Life-Threatening Matters According to the Ben Ish Chai

Life-Threatening Matters

The Sages said (Tractate Chullin 10): “Danger is more serious than a prohibition”—when there is a possibility of danger to life, it must be treated more seriously than the possibility of violating a prohibition. Every person is obligated to protect himself and his family members from all possible threats to life and health, even when their actual danger is uncertain. Although in several places in Scripture we find reassuring statements, such as “The L-rd protects the simple” (Tehillim 116:6), nevertheless, a person should not rely on miracles (Tractate Pesachim 64), for if a miracle is performed for him, it is at the expense of diminishing his merits (Tractate Ta’anit 20). A person should protect himself in every way possible, and the L-rd, blessed be He, will not withhold goodness from him. The following are matters one should beware of in order to avoid harm to one’s health and all manner of damage, according to the Torah and the Sages of the Talmud. 1. The Torah warns (Devarim 22:8): “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you will not bring bloodguilt upon your house, should anyone fall from it.” This is a positive commandment, one of the 613 mitzvot, according to which a person is obligated to enclose the roof of his home with a railing. 2. One should be careful not to eat meat and fish together, as this may lead to leprosy. Between eating fish and meat, one should wash one’s hands and rinse one’s mouth, or eat a piece of bread moistened with liquid. It is also advisable to drink water or another beverage, so that the fish and meat will not come into contact with the walls of the stomach at the same time, as mentioned by the Shelah HaKadosh. Meat should certainly not be cooked or fried together with fish. The same precautions that apply to the meat of livestock and other animals should also be applied to poultry. This is discussed in detail in Shiurei Berachah 116:8. 3. Water, wine, milk, honey, brine, and fish sauce that were kept in an uncovered vessel were prohibited by the Sages out of concern that a snake may have drunk from the vessel and left its venom in it. Although the Maran wrote that this danger does not exist nowadays, the Acharonim maintain that we should continue observing these precautions even today. Such water may be used for washing. 4. One should beware of water in a house located near a corpse. All the water in the house where a person died, as well as the water in the second and third houses on either side of it, must be poured out. Rabbeinu Chida, the Gaon, writes about this in Birkei Yosef (section 339). It is forbidden to wash one’s hands or launder clothing with this water. 5. One should be careful with water during the period of the Tekufot (the change of seasons)—for more details, see the website: Arba Tekufot – The Secret of the Changing of the Four Seasons   6. If a Jew rented a house from another Jew and affixed mezuzot there, he should not remove them when moving out. Failure to do so may lead to the loss of his children. (Tractate Bava Metzia 102) If a Jew rented a house from a non-Jew and another Jew will move in after him, he should not remove the mezuzot. However, if a non-Jew will move in, he should remove them and take them with him. 7. The Gemara (Tractate Berachot 55) says that if a person is given a Torah scroll to read but does not read from it, or is given a cup of wine over which to recite a blessing but does not bless, his days are shortened. This also applies to someone who sees a Torah scroll being carried but does not stand before it. (“Chuppat Eliyahu Rabbah”) 8. It is stated (Tractate Pesachim 111): “A person should not walk barefoot through water spilled on the ground; however, if the water has been covered with earth or sand, one may walk through it.” 9. Anyone who puts on shoes while his feet are still damp after washing is exposed to the danger of blindness. 10. Tractate Pesachim 111 states that one who hangs a basket containing bread brings poverty upon himself. Bagels and similar baked goods should likewise not be hung on strings. 11. In places where bread is sold or prepared, crumbs often accumulate on the floor. One must not walk on them; the floor should be swept thoroughly and the crumbs thrown into the oven. 12. The Gemara (Tractate Shabbat 113) says: “A person should not take excessively large steps when walking [more than an amah (40–50 centimeters)], because this harms the eyesight.” 13. Tractate Tamid (part 1) states that someone who restrains himself from relieving himself may become ill; this applies both to defecation and urination. In addition, he violates the prohibition of bal teshaktzu—“do not make yourselves detestable.” 14. Tractate Kiddushin 59 states: “A person should not sell the first parcel of land he ever purchased, as this is an unfavorable sign.” 15. It is likewise not good for a person to sell his ancestral inheritance, as Navot said to Ahab (Melachim I 21:3). 16. The Gemara (Tractate Bava Kamma 93) states: “It is forbidden to cut down a fruit-bearing tree.” If the space occupied by the tree is needed, see Chaim Sha’al I; a person should make use of a non-Jew’s services, as advised by the Chatam Sofer. 17. A Jew should not invoke the forces of Heavenly judgment against another Jew by saying, “Let the L-rd judge between me and you,” when they are already involved in litigation on earth. 18. Tractate Berachot 19 states that a person should not “open his mouth before Satan” by speaking about misfortune and inviting calamity. 19. Tractate Sanhedrin 104 states that when a person is speaking with someone and mentions a misfortune, he should say: “Lo aleichem” (“May it not befall you”), as it is said in Eicha 1:12: “May it not happen to you, all you who pass by.” 20. The Gemara (Tractate Berachot 20) says that to rid himself of the evil eye (ayin hara) that has suddenly afflicted him, a person should say: “I am descended from the offspring of Yosef,” and recite “Ben Porat Yosef” (Bereishit 49:22)—for more details about this segula, see here: Ben Porat Yosef - A Prayer Against the Evil Eye From the Torah 21. Rabbeinu Chida advises that a person afflicted suddenly by ayin hara should add three passages to the two passages from Tractate Berachot and recite the following “chamsa” (five pesukim):

• Tractate Berachot 20 אני בא מצאצאי יוסף—“Ani ba mitza’etza’ei Yosef” (“I am descended from the offspring of Yosef”);
• Bereishit 49:22       בֵּ֤ן פֹּרָת֙ יוֹסֵ֔ף בֵּ֥ן פֹּרָ֖ת עֲלֵי־עָ֑יִן בָּנ֕וֹת צָעֲדָ֖ה עֲלֵי שֽׁוּר—“Ben porat Yosef, ben porat alei ayin, banot tsa’adah alei shur” (“Yosef is a fruitful son, a fruitful son by a spring”);
• Bereishit 25:27 וְיַעֲקֹב֙ אִ֣ישׁ תָּ֔ם יֹשֵׁ֖ב אֹהָלִֽים—“Ve-Yaakov ish tam yoshev ohalim” (“And Yaakov was a wholesome man, dwelling in tents”);
• Tehillim 5:8 וַאֲנִ֗י בְּרֹ֣ב חַ֭סְדְּךָ אָב֣וֹא בֵיתֶ֑ךָ אֶשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֥ה אֶל־הֵֽיכַל־קָ֝דְשְׁךָ֗ בְּיִרְאָתֶֽךָ—“Va’ani berov chasdecha avo veitecha, eshtachaveh el heichal kodshecha beyiratecha” (“But I, through Your abundant kindness, enter Your house; I bow toward Your holy sanctuary in awe of You”);
• Bamidbar 24:2 וַיִּשָּׂא בִלְעָם אֶת עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל שֹׁכֵן לִשְׁבָטָיו וַתְּהִי עָלָיו רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים—“Vayisa Bil’am et einav vayar et Yisrael shochen lishvatav vatehi alav ruach Elokim” (“Bilaam lifted his eyes and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, and the spirit of G-d came upon him”).

For more details, see here: 5 Verses of Rabbeinu Hida Against Ayin Hara—Corresponding to the “Hamsa” [Protection from the spirit of impurity] 22. No cooked food or drink should be placed under a bed, because a spirit of impurity descends upon it there, even if it is covered with a metal lid. One should also beware of doing this with raw food. 23. Rabbi Chaim Palagi prohibited placing food under a table as well. 24. One should not clean one’s teeth with a splinter of reed, even if the reed grows on the shore of a lake. (Tosefet Shabbat 6) 25. One may not eat garlic, onion, or an egg that has remained peeled overnight. If part of the peel or shell remains, it may be eaten. 26. One should beware of human sweat entering the mouth, as it is like poison to the body, except for sweat from the face, which poses no danger. To remember this rule, the verse is used: “By the sweat of your face shall you eat bread” (Bereishit 3:19). Therefore, a person should be careful not to touch any part of his own body or another person’s body with his lips or tongue (except the face), so as not to ingest sweat and harm his health. For the same reason, one should not place fruit or other food between the body and clothing, put money in one’s mouth, or place one’s palms in one’s armpits. (“Shulchan Gavoah” 116:13) 27. Tractate Ketubot (61:1) states that if a person sees food that arouses his appetite and salivates as a result, he should not swallow the saliva but spit it out, as it may harm him. 28. Tractate Shabbat (75:2) states that if a person’s blood has been spilled, he must immediately bury it in the earth, because if a cat drinks it, the person may become weak. This should also be remembered when leeches are used to draw blood or when a person suffers a nosebleed. 29. Tractate Chullin (105) states that a person should not sit beneath a drainpipe descending from a roof. 30. Tractate Yoma (78) warns that one may not sleep while wearing shoes. 31. Tractate Yoma (84:1) states that eating hot wheat bread poses a danger of fever. The Jerusalem Talmud also warns about this in Tractate Shabbat (1:10): Hot bread פת חמה brings heat and fever חמתה.  [Things that harm the memory]  32. One should not eat food that a mouse or cat has eaten from. 33. One should also not eat the heart of cattle (behemah). 34. One should not make a habit of eating olives. 35. One should not drink water left over after washing. 36. One should not wash one foot over the other. 37. One should not place clothing at the head of the bed. 38. One must not pass between two women, camels, or dogs when they are positioned opposite one another and the person passes between them alone. However, if another person passes alongside him, this will cause no harm. Likewise, if one dog is sitting on an elevated surface and the other is on the floor below, and the elevation is higher than the dog’s height, it is also safe. The same applies to two women. In addition, in all the situations listed above, if the distance between the two objects facing one another is at least four amot (approximately 180 cm), one may pass between them without concern. 39. The “Testament” of Rabbi Yehudah HaChassid states: “One may not demolish an oven or stove [in a house, used for cooking] in order to use the space for other purposes” (section 60). 40. One may not completely seal up a window or doorway without leaving at least a small opening (section 23). 41. One may not sprinkle hot ashes over excrement (section 67). 42. One may not place a hen on eggs to hatch chicks inside the house (section 67). 43. Rabbeinu Ari states in Sha’ar Ruach HaKodesh: “A person should not look at the dead or crucified.” 44. One should distance himself from the smell of carrion and likewise avoid other foul odors, because they harm the soul (nefesh). 45. One should not put on two garments simultaneously with one inserted inside the other, as this may lead to memory loss. 46. One should not interlock the fingers of the hands by inserting the right hand into the left. 47. One should not extinguish a candle by blowing on it. 48. It is advisable always to hold the forearms forward, rather than allowing them to face backward; this is beneficial for a person.   (Based on the book by the Ben Ish Chai, “A Code of Torah Laws According to the Weekly Torah Portions: Vayikra, Bamidbar, Devarim”)