SELECTED REFORM RESPONSA
her death. Instead, they prayed, and asked others to pray, for continued life. Did they do right? Haim Palaggi answers(citing most of the material above) that it is right for them to pray that she die, but since there is some slight possibility of selfishness in their prayer, in that they might wish to be disencumbered of the burden, therefore let them not pray for her death, but let others do so. It is the merciful thing to do. See also the article of Rabbi Jacobowitz, of Dublin, which explains the Talmudic statement(Ber. 60a), “God gives permission to the physician to heal.” He says that the physician's duty“to heal” does involve a duty to keep a dying patient from dying.
The subject is summed up in the Shulhan Arukh, Yoreh Deah 339:1, where the laws are carefully stated that nothing must be done to hasten death, such as removing a pillow from under the head of the dying, or making any sudden noises. Moses Isserles adds:“However, if there is something present which prevents the departure of the soul, such as a man chopping wood outside, or salt present on the dying man’s tongue, we may stop the chopping or remove the salt, so as not to hinder the departure of the soul.” (Isserles bases this upon an older authority.)
Evidently they felt that salt that happened to be on the tongue, or the noise of woodchopping, artificially focused the dying person's attention and prevented his relaxing into death. Isserles adds that wiping away the salt or stopping the woodchopping is not considered a violation of the law against hastening the death of the dying because these are not positive actions, but only the removing of obstacles to the coming of death.