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Since hav'arah (i.e. sparking a new fire) is only de-rabbanan on yom tov (according to some opinions), should there be more halakhic leeway for driving to obtain medical care on a holiday (not on Shabbath)?

Why or why not? Please cite your sources.

msh210
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  • Havarah is only derabbanan on Yom Tov? News to me. – Micha Berger Oct 18 '15 at 00:00
  • @Micha Berger - Well, maybe you should get out more. The nature of the prohibition is, at the very least, debated by the poseqim. See the discussions of this point on ein mossi'in. And, from my own persepctive, it seems that the Rambam holds that it is a shevuth. The Raavad argues that it is an actual melakhah of molid. Shavua` tov. –  Oct 18 '15 at 01:57
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    http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/20430/borer-and-grinding-on-yom-tov-and-other-melachoth-that-are-ochel-nefesh#comment48235_20430 Why would you think driving would be prohibited for a ChShEBS? – Double AA Oct 18 '15 at 03:49
  • Re "hav'arah (i.e. sparking a new fire)": Hav'ara is mutar for tzorech yom tov AFAIK; the prohibition on a new fire is not hav'ara but molid (which, as you note, is d'rabanan). I may well be mistaken, though. – msh210 Oct 18 '15 at 04:20
  • Havarah, molid, whatever. Using one word over the other already implies a position. –  Oct 18 '15 at 04:57
  • The Chida deduces from the Rambam that molid is derabbanan on Yom Tov, but most do not (eg the Kaf haChaim), and most rishonim don't even hint at the possibility. This was asked and answered at http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/22289/can-i-light-a-new-fire-on-yom-tovB – Micha Berger Oct 18 '15 at 12:36
  • See the Rambam, Hil Yom Tov 1:5. And the Raavad's reply, it sheds light on what the Raavad is saying here.

    The Yerushalmi has a machloqes whether the "could have been done before" rule applies act-wise or melakhah wise -- do we allow any food prep that could not have been done as well before YT, or any melakhah that typically couldn't, even in cases where

     – Micha Berger Oct 18 '15 at 12:44
  • So, what exactly are you saying here? Are you trying to prove that you were correct in your initial [sarcastic] remark? Or are you trying to prove that my understanding of the Rambam is incorrect? Either way, I think that you should answer the question. And if you want to answer the question of whether it is a Biblical or Rabbinic prohibition, then you should post an answer on that question. Kol tuv. –  Oct 18 '15 at 15:08
  • @MichaBerger - There are, in fact, many (composed of both rishonim and aharonim) who understand the Rambam this way and are poseq accordingly, not the least which is the Radvaz (שו"ת סי' אתקכ"ג), who maintains that the only reason is dawqah because of hakhanah mi-ba-`erev to the point that one who is held captive or in a midbar and never had the chance to prepare a fire before YT, may do so on YT through whatever means are available and use it to cook, bake, etc. Even though the gemara use the term molidh, it is debated whether this was to be taken literally... –  Oct 19 '15 at 20:08
  • ...In the commentary of Rav Yosef Qafih z"l (see Hilkhoth Shevitath Yom Tov 4:1, oth א), he explains - in light of the explicit Yerushalmi that the reason that Rambam did NOT use the term molidh as was in the gemara (thus spurring the comment of the Raavad) was because it would only serve to be misleading in this case. He says that molidh is being used in a more general sense of le-holidh or le-hamssi ("to bring forth"), and NOT in the sense of Hilkhoth Shabbat. His explanation there is completely thorough and leaves no doubt as to the Rambam's intention. Kol tuv. –  Oct 19 '15 at 20:13
  • @MichaBerger - One notable modern-day poseq who [apparently] understands the Rambam this way is Rav Yitzchak Abadi, who holds that if one lit or started their oven before YT with the intention of preparing it before YT, if it should go out for any reason (or, more commonly, due to a safety feature of the oven) - then one is allowed to relight it on YT for the purposes of okhel nefesh. Kol tuv. –  Oct 19 '15 at 20:16

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