Rif Yoma 5a {Yoma 84b continues; 85a}

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5a

{Yoma 84b continues}
And even though he takes up fish together with him {the child}.

If one has seen a child fall into a pit, he may remove a piece of earth {to save him the sooner} and with more alacrity this is done, the greater the praise. And he need not take permission from Bet Din. And even though he creates a staircase in the earth.

If he saw a child enter, behind which the door got locked, he should break open the door immediately, and the sooner the better; and he need not take permission from Bet Din, even when by this means he breaks it for kindling.

We extinguish and isolate the fire {on Shabbat} and the sooner one does this, the more praiseworthy one is; and no permission from Beth Din is to be taken for it, and even when the coals he saves from consumption will be used by him later for roasting meat.

And it is needed. For it is has told of of the case of the sea, there it is because if he does not take him out he will die; but by a pit, it is possible to sit at the mouth of the pit and take his mind off the situation with nuts. Thus we need it.

And if it had told us of the pit, this is because he is frightened, but by a door, it is possible that he would sit on the other side and take his mind off the situation with nuts. Thus it is needed.

"We extinguish and isolate the fire" - why do we need this? Rabbi Eleazar said: this is required to tell us {even} to another courtyard. {read on to understand}

Rav Yosef cited Rav Yehuda who cited Shmuel: In case of danger to life, we do not follow the majority.
How so?
If you say that if you have 9 Israelites and one idolator - and thus we have a majority of Israelites, or if we have 1/2 and 1/2 - we go in cases of doubt to life leniently. Rather, that there are 9 idolators and 1 Israelite -- this is also obvious, for it is a case of kavua {established} and anything established is like 1/2 and 1/2. Rather, it is needed for the case where one left the group and went to another courtyard, and a fire broke out there. I would have thought to say that anything that separates, we assume it separated from the majority, and thus we do not attempt to save the life. Therefore it informs us that we do not follow the majority in cases of danger to life.

Is this really so? But Rabbi Assi cited Rabbi Yochanan that even 9 idolators and 1 Israelite -- in that same courtyard we save but in another courtyard we do not!
This is no contradiction - this is where they all left, and this is where they only a portion left.

Mishna:
If a building tumble down, and it is doubtful whether anyone is buried beneath the ruins or not; if it is doubtful whether he be dead or alive, it is permitted to remove the ruins from above him on the Sabbath. If he be found alive, the ruins are to be entirely removed; but should he be dead, he is to be left there.

{Yoma 85a}
Gemara:
"If he be found alive, we save him":
This is obvious! No. It is needed to teach us that we do this even for chayei sha'a {to extend his life even though he wll die soon anyway}.

The Sages learnt {in a brayta}:
Until where does he inspect {to see whether the person is alive}? Until his torso. And some say until his nose.
If they inspected and saw that his upper parts and found them defunct, we do not say that his lower parts are also defunct.
There was an incident in which the upper parts defunct and the lower parts alive.

Rav Pappa said: The dispute is from lower to upper, but from upper to lower, once he inspected him until his nose, he need not inspect further, for it is written {Bereishit 7:22}:

כב כֹּל אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁמַת-רוּחַ חַיִּים בְּאַפָּיו, מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר בֶּחָרָבָה--מֵתוּ.

22 all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, whatsoever was in the dry land, died.

And how do we know that saving a life supersedes Shabbat?
Rav Yehuda cited Shmuel: The verse states {Vayikra 18:5}

ה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם אֶת-חֻקֹּתַי וְאֶת-מִשְׁפָּטַי, אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה אֹתָם הָאָדָם וָחַי בָּהֶם: אֲנִי, ה. {ס}

5 Ye shall therefore keep My statutes, and Mine ordinances, which if a man do, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.

He shall live by them, and not die by them.

Mishna:
Sin-offerings {chatat} and trespass-offerings {asham} atone. Death and Yom Kippur, if one is penitent, atone. Penitence atones for slight breaches of positive or negative commandments; for grave sins, it effects a suspension, till Yom Kippur completes the atonement.

Gemara:
"Penitence atones for slight breaches of positive or negative commandments": Now that you have stated negative commandments, need one say positive commandments?
Rav Yehuda said: This is what it means to say: On positive commandments and on negative commandments inferred from positive commandments.

Rabbi Matia ben Cheresh asked Rabbi Eleazar ben Azarya in Rome: Have you heard of the four differences made in atonements, about which Rabbi Yishmael lectured?
He replied to him: There are only three, and penitence is combined with each:
When one has transgressed a positive commandment, and done penance, he is atoned for before he goes away from his place {that is, immediately}, as it is written {Yirmiyahu 3:22}:

כב שׁוּבוּ בָּנִים שׁוֹבָבִים, אֶרְפָּה מְשׁוּבֹתֵיכֶם; הִנְנוּ אָתָנוּ לָךְ, כִּי אַתָּה ה אֱלֹקֵינוּ.

22 Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings.--'Here we are, we are come unto Thee; for Thou art the LORD our God.

If he has transgressed a negative commandment, penitence suspends (the sentence), and Yom Kippur atones, as is written {Vayikra 16:30}:

ל כִּי-בַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם, לְטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם: מִכֹּל, חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם, לִפְנֵי ה, תִּטְהָרוּ.

30 For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall ye be clean before the LORD.

If he has committed sins for which the penalties are karet, or death by Beth Din, then penitence and Yom Kippur suspend {the sentence in Heaven} and afflictions wipe it out, as is written {Tehillim 89:33}:

לב אִם-חֻקֹּתַי יְחַלֵּלוּ; וּמִצְו‍ֹתַי, לֹא יִשְׁמֹרוּ.	32 If they profane My statutes, and keep not My commandments;
לג וּפָקַדְתִּי בְשֵׁבֶט פִּשְׁעָם; וּבִנְגָעִים עֲו‍ֹנָם.	33 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with strokes.