Of the many applications of this, the most prominent is the annulment of the laws of Shabbat in circumstances where a Jewish life may be in danger. Halachically it is stated: "Someone who is so sick that his life is in danger, It is a commandment to profane Shabbat for him." () Succinctly put, anything and everything must be done in order to save a persons life even if it requires profaning shabbat. Indeed, it is a "commandment" under such circumstances to profane the Shabbat.
Applications often encountered are: aiding a women in labor; helping someone who may be having a heart attack; rushing a child to the hospital who has had a terrible accident; and taking care of any life threatening wound.
Exceptions made for such sick people involves the use of medical apparatus, medication, or surgical procedures, all of which are absolutely forbidden under normal circumstances.
Often the assistance of a non-health professional will be required in order to save a persons life. The most common of these is phoning for an ambulance, driving the sick to the hospital, and carrying utensils into a public domain which are required by the sick person.
It has further been stated: "One who rushes
Following the same trend of thought; if someone is trapped in a room which has caught
fire it is permissible to break the door down even if the door is broken into useable pieces of wood,
and even if he needs these pieces.()
It has been said by Maimonides that when Shabbat is desecrated
This ruling only refers to these men being of the same proffesional stature as the gentile,
but if the gentile is a better practitioner than the Jew it is better to have the desecration performed
by the gentile.
This suspension of the laws of shabbat is certainly not a blanket approval of all desecration
of shabbat. It is not permitted for a person who is desecrating shabbat for a sick person to perform
additional acts which will serve his own purposes. Examples of this would be to listen to the radio
while driving the car, turning on the car fan, turning off the car's ignition. Additonally, it is forbidden
for a healthy person to eat of the food which was prepared for the gravely ill, even if they are
left-overs.