We have begun learning the guidelines related to emergencies on Shabbat and the circumstances under which one is permitted, and indeed required, to violate Shabbat because of a potential danger to the life of a Jew. The Ohr HaChaim (Shemot 31:13) explains the philosophical basis of this halacha from the verse in Parshat Ki Tisa: "But you shall keep My Shabbatot, because it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I am Hashem, Who sanctifies you" (Shemot 31:13). The Ohr HaChaim explains that this verse teaches that the sanctity of a Jew is even greater than the sanctity of Shabbat, despite the unparalleled importance of Shabbat itself. Since the Torah links the mitzvah of Shabbat to the fact that Hashem sanctifies the Jewish people, it teaches that the holiness bestowed upon Am Yisrael surpasses even the holiness of Shabbat (see Sefer Yichud HaShabbat, vol. 2, for an elaboration of this idea).

This perspective deepens our understanding of why preserving Jewish life overrides Shabbat. Shabbat is among the holiest gifts that Hashem gave us, yet the holiness of the Jewish people is greater still. Every Jew possesses this inherent sanctity, regardless of his or her level of observance or personal failings. The Torah reminds us that while Shabbat serves as the eternal sign of the covenant between Hashem and the Jewish people, the Jewish people themselves occupy an even more elevated place, having been sanctified by Hashem and bound to Him through that covenant. This understanding also explains why, in a situation of pikuach nefesh, setting aside Shabbat is not a compromise in the Torah's values. On the contrary, by preserving the life of a Jew, we are giving expression to the very principle that the sanctity of the Jewish people stands at the heart of the mitzvah of Shabbat itself.

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Dedicated by Fran Broder as a zechus for everlasting peace in Eretz Yisrael in the merit of learning Hilchos Shabbos.