Commentary for Avodah Zarah 55:12
דרבי יוחנן רופא מומחה הוה דרבי אבהו נמי רופא מומחה הוה שאני רבי אבהו דמוקמי ביה מיני בנפשייהו (שופטים טז, ל) תמות נפשי עם פלשתים
The one [who attended] R. Yohanan was an expert physician. R. Abahu’s [doctor] was also an expert physician! It was different in the case of R. Abahu, for heretics establish within themselves the attitude of “let me die with the Philistines” (Judges 16:30).
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
There are two versions of what types of wounds should not be healed by a non-Jew. The first is the type of wound that may be healed on Shabbat—meaning a life-threatening one. The second is an internal wound.
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Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
R. Abahu’s doctor tried to kill him even though he is an expert physician because he was not just a non-Jew, he was a heretic (he may have been a Christian). The enmity of this group against the Jews is sufficient that they would be willing to die in order to cause them harm, just as Samson was willing to kill himself in order to kill the Philistines.
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