Is it permissible to call, during Yom Kippur, a relative of a person who is in distress? The founder of Yad Sarah, Uri Lupolianski, presented this week an interesting ruling from Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zts”l and which implies that it is indeed permissible to do so.

“We asked Rabbi Elyashiv what to do when there is a call to a distress center on Shabbat, a holiday and even on Yom Kippur, and the person calling is in a dangerous situation and has asked to inform a relative such as a son or daughter,” said Lupolianski.

“The rabbi replied that the relative should be informed, because the relative can come over and calm down the patient,” he added. “In addition, by coming over the relative can ensure the patient receives good treatment and can inform doctors of the specific problems and the medication the patient is taking.”