**May one be mechalel Shabbos to go to a safe space when a siren sounds?**
**Another question: May a Kohen enter an אהל המת?**
These questions have been addressed by poskim and ultimately hinge on whether the situation constitutes genuine *pikuach nefesh*. I have seen a number of authorities who have ruled that it does.
I obviously do not pasken on *pikuach nefesh* issues, but I wonder: Approximately 500 missiles have been launched, and—*bi-chasdei Hashem!!!*—only about 100 people have been injured (according to an online source I checked).
In a country of roughly ten million people, that means roughly one-fifth of a person injured per missile [!!!]. Is that really *pikuach nefesh*?
The statistical risk of injury appears far higher every time we get into a car—yet we do not treat ordinary driving as *sakanas nefashos*.
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וז"ל החזו"א במכתב אודות אזעקה להכנם למקלט בזמן המלחמה בשעה שיש חשש שמטוס אויב נכנס לשמי ארה"ק ועלול להטיל פצצה במקום כלשהו ברחבי הארץ:
ההודעה לציבור למהר למקלט לפי מצב הנוכחי יש לחשוב להצלת נפשות אך יש ליזהר ממלאכה דאורייתא בכל מאי דאפשר כיון שאין כאן סוף סוף שאלת נפשות לפנינו ואף שאין הולכין אחר הרוב בפקוח נפש מ"מ בדברים רחוקים הרבה מפקוח נפש אין דנים כפקוח נפש, ותלוי כפי מדת הבטחון והמחמיר בכאן אין מוחין בידו. אלא לענין הוראה לרבים יש להורות בזה כדין פקוח נפש ומלאכות דרבנן אין להחמיר כלל והמחמיר במלאכות דאורייתא אינו רשאי להחמיר ולמנוע מלהודיע לאחרים האזעקה רק רשאי להשתמט ושיעשה ע"י אחרים אבל במלאכות דרבנן אין ראוי להשתמט, אך לכבות הנר בבית האפל יש להחמיר שזה בכלל דברים רחוקים הרבה מפקוח נפש ואין כאן גורם בטוח לפקוח נפש במצב הנוכחי דיש כאן יותר מתלתא מי יאמר' עכ"ל תשובות וכתבים חזו''א סי' מ''ח ועי' מעשה איש ח"א עמי קע"ז.
And this is the language of the Chazon Ish in a letter regarding an alarm [siren] to enter a shelter during wartime [Note: One MAY NOT compare then to now as the circumstances are different]:
'At a time when there is a concern that an enemy plane has entered the skies of the Holy Land and is liable to drop a bomb somewhere across the country, notifying the public to hurry to the shelter, according to the current situation, should be considered as saving lives (hatzalat nefashot). However, one must be careful to avoid Torah-level prohibitions (melakha d'Oraita) as much as possible, since, ultimately, there is no immediate question of life and death directly before us.
And even though we do not follow the majority [probability] in cases of pikuach nefesh [meaning we act even on a minor chance of danger], nevertheless, in matters that are very remote from pikuach nefesh, we do not judge them as pikuach nefesh. This depends on one's level of trust [in God] (midat ha-bitachon). If one wishes to be stringent here [and avoid violating Shabbat], we do not protest against him.
However, regarding practical instruction for the general public, one must rule on this matter according to the laws of pikuach nefesh. Regarding Rabbinic prohibitions (melakhot d'Rabbanan), one should not be stringent at all. Furthermore, one who is stringent regarding Torah-level prohibitions is not permitted to be stringent by withholding the notification of the alarm from others; rather, he is only permitted to excuse himself so that the action is done by others. But regarding Rabbinic prohibitions, it is not proper to excuse oneself.
However, regarding extinguishing a light/candle in a dark house [i.e., a wartime blackout so planes don't spot the house], one should be stringent [and not violate Shabbat], because this falls into the category of matters that are very remote from pikuach nefesh. There is no certain cause of pikuach nefesh in the current situation, as there are more than three 'who is to say?'s [i.e., multiple layers of highly improbable doubt].'
Thus far are his words. (Teshuvot U'Ktavim Chazon Ish, Siman 48. And see Ma'aseh Ish, Vol. 1, p. 177, for additional words on this matter)
