- When do you determine that someone has died in a collapsed building?
The Mishnah on Daf 83a brought the halachos related to מי שנפלה עליו מפלת – a person upon who a building collapsed on him on Shabbos. It was taught in a Baraisa on this Daf, when cleaning rubble from a victim, עד היכן הוא בודק – up to where on the person’s body does one examine to see whether he is still alive? Rashi explains that the case is where the victim is not moving and appears to be dead. The Gemara answers, עד חוטמו – up to his nose. Rashi explains that if there is no breathing, he is certainly dead and should be left there until after Shabbos. ויש אומרים עד לבו – And some say: up to his heart, to determine if there is a heartbeat. בדק ומצא עליונים מתים לא יאמר כבר מתו התחתונים – If one checked and found the bodies in the top layer of the heap to be dead, he should not say that the lower ones have certainly died already. Rather one should continue to clear away the rubble on the chance that those in the bottom of the heap are still alive.
- The source that פיקוח נפש דוחה את השבת
The Gemara brings a Baraisa that presents several opinions regarding the source for the halachah that פיקוח נפש דוחה את השבת – saving a life is docheh Shabbos. The last opinion is that of Rebbe Shimon ben Menasya, who brings the passuk that states, ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת לעשות את השבת לדרתם – Bnei Yisroel shall observe Shabbos, in order to perform the Shabbos throughout the generations. אמרה תורה חלל עליו שבת אחת כדי שישמור שבתות הרבה – The Torah said: Be mechallel one Shabbos by saving his life, so that he may observe many Shabbosim. Rav Yehudah said in the name of Shmuel: Had I been there among the Tannaim discussing this, I would have said that my source is better than theirs. It says in the passuk, – You shall guard My decrees and My laws that man shall carry them out וחי בהם – and by which he shall live. This implies, ולא שימות בהם – But he should not die on their account. We see from here that the saving of a life overrides any commandment, aside from the three cardinal sins. Rava compares Shmuel’s source to the others and shows that they all can be refuted except for Shmuel’s.
- מיתה ויום הכפורים מכפרין עם התשובה
The final Mishnah of the Masechta states, מיתה ויום הכפורים מכפרין עם התשובה – Death and Yom Kippur are mechaper, together with teshuvah. The Gemara infers from this that they are mechaper with teshuvah, but on their own without teshuvah, they are not mechaper. Based on this, the Gemara suggests that the Mishnah is not in accordance with Rebbe, for it was taught in a Baraisa: Rebbe says: על כל עבירות שבתורה בין עשה תשובה בין לא עשה תשובה יום הכפורים מכפר – For all aveiros in the Torah, whether the transgressor did teshuvah or not, Yom Kippur is mechaper, חוץ מפורק עול ומגלה פנים בתורה ומיפר ברית בשר – except for one who throws off the yoke of G-d by denying Hashem, one who acts insolently towards the Torah by ridiculing it , and one who violates bris milah, which Rashi in Sanhedrin explains to mean, that he refuses to be circumcised or pulls the remnant of his orlah over it to conceal it . Yom Kippur is not mechaper if they do not do teshuvah. The Gemara answers that the Mishnah can even follow the view of Rebbe, for although one who does teshuvah before Yom Kippur still requires Yom Kippur, Yom Kippur does not require teshuvah.