער הזה Jan 05 '15 at 13:35
  • @Matt There was some discussion about the actions of some of those Baalei haTosfos over here; I think this answer accurately represents the modern implementation of halacha. I haven't seen later sources that argue on S"A regarding this halacha, but I haven't researched the topic in much depth. Do you have מראה מקומות? – MTL Jan 05 '15 at 14:23
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    Mainly teshuvos (like the teshuva of the maharam rottenburg) but I think there's a hint in a tosfos in Sanhedrin as well. Again, I'm not downvoting since I think your right that your answers reflects the modern psak, but I'd hope for better for a +20 answer getting a bounty.... (A general gripe I have on the Judaism.SE is that I don't think points are good judgements of an answer's value since the site doesn't have a large enough population of people who'd be familiar with relevant sugyos... I feel like there's no use in my writing my own more complete answer since it won't out-vote yours) – הנער הזה Jan 05 '15 at 14:32
  • (Sorry making a random compliant on your answer, I'll upvote it to make up for that) – הנער הזה Jan 05 '15 at 14:33
  • @Matt I won't tell you what to do with your votes :) ....if you have more specific מראה מקומות on this topic, I'd love to see them. – MTL Jan 05 '15 at 20:43
  • I don't have it on me now (maybe try Kesuvos 33a, by Chananiah Mishael and Azariah) but I know the Kesef Mishnah quotes them (Hil. Yesodei Hatorah 5:2 I believe, or 5:4) – הנער הזה Jan 05 '15 at 20:46
  • My Rebbe has an awesome explanation of this machlokes too (which is why I remember it), he was medayek that the Rambam holds that one can't volunteer for a mitzvah because במקום פקוח נפש, there's no mitzvah; it's like allowing oneself to die for no reason at all. But according to Rashi/Tosfos, a Jewish life is greater than a mitzvah, but if you decide that you want to value a mitzvah more, יתכן that it's permitted – הנער הזה Jan 05 '15 at 20:49
  • @Matt I remembered someone making a diyuk from Tosefos to Kesubos 3b. I tried to find it this morning, but I couldn't remember where it was. Does that sound at all familiar? – Y     e     z Jan 09 '15 at 05:11
  • @YeZ I hear the diyuk, that the women who were tznuos were allowed to give up their lives, but I don't think it's correct – הנער הזה Jan 09 '15 at 05:15
  • @Matt One of the gedolei ha'acharonim makes the diyuk, but I don't remember who. And I think it was more involved than that. – Y     e     z Jan 09 '15 at 05:17
  • @YeZ sorry I thought you meant you just heard it from "around". I've seen the diyuk not from tosfos, but from Rashi's explanation of צנועות, but that's too involved for a comment – הנער הזה Jan 09 '15 at 05:19
  • @yeZ but bekitzur, Rabbeinu Crescas says there that the women wouldn't be called tznuos if they're giving up their lives unnecessarily, and the Ra'ah seems to agree, so achronim think that Rashi (and maybe Ritva) disagree – הנער הזה Jan 09 '15 at 05:22
  • It may be worth noting in this answer that it doesn't matter if the person in danger is a gentile (at least, as far as I know...) – SAH Feb 17 '15 at 15:49
  • @SAH I wasn't asking about me (let's say I'm a doctor, which I'm not) sacrificing someone else's life; the question here is about a patient sacrificing his own life. Gentiles are, in fact, not allowed to keep Shabbos. – MTL Feb 19 '15 at 20:39