I’m particularly interested in the last claim: that observant Jews who believe it is prohibited to drive home from the hospital should hire a non-Jewish taxi driver to do it for them. Now, I’m generally familiar with the concept of Shabbos goyim and the rules concerning them—normally Jews aren’t permitted to directly ask a Shabbos goy to do something for them, but apparently in some cases, such as being driven home from the hospital, it may be permitted. What I want to know is whether it’s possible in communities where such beliefs are adhered to to call up a taxi service and specifically request a non-Jewish driver. For example, would it be at all unusual for a Jerusalem taxi service to receive such requests? Do the taxi dispatchers keep records of which drivers are Jewish or something? What about in places other than Israel where there are large communities of observant Orthodox Jews? If such a Jew in New York wants a ride home from the hospital, can he call a taxi service and request a non-Jewish driver? Would that not run afoul of American anti-discrimination laws? Do any New York taxi services keep records on the religion of their drivers in anticipation of dealing with such requests?
Based on my experience with Lubavitcher Jews, there would be no reason to drive or be driven home from the hospital unless the hospital was so far from the house that it isn’t possible to walk. (Going to the hospital is a different story. Saving a life is the summum bonum of Judaism, and it is expected that the laws of the Sabbath would be violated if someone’s life is in danger.)
That being said, I would think that knowing which drivers are Jewish and which aren’t would be likely in Israel, although someone who lives there, like Alessan or Noone Special would be better positioned to answer that. I don’t think it runs afoul of anti-discrimination laws because no one’s really been discriminated against; Orthodox Jews wouldn’t work anyway, so non-Jews wouldn’t be favored over Jews by the employer, and under Jewish law, a Jew shouldn’t even be put in a position to violate the law, even if the Jew isn’t religious and would not observe Shabbat under ordinary circumstances. (I hope this makes sense.)
Unless you plan to call the taxi dispatcher by shouting really loud, using a phone on the Sabbath would be a problem (unless you happen to have a Shabbat phone). I suppose you could flag down passing taxis and ask the drivers if they are Jewish or you could find a goy to phone for you. You would also need to find a taxi driver willing to open and close the door to let you in and out to avoid activating the interior light, which might be an even harder task!
Well, presumably if you were at the hospital the receptionist there could call a taxi for you. But that doesn’t make the problem of finding a non-Jewish taxi driver go away; it just shifts the burden from the passenger to the receptionist.
No; they may be Jewish but not (sufficiently) Orthodox, and I don’t think that Orthodox Jews would consent to being driven by any Jewish driver on the Sabbath. As I understand it their rules permit them to be driven only by gentiles.
To clarify, the scenario in the OP was returning from the hospital after a medical emergency. Somehow I doubt that perfectly healthy observant Jews routinely make taxi appointments at the hospital every Saturday just in case they happen to fall ill or become injured on that day.
Interestingly enough, in Baltimore there was a specific taxi company that one could call to go to the hospital on Shabbat. They were trained to open and close the doors, and they were paid by the company for the trip. (I believe the people using the taxi paid the company after Shabbat.) It was recommended to call the company by knocking the phone off the hook with one’s elbow, and dialing the number using a shinuy - a method of dialing that’s different than one normally uses, for example, using the pinky to dial instead of the index finger.
Yes, I know the OP was about going home from the hospital, but I thought this would be a good spot to interject this.
