CPAP IN ISRAEL

[Tammi]

I've been to Israel twice with my CPAP and twice prior to being diagnosed (total four visits). The only issue I had there was that when I shut the light to go to bed, the power in the electric socket went out. That was solved my using a different socket and the extension cord I packed. As already stated, you'll need an adapter for the type "H" plugs. Unless you're staying in a very old accomodation, you will also be able to use a universal adapter.

Also, if you're staying in a "religious" accommodation, make sure that they won't have an issue with using the CPAP on the Sabbath (Friday night / Saturday morning), or on Jewish Holy Days. Since it is life-saving medical equipment, it should be exempt from this restriction (by religious law), but make sure that's understood.

Make sure that you also have a place to charge your phone (again, you won't need converter, only an adapter).

>>>Is any kind of extension cord acceptable?<<<

[D.H.]

It you have a grounded adapter (or even one that can accommodate a ground pin from your home country), it's best to use the thicker grounded cord. Note that the voltage is double what it is in the U.S., Canada, and most of the Americas. Do not use a North American surge suppressor (which includes many power strips), as it won't handle the voltage there.

[BuckarooBanzai]

CPAP Use by Orthodox Jews

Jewish law, by the most orthodox standards, requires one to do everything possible to save a life, and that includes doing so on the Sabbath. We are required to medically care for ourselves and others on the Sabbath. Hence, there is ALWAYS a way to permit medically necessary treatments on the Sabbath or a holiday. Always.

Here, given what we know about the medical necessity of CPAP therapy, it is permitted to use the device on the Sabbath. The various work-arounds mentioned in previous years, before we all knew just how medically important CPAP therapy is, are not necessary. One may - and should - use one's CPAP on the Sabbath in a normal ordinary fashion.

NB: I am an Orthodox Jew, trained in ultra-Orthodox yeshivas.

[Julie]

But that doesn't mean everything you said isn't true, even for Reform belongers.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Reform Jews do not worry about using electric devices on Shabbat, so there was no need to address them. Orthodox Jews, on the other hand, not only worry about electricity use on Shabbat, but tend to overthink such issues to an extraordinary degree. Therefore, I addressed them in an indirect attempt to get them to use their CPAP machines on Shabbat in an ordinary fashion. The Reform Jews who might read here do not need such a lecture.

[Julie]

Guess I missed the note where the others said they were Reform, or for that matter Orthodox. I was just backing you up, having heard all my life that it's ok to do some things (and, of course, not others), at certain times. Won't do that again.

[ChicagoGranny]

BuckarooBanzai

What did you think about Shtisel?

Gramps and I enjoyed it as much as any family drama we ever watched. But we suspected people of the Jewish faith might not have liked it.

"The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."

[BuckarooBanzai]

Sorry Julie, I may have misunderstood you. I thought perhaps you were feeling left out because I addressed the Orthodox position. I do not worry about my Reform Jewish friends refusing CPAP therapy on Shabbat, which is why I did not mention them.

Hi Granny! I did not see Shtisel. I've lived in the ultra-Orthodox world for so many decades that I am not a TV person. (Although I will admit to streaming Star Trek, especially the new Picard series, LOL.)

"The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." This is actually an Orthodox saying. The problem in the Orthodox world is, some Orthodox people, especially those who come to observance late in life (BTs), frequently grab and hold to the commandments with such ferocity that they forget that G-d wants them to live! They take unnecessary chances with their lives, and that is forbidden.

Another famous Orthodox saying is, "Better to break the Sabbath once in order to preserve many others to come." In other words, if one is in danger - or even in potential danger (or even in potential potential danger) - it is better to break Shabbat that one time in order to ensure you live to observe many others.

And that applies to almost all of the commandments. A good example: During WWII, Jews fleeing the Holocaust or stuck in camps ate non-kosher food. To hold out for kosher food would have meant their death. So, even the most right-wing Orthodox hold that, in such circumstances, one must eat non-kosher food because G-d expects us to do everything possible to stay alive and be healthy.

This wisdom applies to CPAP therapy. If your MD says you need CPAP therapy, you have the din (judgment) of a choleh, a sick person, and everything possible must be done to save you, even (or even especially) on Shabbat. And that means you use your CPAP machine in a normal fashion, just as you would on a weekday or while in hospital.

[Julie]

Bavakasha

[BuckarooBanzai]

How nice to speak with a Hebrew-literate cat.

[Julie]

Meow

[BuckarooBanzai]

Well, now you got me, Julie, 'cause I don't speak cat. You know at least one language more than I do, LOL.

[Janknitz]

Not specifically CPAP related, but here's an example when the rules can be overridden to save lives:

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php? ... id=2062367

[chunkyfrog]

This makes me feel hopeful for mankind.
There is still good in the world.
So much good.

[D.H.]

This one dates back almost two centuries.

In 1848, there was a severe cholera epidemic. Many had died in Europe and beyond.

Rabbi Israel Salanter of Vilna (in modern day Lithuania) insisted the everybody eat on a day when fasting would ordinarily be required. Rather than risk somebody fasting who ought not have, he insisted that nobody fast!

The analogy for CPAP would be that nobody engage in any variety of work-around (such as a timer, a wet towel to defeat auto-off when visiting the rest room, touching the switch with your knuckle, and the like). While some might have success doing this, CPAP compliance among patients - Jewish or otherwise - is abysmally low. CPAP is also a matter of life and death, and no extra impediments ought to be put in the way of compliance.

BTW, I don't think that the wet towel idea would work, but I saw it on the internet.


Link ===> https://www.myjewishlearning.com/articl ... -epidemic/