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| Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski, ZTL - a expert in his field |
JNS reports about a scholarly study that deals with this question:
The Torah calls for Jews to listen to religious authorities and, above almost everything else, to prioritize their health. When the advice of their rabbis and doctors clash, Haredi Jews navigate the situation in different ways, but they tend to prioritize the views of their religious leaders…
True, the doctors are the ones with medical knowledge. But prioritizing their views is not always the right option.
First, no one thinks that simple medical question requires a rabbinic response. As the title of the article says:
‘When you have a headache, you don’t need to ask’ the rabbi
However, life saving advice should be in the hands of a doctor. No need to ask a rabbi when not taking that advice would lead to death or a deterioration of one’s health. On the other hand elective surgery is different story. When a number of options are presented to a patient that would have more or less the same outcome, one of which is preferred by the doctor - it might be better to consult a rabbi. Halacha does after all have something to say about medical issues. A doctor’s preference might not be the same as the Halachic preference.
I recall a case of a friend where the doctor suggested minor surgery to alleviate a sleep apnea problem. It was not a life threatening situation and the surgery presented minimal risk. My friend was inclined to take his doctor’s advice but decided to first consult with his rabbi.
After explaining his situation in detail, his rabbi told him not to get the surgery. Since even the minimal risk to his health was not worth the gain he would have had by having the surgery. He listened to his rabbi, turned down the surgery, and chose another option to deal with his sleep apnea.
I recall another situation where a young freind was advised by his dentist to undergo a low risk elective procedure (a procedure his dentist had done effortlessly hundreds of times) that required being placed under full anesthesia. He died while under anesthesia during the procedure. A rare occurrence to be sure. But it does happen. Had he asked his rabbi he might have been told not to do it and still be alive today.
Based on Halacha, I believe most rabbis will almost always advise against elective procedures even when there is only a minimal risk.
The key of course is knowledge. Any rabbi that dispenses medical advice without being fully informed is a fraud that ought to exposed for the dangerous rabbinic charlatan that he is.
Mental health is another ball game. The nature of mental illness is that it is difficult to treat under the best of conditions. There is no organ failure to fix or replace. It all about what goes on in the mind. Dealing with mental illness requires therapy, medication, or both. Psychotherapy is not the same as surgery. It opens up a Pandora’s box of religious issues to deal with.
That’s where a rabbi might be the wrong one to consult. I have heard about rabbis that insist on seeing only religious mental health professionals. There are of course religious mental health professionals that are experts in their fields. But the idea of not seeking the best doctor one can find, opting instead for a ‘Frum’ doctor of lesser expertise is criminal in my view. Not getting the best available therapy can have disastrous results for the patient.
The fear of course is that a doctor who is not a religious Jew might blame a mental disorder on religious observance. And their kneejerk first advise might be to stop being observant. This is not to say that religious issues can’t be the source of a mental health issue. But there is a right way to deal with that which should not automatically mean blaming religion. One has to be careful about doctors that might have an anti religion agenda. But because mental illness is so difficult to treat, one must first seek the best experts they can find. Not the Frummest.