have ended. In the third there is a strong wish for death. In the fourth, the primary concern is relief from pain. Let us look at each of these cases individually.
For the patient in a coma and the one completely paralyzed and unable to communicate, a segment of the brain which provides intelli gence seems to be damaged beyond repair. Judaism does not define human life only in terms of mental activity. Every person has been created in the image of God (Gen. 1.26), and so even those individuals who may be defective, i. e. the retarded, the blind, the deaf, the mute, etc., have always been considered as equally created in the image of God ; their life is as precious as any other. It is necessary to guard their life and protect it just as any other human life. This is also true of an elderly individual who has now lost some of her mental ability or power of communication. In fact, we owe a special duty toward these
individuals who are weak and more likely to be neglected by society just as to the orphan, the widow and the poor(Deut. 14.29, 27.13, Jer. 7.6; Is. 1.17: Shab. 133b; Meg. 31a; San 74a; Yoma 82b).
Let us turn to the individual who seeks death and constantly reiterates his wish to die. Although some rabbinic authorities feel that neither an individual nor his family may pray for his death(Haim Palagi Hiskei Lev, Vol. 1, Yoreh Deah#50), most of our tradition would agree that a person may ask God to be relieved of suffering. The decision, of course, lies with God . A servant of Judah Hanasi prayed for his release (Ket. 104a). Other ancient authorities pointed to similar examples(Ned. 40a and Commentaries). We would, however, discourage the individual from such prayer and rather seek to encourage a different attitude toward life. The growing field of psychology for the aged has succeeded in developing a variety of techniques for dealing with such long term depression. We would encourage the family and the patient to utilize these methods or any other form of counseling and therapy available.