New York, NY – A tow truck driver from the borough that houses Yankee Stadium, delivered a baby ad hoc in East Harlem, after being flagged down by a New York couple.
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Antonio Paulino was driving his tow truck through East Harlem when a man called his attention and informed him that his wife was going into labor.
“My wife is giving birth,” the man told Paulino, according to the New York Post.
The couple about to receive their child was Orthodox Jewish, and the father to be informed Paulino that it was against his religion for his wife or the baby to be touched by the husband during the birth.
“I reached in and took the baby out,” Paulino told the Post.
The new papa needs some brushing up on hilchos pikuach nefesh.
generally if the wife/baby are in sakona the husband may do what ever he needs in order to help his wife deliver the torah say “vchai buhem”
this husband doesnt begin to know the basics of halacho that life takes precedence over his “far”frumkeit” of not touching his wife when she was about to deliver
then again he may have been in schock not knowing how to handle the situation and under the circumstances did the correct thing of flagging down someone to help him
Time for a new chosson teacher, when you are stuck in middle of Harlem and your wife is struggling with a newborn
Huh? Is this for real?
What are they teaching in yeshivos days?
As a doctor I despair.
Maybe he meant the Halacha maybe not. I think the guy was plain chicken. I know I would be.
What a kiddish Hashem.
Regarding “the borough that houses Yankee Stadium,” is it nivel peh to refer to the borough by its name?
This cant be what the abishter wanted
I defend the husband. Clearly his ignorance of halachah was more than matched by his ignorance in medicine. The further away he was, the better off mother and baby were.
It says East Harlem but Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. East Harlem is in Manhattan.
I would be very reluctant to deliver my wife’s baby even if it was halachically permitted. Can’t speak for other . . .
If the report is correct as to his understanding, the Gemara describes this with two words:
Chasid Shoteh.
Too bad he isn’t allowed to have a cell phone or he could have called 911. There are several hospitals near to where he was.
in gemara under definition of “chosid shoteh” you can find this dads picture…
11 years ago had the same position just in my house. I called hatzolah they told me it was no problem to help my wife. lets just say I panicked is putting it mildly. the hatzolah dispatcher guided me all the way even gave position of closest member.By time the baby was delivered 1 member was my door & 4 more were pulling up.Please don’t judge the tatty he lost his head like I did only I had a DISPATCHER on the phone to make sure my wife & baby was safe I know I delivered the baby my wife says I was great but I cant remember anything mavel tov to the new mammy &tatty;
“for his wife or baby to be touched”
What exactly is the issur touch the baby even if it was not pikuach nefesh?
One problem is that to the outside world some of our behaviors and beliefs are peculiar at best.
Another, more worrisome problem is that so many of our community members are clueless about practicalities such as this.
However, we should not judge the person nor the circumstances. Reporters from this particular newspaper are known to “embellish.”
his intervemtion was not necessary hence not halachicaly permited. There were plenty of passerbys just as qualified.
why cant the baby be touched by the father????what did antonio put the baby in? hope the father offered his shirt…was the couple lost in the bronx?
oops…MAZEL TOV..boy or girl baby?
I am sure this was a cobbled together statement. Probably he said that he couldn’t hold his wife after because it’s not allowed. I am sure it was not that he couldn’t help her when she was a mesukan
oy jeez… i know people panic, i get it, but I cant think of any father who would panic to the point where the baby was coming out and he would just let it drop to the floor because “he dosent know what to do”
Therefore, his panic in having a greasy tow truck driver “touch” his wife and delivery her baby is due to this ignorance of halacha in the yeshivah world, and is utterly dispicable.
They quoted the tow truck driver with the “halocha” so what do you expect from incorrect p’sak.
So what does it say on the birth certificate? Delivered by? Hmmm
Just for the record, for all the folks who’ll be delivering their own or a neighbor’s baby in the future, you do NOT “reach in and take it out”. You just catch.
#10 . I know many a frum orthodox Jewish husband who delivered their baby’s in their car on the way to hospital. Pikuach nefesh Co,e first. Imagine this truck driver wouldn’t have stopped or the streets were deserted, what would this young, an do then. Let his wife and new born die???
it’s high time the men are taught how to deal with these situations.
He must be a real frum freshie.
i would like to take this opportunity to commend paulino and if he is a married man his wife should know what a good person he is. he delivered another persons baby and both the mom and baby are well ( i assume)
cut tatteh a break he was just freaking out because he was scared. dan lechaf zechus 🙂
mazal tov to the new parents. if it’s a boy paulino should be sandek.
What Were they doing I
n the Bronx. Next to stadium was there another kinos klal yisroel
I can just see Country Yossi’s jokes next month…
Greasy tow truck driver takes over Greased-out Dad to deliver baby.
“Stork” logo on his truck & uniform will feature a baby on a flatbed truck.
Crash delivery expert.
Husbands can deliver their own infant in a situation when there is noone else present to deliver and it would be considered kosher if that was the priority over letter time lapse and trying to find another if there is no one present. Health care always takes precidence over priority of fervor for sticking to the grown up laws of not using a man to deliver his own kid, but really G-d is a Great G-d and he will see fit that the trust in his ways are carried out by the trustworthy.
Isn’t this the reason why the are opening the “aishas chayil” EMS, because men are not allowed to touch women even when its pekiach nefesh.
Looks like this husband is a supporter of “Aishes Chayel”
The Rach Hanimol should be zocheh to attain “Tow”ra, Chupa and Maasim Tovim.
Could this story be a phony? East Harlem is not the South Bronx! One of the prior respondents may be on to something!
The thing is that if the person was a doctor, then it is understandable not to have husband involved. But if not a doctor, then why is it better for a strange man to touch wife which is also arayos? And there is no heter of uman lo mera umanusei, or b’umnuseihu tareed operating here since that is not his profession? Something doesn’t seem right, even aside from the danger.
Forget about Medicaid. Is this covered by AAA?