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An Israeli rabbi has ruled that an Orthodox Jewish man in need to receive blood should stay away from blood coming from a woman, non Orthodox Jew or a non Jew, according to a new book released recently.
“Non Orthodox Jews eat bugs, therefore their blood is tainted. Also, as we all know, men and women need to stay segregated, therefore a Jewish man should not receive blood even from a Jewish woman,” the rabbi wrote in his new book called, “With Blood You Shall Live.”
This new religious book deals with Jewish laws with regards to blood donations. “Those people eating bugs and meat from dead animals lose their mind, therefore getting blood from such a person will cause the Orthodox Jew to lose their mind as well,” the rabbi wrote.
According to the book, an Orthodox Jew may receive blood from a non Orthodox Jewish donor only in a life or death situation. The rabbi also writes in the new book that a man cannot take blood from a woman and vice versa.
The new book was written as an ultra-Orthodox Jewish organization called "Lev Malka" is preparing to launch its own blood bank.
The book also cites Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, a leader of the Ashkenazi Jews, who claims that it is forbidden to collect blood from men and women at the same time.
The rabbi also forbids a man and a woman to take blood from each other. Although, if the matter is life or death, it is permitted, only on the condition that the donor and receiver are both single individuals and not married.
“I think these laws go way over the line. Donating blood is a huge mitzvah and when a person is sick and in need of blood we cannot look at these things. These rulings will just make it more difficult for a sick person to receive proper care,” Michael Raab, 32, of Jerusalem, Israel told YourJewishNews.com after reading the new book.
The rabbi also prohibited the collecting of blood inside a yeshiva or synagogue.