Pravda Ne'eman
Maybe I'm missing something but where the 3rd option: give him a bracha and tell him to follow the doctor's advice. Isn't that the most sensible and caring thing to do?
Do you believe this chabadniks in particular, and chassidim in general, deify tzaddikim to the extent Rabbi Oliver does? Or is he perhaps exceptional in his nuttiness?
Chabadniks generally do. Other chasidim don't. Rav Oliver is simply open and honest, not like the shlichim who are worried you won't donate if you think they're nutcases.
I went to school with this dude in Melbourne Australia. He was a nutjob as a kid.
There is a third way. May be suggest that the person gets a second opinion from. A lot of rabbonim are well connected with medical professionals.
May be the child does not need that particular operation or may be there is a better facility to conduct it. This is a very common third way response from rabbonim.
I think it's a great idea to ask your rabbi a shayla about whether or not to have surgery. But then, I also tend to ask my GP when I have questions about kashrus. He's not Jewish, so he's usually maikhel.
Commenting by HaloScan
