Shabbat: Waiting for Call from Doctor
Question
Suppose one has to receive a call from a physician on Shabbat in a situation that is pikuach nefesh. While awaiting the call, their phone rings, but they don’t know who is calling. They pick up the phone, thinking it might be the doctor, but it turns out to be someone else. In this situation, is one required to simply hang up without explaining themselves? Or do you spend a few moments on the phone during Shabbat explaining to the caller that you cannot talk because you are waiting for a call from the doctor?
Answers
If the caller is Jewish the correct thing to do is to hang up without speaking. That way you minimize their Shabbat transgressions. If the caller is not Jewish you should explain that you are waiting for a very important call from the doctor and that you cannot speak now.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team
How about if you don’t know whether or not the caller is Jewish (which is often the case)?
You should just let them know that you are expecting an urgent phone call from the doctor and hand up immeadiately.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team