Doctors destined for Gehenna? – Ask the Rabbi
Q. Why does the Mishnah have such a low opinion of doctors that it says, “The best of the physicians is destined for Gehenna”?
A. The Mishnah is not being mischievous, cynical or provocative, but warning doctors to recognise their awesome responsibility and human limitations.
Doctors do not deal with ciphers or pawns but with human life. Their judgments affect not only the immediate patient but whole families and indeed the entire community for generations to come, or possibly generations that will never come to birth if a doctor’s deeds or diagnosis should so ordain it.
The doctor’s work demands a liberal dose of humility, compassion and conscience. For should a doctor make an error of judgment, there may be account and reckoning before the law; there will certainly be answerability to the Heavenly Physician in the World to Come.
