SELECTED REFORM RESPONSA

basing its opinion on the statement of Ecclesiastes ,"There is a time to live and a time to die", says as follows:"If a man is dying, we do not pray too hard that his soul return and that he revive from the coma; he can at best live only a few days and in those days will endure great suffering; so’there is a time to die."”(See other such references in Reform Responsa, pp. 117ff). In other words, according to the spirit of Jewish tradition, just as a man has a right to live, so there comes a time when he has a right to die. Thus, there is no duty incumbent upon the physician to force a terminal patient to live a little longer.

But what, under these circumstances, is a physician permitted actually to do? Here again the law is clear. He may do nothing positive to hasten death. The Mishnah(Shabbat XXIIL.5) says that we may not close the eyes of a dying patient. The Talmud (Shabbat 151b) compares the dying patient to a guttering candle that is about to go out. If a man touches his fingertip to the candle flame, it will go out at once. This he must not do. In other words, he must not hasten the death of a dying patient by closing his eyes. The Talmudic discussion is elaborated on in the post-Talmudic treatise, Semahot, chapter 1, and finally is codified in the Shulhan Arukh, Yoreh Deah 339, where it is clear that no action must be taken to hasten death, i.e., you may not remove a pillow from under his head. However(see Isserles , ibid.), if someone outside is chopping wood and that rhythmic sound focuses the mind of the dying patient and prevents his soul from departing, you may stop the wood-chopping sO that the patient may relax and die in peace. Or, if there is salt on the patient’s tongue and the tartness of the salt focuses his mind and keeps him from relaxing into death, you may wipe the salt from his tongue and thus allow him to die. The Taz expresses some doubt about the permission to wipe the patient’s tongue, for that would shake and disturb the patient and would be an overt act.

The fullest discussion as to what is a permitted act and what 1s a non-permitted act is found in Shiltei Hagiborim(J oshua Boaz) to Mod Qatan, third chapter(in Wilna edition, Alfasi, 16). He concludes oa while you must not do anything to hasten death, you may remove the

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