The golden rule of Biblical law,"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" was interpreted by the Talmudic jurists as imposing a duty to choose for one’s fellowman the most"Beautiful" death possible mitah yafah,(San. 45a, 52a-b). In practice, the application of the rule was originally confined to choices among several possible modes of execution.... Both the reasoning behind the talmudic rule and its comprehensive language allow it to be applied more generally to every situation in which man(usually the physician) is faced with a choice between two kinds of death to be caused to his fellowman- the one agonizing and protracted, the other relatively east, swift, and humane. This most fundamental of all divine commands(B.R. 24:7 in the name of R. Akiba) exhorts one to conduct oneself, especially in the face of death, in such a manner as may be dictated by sincere love for the dying person....
The Midrash relates that in the law book(Torah) of R. Meir was written the following version of the conclusion of the creation story of Genesis:N"And God saw everything that he had made and behold it was good." What was it that God , seeing all of His creation, that he beheld to be very good? It was death. R. Meir’s version read vehinei tov mot, and behold good is the death. (B. R. 9:9)....