Breaking Yom Tov to Obtain Vital Medication

Question

If I discover during a multi-day Yom Tov that I am out of my medication that I take to prevent seizures, does that justify breaking Yom Tov and driving to the pharmacy to obtain a refill? If I were to miss a dose or two, the chance I could have a seizure is very slim, but it exists. And if I did have a seizure, the chance that I could die or cause someone else’s death is very slim, but it exists. It is perhaps a 1 in 10,000 chance, but that is still greater than nothing. The only way I can get these pills is to go in person to the pharmacy, which is too far to be a practical walk. And I cannot get a non-Jew to do it for me either.

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    Without trying to sound facetious, it seems to me that the most obvious answer is to ensure that you never run out of medications over a Yom Tov period. If it transpires that you have run out and there is no other alternative, it would be permissible to break Yom Tov in order to find more medication. I appreciate that you write that it is not something that a non-Jew could do for you, but you would be obligated to investigate every and any possibility first before you would be permitted to break Yom Tov.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team