(Rabbi Ariel Stone serves independent Congregation Shir Tikvah of Portland, Oregon. She earned a Doctoral degree from Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies. She is the author of several books on the Torah, Talmud, and Jewish mysticism, made many presentations, and conducted seminars on these and related topics.)
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Jewish legal and wisdom literature speaks not of rights, but of human responsibilities and privileges that flow from our sense that life is a gift to be honored. Two verses set up our dialectic: the command to “choose life” in Deuteronomy 30.19, and the observation of Ecclesiastes 3.2, “there is a time to be born, and a time to die”
#1: One of the great purposes of religion is that of helping us to face our own human finitude. We all face death. We are commanded to pass through death as we have passed through life, doing the best we can to uphold the ethical values that give meaning to our lives. Humility is our human value here, not arrogance. With all our technology, we are not more powerful than death. According to Jewish bioethicist, J. David Bleich: “When a patient is, as it were, actually in the clutches of the angel of death and the death process has actually begun, there is no obligation to heal.”
#2: Jewish religious values celebrate life but not as an end in itself. Religious writings make it clear that life is meant to be lived as an expression of one’s values and sense of meaning. Life is not an absolute value, but a value relative to its meaning. Maimonides, revered rabbinic philosopher, teaches:
If you are threatened with the choice of violation of Torah or death, you should commit the transgression rather than be killed, as it is written “you shall live by them” (Lev.18.5) – live by them, not die by them … whoever abstains from a transgression, or performs a good deed for no selfish reason, such as fear, or vanity … sanctifies the Name of G*d.
#3: By teaching that we are all equally created as reflections of the image of G*d, Jewish religious values teach respect for each individual, including respect for choices made by others with which we do not agree but which are thoughtfully reached. An ancient parable makes this point:
An old woman came before Rabbi Yose ben Halafta and said to him: “Master, I have grown so very old that my life has become hideous. I find no taste in food or drink, and I wish to depart from the world.” He asked, “How did you extend your life so long?” She replied, “Whenever I have something to do, however enjoyable it may be, I am in the habit of putting it aside early every morning and going to the synagogue.” He said, “For three days, one after another, keep yourself away from the synagogue.” She went off and did as he advised, and on the third day she took sick and died.
#4: Jewish religious values recognize that we individuals interact in community. Chapters of the Fathers, a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from rabbinic tradition, teach us that we must take great care with each other and that the world itself depends upon it — “on three things the world depends: on learning, on prayer, and on kindness.”
#5: Regarding the concern that a successfully applied law could yet be cause for abuse or disrespect of human life — Jewish religious values call it sin when we fail to act for others, hiding behind the fear that something bad might happen. We are called upon not to inflict our fears upon others, but to show courage in our lives, and in our own and each other’s deaths, remembering the Golden Rule “That which is hateful to you, do not do to another person.”
#6: Jewish religious values stress that we are responsible to help each other achieve a life of meaning. The Babylonian Talmud teaches that since life and death are integrated in an individual’s existence, a good death is the best end of a good life.
They [the Romans] took Rabbi Haninah ben Tradyon and wrapped a Torah scroll around him, and encompassed him with vine branches, to which they set fire. They brought woolen tufts which they soaked with water and placed over his heart, so that his soul should not depart quickly. His disciples urged, “Open your mouth that the fire may penetrate.” He replied, “Better is it that the one who gave the soul should take it, than that one do oneself an injury.” Then the executioner said to him, “Master, if I increase the flame and remove the woolen tufts from your heart, will you bring me to the life of the world to come?” “Yes,” said Haninah … his soul departed quickly ….
Jewish wisdom literature interprets the Biblical phrase “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” as meaning “therefore, choose an easy death for him.” Jewish sources absolutely prohibit any act that constitutes an obstacle to the natural process of dying. In modern terms, obstacles to death may include ventilators, feeding tubes, lack of compassion, or the courage to express it among those who surround the dying person.
#7: Judaism’s prohibition against suicide is ideally observed as a case of “In principle, no; after the fact, yes”– which is to say that simple compassion for human suffering must always temper the law. The individual’s real life is not sacrificed to the abstract principle. Both the religious leader and the physician have long known this basic ethical ideal.
Death with Dignity laws reassure those who are nearing death that they need not be afraid, that death can be as good and as meaningful as life. This is a profoundly beautiful expression of the Jewish law that the dying are to be considered, for legal purposes, “like one who is alive for every purpose”. Not less than human, with their choices taken away and their dignity shredded, but worthy of the same respect and capable of wielding the same power over their lives, until their very last moments, as they did in their days of health, as all of us should have the right to do at every juncture of our lives. This is what it truly means to “choose life” and to demonstrate the value of life, all the way through human life, and to its end.
Jewish law respects the individual in the present moment, recognizing that it is unjust to define a person by past acts, even as it is an abdication of responsibility to just rely upon precedent. This is strikingly expressed in a venerable rabbinical commentary in which the possibility is considered that Ishma’el, son of Abraham and Hagar, should have been allowed to die when he and his mother were sent away from the encampment of Abraham and Sarah. One rabbi expresses the opinion that much sorrow would have been averted if the Biblical father of the Arab people had not lived, and wonders why an angel was sent to save Ishma’el. Another rabbi responds that it is written in the Torah that G*d heard the child as he was – not as an adult, nor as the long-gone progenitor of an entire people, but as an innocent small child, who could not possibly be considered guilty of any wrongdoing. In this way, Jewish law teaches that we must respect a person’s own present personal sense of existence and its meaning, regardless of any other factors.
Final Exit Network (FEN) is a network of dedicated professionals and caring, trained volunteers who support mentally competent adults as they navigate their end-of-life journey. Established in 2004, FEN seeks to educate qualified individuals in practical, peaceful ways to end their lives, offer a compassionate bedside presence and defend a person’s right to choose. For more information, go to www.finalexitnetwork.org.
Payments and donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Final Exit Network is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
What I understand from Rabbi Stone’s article is that when “A Time to Die” has come, prolonging the dying process (especially against the benefit of the dying person) is immoral and unjust. And that compassion for that person and honoring their wishes are the overriding considerations.