(This question was inspired by my comment on this question - Are you allowed to save a non-Jew's life on shabbos? (The comment is quoted at the bottom of my question.))
R. Simeon b. Menassia is quoted in Tractate Yoma 85b (Babylonian Talmud) as saying that it is better to desecrate one shabbat to save a Jew's life in order that s/he may live one more week in order to observe shabbat again.
I am seeking to determine whether or not this statement of R. Simeon applies even to Jews who are not sabbath-observers.
So, if one must break shabbos to save another Jew's life... What if the Jew whose life he is saving is that of a Jew who is not shomer shabbos? – Adam Mosheh Apr 11 at 4:09
(My question had gone by unanswered in that comment thread, so that is why I am asking it as a question here.)
Answer
The gemara actually asks (basically) your question. A few lines later, Rava asks R. Simeon ben Menassia: based on your reasoning I understand why we break Shabbat when it will for sure lead to more net Shabbat observance. But how do you learn that we break Shabbat even when it is only doubtful that there will be more net Shabbat observance? Rava (and the conclusion of the gemara) thus rejects R. Simeon ben Menassia's logic as the real reason for the rule that we break Shabbat to save lives.
So yes, R. Simeon ben Menassia's proposal is incomplete; it does not prove the rule that the gemara wants and therefore is rejected.
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