לרפואת הרב אברהם יוסף בן חנה הרב יצחק בן ברכה הרב שי בן לאה, חי' חנה בת אורנה אדל בתוך שח"י
The Munkatcher Rebbe [מנחת אלעזר ד' ' מ"ז] wrote that someone who stole money and thereby placed himself in danger and was saved from the danger should not bentch Hagomel. [He explained based on the Gemara BK 61B that just like if one is מוסר נפשו for Divrei Torah we don't say a דבר הלכה in his name and he is not worthy of miracles, so too he shouldn't say Hagomel].
This is difficult. What does it matter why he was endangered. Bottom line - he was saved from danger and that mandates a Hagomel. Rav Ariel Hildsheimer agreed and wrote [סי' כ"ט] that since this person did Teshuva, there is nothing that stands before Teshuva. On the contrary - the Nusach is הגומל לחייבים טובות - who bestows good upon those who are guilty.
If he placed himself in a possible danger for the sake of Divrei Torah, the Munkatcher said that he should make Hagomel. The Netziv in Haamek Davar said that one may enter into a possible danger for the sake of Torah.
The Rivash [א' קע"א] discusses a case of a person who swore not to use his smartphone play chess b/c he was addicted and thought that an oath would help him stop. But his Yetzer overcame him and he walked by the King who knew that he loved chess and challenged him to a game. If he doesn't play the chess game, then he is playing with fire [angry kings have been known to kill for such infractions]... The question was if it was permitted for him to play b/c now he is אנוס? The issue is that now he is אונס but beforehand he was not and he created the אונס on purpose. The Rivash responded that it is permitted just like one who purposely put himself in a state of פיקוח נפש may do an aveirah to save his life. As the Baal Hamaor writes that one who goes on a ship knowing he will be compelled to be מחלל שבת may go.
The Maharil Diskin [סי' ה] was asked about a Russian soldier who had 2 options - To reveal that he has a physical defect which would get him an easier job but he would be compelled to be מחלל שבת or to serve as normal and not be מחלל שבת. The Maharil says that there is a distinction between this case and the ship on Shabbos case. In that case there is a danger in front of us and therefore all is permitted from the get go. While in this case there is no danger in front of us just if he refuses to work he will be in danger which is not permitted. So he may not take the easier job.
He asked on himself from the Gemara in Ksubos [3b] which suggests that we tell the בתולות that sleeping with the Goy is permitted in case of אונס and that she doesn't have to sacrifice her life. So we see that even though she placed herself in this situation by getting married, it is permitted for her to do an aveirah to save herself [and the danger was not in front of us when she got married]. Answered the Maharil that getting married is a mitzva so it is permitted despite the אונס.
A certain person couldn't sleep and this caused him a lot of anguish. The doctor said that he cold give him a shot that would put him to sleep for a few DAYS [!!!] and that would cure him. The problem is that this would mean no davening. Shema etc. for a few days. Is this permitted??
Since there is no פיקוח נפש apparently not. But there are three reasons that it should be permitted:
1] A sleeping person is apparently patur from mitzvos. So he is not being מבטל any mitzvos since he is not obligated. But this is debatable b/c when a person sleeps with Tzitzis he doesn't make a new bracha in the morning b/c there was no הפסק. Even when he was sleeping he was doing a mitzva.
2] When he is sleeping he is אנוס. Just like one may go on a boat journey before Shabbos knowing that he will have to be מחלל שבת b/c of אונס [SA 248-1]. Here too he can knowingly place himself in an אונס circumstance. However we can distinguish that in the boat case when he is מחלל שבת afterwards it will be פיקוח נפש while in our case there will be no פיקוח נפש.
3] For a mitzva one need not pay more than a fifth of his money. For a person who can't sleep - being able to sleep is worth much more than a fifth of his money. So it would be permitted to be מבטל numerous mitvos [if you assume that this rule applies to numerous mitzvos as it does to one mitzva] on order to be able to sleep.
Precedent: The Avnei Nezer was asked [Yo"d 321] about a baby who was born with a crooked leg. If the Bris is done on time then he will remain with this disability. But if it is postponed and a cast is placed in the leg then he will be cured. The Avnei Nezer ruled to postpone the Bris b/c having a crooked leg is worse more than a fifth of one's money.
The Gemara says that if one is married for ten years w/o producing a baby he must get divorced in order to fulfill the mitzva of having children. The question is that getting divorced from a woman he loves is worth more than a fifth of his money, so why must he get divorced?? The Avnei Nezer wrote that in this case he will completely nullify the mitzva if he remains married while in a regular case we allow him not to do the mitzva on a one time basis [such as not taking a lulav that would cast him more than a fifth of his money].
[עפ"י תורת מורנו הגאון רבי אברהם גנחובסקי זצוק"ל]
