Self-Injury and Self-Endangerment
Owing largely to Jewish religious principles, halakhah forbids both injury to others as well as injury to one's self.
Why is self-injury prohibited? In rabbinic Judaism, human beings are not given unfettered autonomy over their bodies and actions; instead, God is considered the creator and owner, while each human serves as a steward for their life. In addition, rabbinic Judaism places the utmost value on human life, including preservation of the living human body, and this value is applied to responsibility to one's self. By the same token, Jewish law forbids suicide and, generally speaking, self-mutilation. Furthermore, just as halakhah sets limits on how much one may place another person, or their property, in danger, so does the law restrict self-endangerment.
Principles of self-injury are applied to more than just one's self. It is noteworthy that a person may not request or hire an agent to injure themselves: it is forbidden to waive the rule against self-injury or to abet self-injury to one's own body. The Mishnah states: "If a person asks, 'Blind my eye', or 'cut off my hand' or 'break my leg,' anyone who does so is liable (for violating injury law) -- even if a person asking to be injured stipulates that anyone who does so would be exempt, the one who causes injury would still be liable. Likewise, if a person asks, 'Tear my clothes' or break my pitcher' then anyone who does so is liable; however, if a person asking for their property to be damages stipulates that anyone who does so would be exempt, then the exemption is valid." (Bava Kamma 8:7)
Given the Jewish disregard for self-injury, rabbinic law also seeks to reduce the extent to which people put themselves into situations of potential danger. However, self-endangerment is difficult to regulate when the chances of harm are either very low, hard to assess, or commonly accepted. In the medieval period, rabbinic authorities differed on whether to restrict activities, such as bloodletting or circumcision, at inauspicious (or superstitious) times. Rabbis eventually overturned such questionable self-endangerment precedents, as when they allowed marriage to a woman who had more than one previous husband die (isha katlanit). In the 20th century, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and other poskim examined whether Jewish law forbids cigarette smoking or whether smoking risks are so commonplace as to be permitted under the principle that "The Lord protects the simple".
Nonetheless, the laws of self-injury are complex because halakhah allows people to harm or endanger themselves in certain circumstances. In Jewish law, several quite different values may be called upon to justify self-injury. Notably, in some cases, people are allowed or even required to endanger themselves in order to save life. As stated in Leviticus 19:16, "Do not stand idly by" when one's fellow is in harm's way. Similarly, Jewish medical ethics expects patients to make an effort to receive adequate medical care, albeit with pain and risk. Furthermore, halakhah recognizes that there is no free lunch -- people must expose themselves to occupational hazards in order to make a livelihood (parnassah). For example, the Bible mentions hazardous work and Talmudic literature sanctions jobs that require perilous sea crossings or caravan journeys. In the modern era, Rabbi Ezekiel Landau is cited for his limited approval of wild animal hunting for livelihood. Finally, as in Christianity and Islam, Judaism makes exceptions for self-injury in cases of theological or communal crisis, even to the point of martyrdom.
Read more about this topic: Damages (Jewish Law)