Moot Beit Din | 2021

Brandeis Division

Herzliah Secondary School

Montreal, Québec

(Canada)

Eyal Weintroub

Daniel Korman

Liam Ochayon

Joey Mamane

Factum:
 ➢ Shaarey Shomayim is piravetly and jewishly owned

➢ A safe and tested vaccine is developed and mass produced to combat Covid-19

➢ There are 100 doses of the vaccine

➢ Most of the residents are jewish

➢ The residents are eldery and unwell

➢ Canada has a severe lack of vaccines

➢ All the doses must go to one of the parties

➢ Both parties demand that they get the vaccine and demand it

➢ The vaccine will either be given to all the nurses or the residents who need it the

most

Introduction

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 In the year 2019, a deadly unexpected virus hit the world. Due to certain regulations to

resolve and eliminate the virus The economy in several countries was severely damaged. A

societal panic has been developed and many unusual/uncomfortable protocols have been

initiated. Restaurants started closing, people were losing their jobs, students started doing online

courses instead of going to school and the situation continued on going downhill from there. It

was clear that a vaccine was necessary to stop Covid-19. Hundreds of hospitals and companies

spent restless months discovering the vaccine and in the spring of 2021, a safe and effective

vaccine has been founded. The global population clamored to get their share. Disputes within

Canada broke out between different groups. This case revolves around a dispute between the

nurses, the petitioners and the residents over the order of vaccination in the senior residents'

house Shaarei Shomayim. There are a multitude of reasons why the petitioners should get the

vaccine: 1) the order of treatment by the jewish laws, 2) the petitioners request is best for

the community and the public and 3) the prioritization of one’s own self being above all.

1) Order of Treatment by Jewish Laws

“Both note that it is difficult to apply the rules of the Mishnah to Pikuach Nefesh in

contemporary society.”1 This source opposes a Mishnah list of priorities 2 which put jewish

elderly people above all, and states that we cannot follow them in life threatening situations.

From this it is important to note that there is no priority based on your religion or age. Instead it

is based on different criteria such as health and the possible contribution to society. “.‫שסיכוייו‬

1 The ethics of vaccine distribution by Rabbi Joshua flug

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‫ קודם לאלו שהסיכויים הרפואיים‬.‫ הוא‬,‫הרפואיים טובים יותר לשרוד את הטיפול ולהפיק תועלת מהטיפול להצלתו‬

‫”שלהם קלושים‬3 According to Rabbi Avraham Steinberg, a treatment should be given to the person

with the higher chances of survival. It is a fact that the vaccine could be given either to the

hundred residents in the most critical situation or to the nurses. According to the Rabbi Avraham

Steinberg, the vaccine should be given to the nurses since they have a much higher chance for

survival. The elderly already have many different health detriments compared to the healthy

nurses. “R. Herschel Shachter suggests that the Mishnah is really telling us that we should

prioritize who is going to contribute more to society.” 4 Based on this principle, the nurses, who

have much to contribute to society compared to the residents, should in fact be prioritized over

the senior residents.

2) the Best Way to Help the Community and the Public

In the torah, God says “.‫”ושמרת את מצוותי ואת חוקותי‬5 This translates to “We need to follow

his rules” but as we can see in the parshanut for Vayikra 18 Padua 5 by Aderet Eliyahu, nothing

is more important than preserving your own life. The Mishnah even comes to compare the life of

one person to that of the entire world6. To protect other people's lives, we are even instructed to

build a railing above our house so that we can save, in the future, people from danger 7. This is

the same for vaccinating the nurses instead of the elderly. Models have shown that vaccinating

the elderly is not the best way to protect them8, they will only get half of the antibodies compared

3 The coronavirus pandemic by R. professeur avraham steinberg

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to a younger person. Instead it has been shown that vaccinating the surrounding community

would better protect them. Rabbi Shmuel talks about how to deal with burning pieces of wood or

metal in public9. From this discussion we can learn that the welfare of the community is more

important than that of the individual. If we give the vaccine to the 100 least healthy residents, it

will not be of much help to those individuals and definitely not to the community. It would be a

waste because these elders aren’t in the best condition. In contrast, giving the vaccines to nurses

will protect them for a longer time compared to the residents since they’re younger than the

elders and would be much more beneficial to the whole community if the nurses receive the

vaccine.

3) the Prioritization of One's Own Self Being Above All

Although the Mishnah tells us that nothing is more important than saving a person's life,

it describes a situation with limited sources and multiple sides “until Rabbi Akiva came and

taught that the verse states: ‘And your brother shall live with you,’ indicating that your life takes

precedence over the life of the other.”10 As we can see a person should save himself first. In

addition the Gemara even states that a person should be punished for risking their own life 11.

Even though this is very different from the modern doctors’ values, it is very similar to a

situation where when a plane crashes and if you are in an emergency, it goes into a critical state

and masks will be dropped from the ceiling for oxygen. The airline specifically tells you to put

on your mask first no matter who the person next to you is. The Gemara has a similar opinion on
9 Kirah chapter 3 shabbos 42a

10 Eizsheu Neshech chapter 5 Bava Metzia 62 a

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the matter as we can infer. This is a direct correlation to the nurses in the senior resident house.

They should save their lives first, before the lives of the residents. In order to work to actually

save lives, they must be in proper medical condition. They need to be healthy with no underlying

conditions or any conditions that can affect the people they’re trying to help. The same goes for

Covid-19. They need the vaccine so that they are capable of helping the elders. While the

residents receiving the vaccine will protect one hundred of them, if all the nurses receive it, not

only will that protect them, but it will allow them to continue on working and helping the senior

residents who will suffer harshly without them.

Conclusion

All in all, the choice for who should receive the vaccine is clear cut. According to the

Torah, Mishnah, Gemara, the official jewish/modern law and one’s own reasoning, the vaccine

should go to the petitioners. These sources repeatedly show that the petitioners should be

prioritized for receiving the vaccine for several important reasons. The first reason can be found

in the order of treatment in the jewish law/ according to many sources including rabbi’s and the

mishnah, we have shown that the correct order of vaccination indeed put the petitioners first and

only after them being treated, should a treatment be given to the residents. The second reason is

very intuitive. Before being able to save other individuals, one must first help himself. Between

them helping countless others and being immensely exposed to the virus compared to the

residents they should be the ones to be given the vaccine first. The last reason that can be found

repeatedly in the mishnah is That the most important thing is the wealthfare of the public, not

the individual. As we have shown models and studies have been created, that show that giving

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the vaccine won’t help them as much individually and definitely not to the surrounding

community, as supporting the surrounding public to shield the seniors off.

Addendum:

❖ The ethics of vaccine distribution by Rabbi Joshua flug

➢ “Both note that it is difficult to apply the rules of the Mishnah to Pikuach

Nefesh in contemporary society.”

➢ “R. Herschel Shachter suggests that the Mishnah is really telling us that

we should prioritize who is going to contribute more to society.”

❖ Kohen Mashiach chapter 3 Horayos 13a

❖ Vayikra 18 :

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 ➢ “‫”ושמרת את מצוותי ואת חוקותי‬

❖ Aderet eliyahu on vayikra 18, 5

❖ Echad dinei mamonos sanhedrin 37a

❖ Devarim 22

❖ Kirah chapter 3 shabbos 42a

❖ The coronavirus pandemic by R. professeur avraham steinberg

➢ “.‫ הוא‬,‫שסיכוייו הרפואיים טובים יותר לשרוד את הטיפול ולהפיק תועלת מהטיפול להצלתו‬

‫”קודם לאלו שהסיכויים הרפואיים שלהם קלושים‬

❖ Eizsheu Neshech chapter 5 Bava Metzia 62 a

➢ “until Rabbi Akiva came and taught that the verse states: ‘And your

brother shall live with you,’ indicating that your life takes precedence over

the life of the other.”

❖ Hilchot Rozeach Ushmirat Nefesh chapter 11