Pikuach Nefesh and “the Majority”
In his letter, The Accepted Practice vs the Majority Opinion, Rabbi Refael Szendro takes apart the most common answer people give when asked to justify vaccinating: “we follow the majority.” That’s usually the conversation stopper. But what if we ask “majority of what?” Then we learn that the majority opinion isn’t really what it’s purported to be.
Rabbi Szendro writes:
How does a Rabbi justify making a decision which affects the lives of so many people medically and spiritually, when it would appear that they have no idea what they’re talking about? Usually, a Rabbi is expected to understand the facts of the case before giving a ruling or making a decision. The excuse they always give to this troublesome question is that we go with the majority. . . . (p.1)
He argues that a majority only counts when it is an informed majority opinion, meaning a position actually grounded in the science. When most doctors do what they were taught, parroting the CDC and HHS, it is not a majority opinion at all. It is accepted practice.
First, we need to establish what it means to “follow the majority”. The only way we would ever do that is if you had the majority opinion. It isn’t enough to just have the majority, because then it simply becomes “the accepted practice.” (p.2)
The accepted practice masquerading as majority opinion is not a new concept. In parts 1 and 2, Rabbi Szendro shows through history and science that accepted practices have been wrong many times before. Finally, he shows us through halacha that we do not blindly follow the “majority opinion” or “accepted practice.”
According to ד’ סע תריח’ ס ח”או] ערוך שלחן], when you have 2 doctors who say that there’s a risk of death, even if 100 doctors say there’s no risk, we listen to the 2 doctors. The משנה ברורה explains:
“ולא אזלינן בתר רב דעות בסכנת נפשות“
Are vaccines safe? We have a ערוך שלחן בפירוש telling us that when it comes to פיקוח נפש, we don’t follow the majority. (p.11)
Rabbi Szendro’s The Accepted Practice vs the Majority Opinion here.
