Shiur Theatre: 21st Century Tefillah, Part 3

And here is the concluding act, in which we note that the Community of "Community Prayer" is not only the current generation, but inter-generational, across time. As far as the overall debate between the importance of personalization and the importance of community, it is recognized that both must be honoured, but that personalization on an individual level can be achieved without sacrificing community.

Standing at the shulchan

NARRATOR (standing): Act Three takes place at another meeting, two weeks later.

SARA: Okay. Next up on our agenda is the Contemporary Minyan and the Alternative Contemporary Minyan – and a third version that might be starting up soon.

All at once, incredulously:

ADAM: What?

RABBI: A third Contemporary minyan?

JOSH: Why?!

SARA: Well, the idea started because the girls were fed up that the boys weren't showing up on time to their minyan, so things were starting late.

ADAM: But I've been at that minyan - the girls don't show up on time either!

SARA: Yes, but when they do show up at 11:00, they want the minyan to be in musaf already.

JOSH (rolls his eyes): Just like their parents.

SARA: So they're bothered by the lateness, and they also want to make more changes to the minyan, and the boys don't like their ideas.

ADAM: Changes like what?

SARA (serious about the idea): Well, the Beiber berachah was their idea, and the boys rejected it, so they want that included. And they want a berachah for success on their exams, which the boys think is juvenile. And they think the berachah that the boys created for their NCAA March Madness pool is juvenile. So the girls want to create what they are calling the Female Alternative Contemporary Minyan.

MOSHE RABBEINU walks into shul at this point, from the doors in the back. The participants don't see him yet, as he walks to them slowly, grandly.

ADAM (upset): So now we're supposed to have a (counting on his fingers) Main Minyan, a Hashkamah Minyan, a Contemporary Minyan, an Alternative Contemporary Minyan, and an Alternative Female Contemporary Minyan?

RABBI (agitated): And the whole ברב עם הדרת מלך idea of davening in a large group is toast! Not to mention לא תתגודדו, the prohibition against splitting ourselves into micro-groups.

JOSH (even more agitated): And I want to know: What's coming next?

Moshe is now at the table

MOSHE (firmly): Ahem.

RABBI (eyeing the desert robe) : Umm… who are you?

MOSHE (matter-of-factly): I believe you usually call me Moshe Rabbeinu, but Moshe is fine.

Everyone stands back quickly

RABBI: No beard?!

MOSHE: Shaved for Lag ba'Omer.

RABBI: Oh. Um. Yeah. Um. Uhhh… What are you doing here? Are you here to solve this situation?

MOSHE: Do you really think there's a solution to this problem? This is one of those timeless challenges that Judaism presents.

RABBI: So what will you add to this "timeless challenge"?

Everyone relaxes a bit, back into meeting mode

MOSHE: I believe in personally crafting prayer to suit a particular situation – When my sister Miriam was sick, I drafted a short, five-word prayer for her. When the Jews made the Golden Calf, I prayed for forty days. It's like that boy, Jason, who you’ve been worried about; different situations call for different things.

RABBI (shocked): So you believe in the Alternative Female Contemporary Minyan?

MOSHE (pained expression): Please don't oversimplify; your point about the communal emphasis of communal prayer is right. And I want to add, from my own experience, that the goal of communal prayer is to bind Jews together across time, spanning the generations, as a single community, in a single covenant.

ADAM: Across time? What does that mean?

MOSHE: In the beginning, Gd made a pact with Avraham regarding the fate of his descendants. The covenant into which we entered on the banks of the Jordan River was for all Jews, in all generations. לנו ולבנינו עד עולם, for us and for our children, eternally.[1] We are one unit.

SARA: But Moshe – sir - how does being one nation affect our choice of davening, so long as we daven to HaShem?

MOSHE: Because HaShem wishes to view us as one nation when we daven. Just read the book of Shemot;[2] He heard our cries in Egypt, and He remembered Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. HaShem told us to use the Name, "The Gd of Avraham, the Gd of Yitzchak, the Gd of Yaakov," to invoke that crossing of the generations when we daven.

RABBI (excited): And you did that, too! That was your own experience - When you davened for the Jews after the Eigel, you asked Gd to remember Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov![3]

MOSHE: Precisely; to me, it is most important that each generation not view itself as isolated, adrift in time, but part of a chain of generations. So it is that your minhagim and text remain the same as that which your ancient ancestors used.

SARA (catching on): Right; and that's why we have midrashim about Jews of later generations coming to Rachel, or Yirmiyahu, or – or you – to daven for us. That's why some Jews will go to a grave to daven, to ask for help. Davening is about more than just making myself more connected to Gd.

MOSHE: Now you're getting it. And it's important to feel the bond with those ancestors. Don't you feel it when you daven, that link with your ancestors who said the same words, bowed the same way? Individual Jews have always recited words that conflicted with their personal emotions or experience in some way, just to be part of that group.[4]

ADAM: So it's about connecting with each other and with our ancestors.

MOSHE: Very much so. And at a time like this, a time of all those grand movements and schisms you mentioned earlier – now, more than ever, we need something that will hold us together, that all of us will have in common. Community Tefillah does that.

JOSH: So I'm confused; you endorse personalizing prayer, but you are adamant about preserving community. So what are you recommending? What would you tell our camper, Jason?

MOSHE: That I value both sides. And compromise is difficult. King Solomon's wife, daughter of the Pharaoh, tried to introduce music that she favoured into the service of the Beit haMikdash; that didn't go over well.[5] Innovations can easily lead to division, and as the Chatam Sofer noted,[6] based on a Mishnah,[7] "Unity, togetherness, benefits the righteous and those around them." Not to mention, the trust that comes from communal prayer is lost when people will not daven together.

RABBI (dejected): So then nothing we do will be right?

MOSHE: Nothing will be right, perhaps, but there is plenty that we can do. We should try to satisfy individualism, and the needs of a new generation of Jasons, to help them draw closer to Gd. And we should try to keep the community together, not innovating to the point that we defeat the Community aspect of Community Prayer. But most of all, we need to have the humility to recognize that we may never get it entirely right, and that those with whom we disagree will never be entirely wrong.

SARA: But – can you give us some practical direction?

MOSHE: First, I'd suggest learning. From what I have seen, davening isn't  treated as a serious subject for study, not at home and not at school. I don't mean the rules of davening, but the text. We can hardly expect people – children or adults – to find themselves and their needs and their emotions in the davening, unless they devote energy to the task.

JOSH: Understood.

MOSHE: And second: Jews have always specialized in mitzvot that resonated with their personality and talents, as the Netziv[8] and Rav Kook[9] discussed in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Or like the Chatam Sofer said,[10] "No two people have the same style, because no two people love HaShem in the same way." So I favour encouraging people to add personal requests. In mitzvos, beautify them in your own style.[11] In minhag, choose songs that your family will sing at your Shabbos table. The more it can be kept to the personal level, the better.

JOSH: So that we won't alienate each other.

SARA: And so that we won't alienate ourselves from our predecessors.

MOSHE: Precisely. It won't satisfy all of the Jasons, but perhaps it will give them the tools to find themselves in their own davening, and over time they might come to appreciate finding themselves in community, too. (turns to go) And now, I must go.

RABBI: Wait, Moshe! Just one second. (reaches for his phone) Could we – would you mind – could I take a selfie with you?

MOSHE: A selfie? Seriously? Haven't you heard what I've been saying? The point isn't Selfies – the point is Community.

---

[1] Devarim 29:28

[2] Shemot 2:24

[3] Shemot 32:13

[4] See an interesting article by Professor David Flusser http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/kitveyet/deot/floser3.htm

[5] Shabbos 56b; and see Rif 281, Darchei Moshe Orach Chaim 53:10, Radvaz 2:890, Kaf haChaim 13:6, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 2:77, and see Yabia Omer 6:Orach Chaim 7:3.

[6] Chatam Sofer 5:Choshen Mishpat 12:3

[7] Sanhedrin 8:5

[8] Netziv to Bamidbar 24:6

[9] Poem – אל חכי שופר

[10] Chatam Sofer 1:197

[11] Shabbos 133b

Shiur Theatre: 21st Century Tefillah, Part 2

Here is Act Two. Where the first act made points promoting customization of davening, the second act responds by noting the importance of community in communal prayer. We might be overplaying the point, though.

NARRATOR: Act Two begins three weeks later, in the Camp Shul. (Join ADAM)

RABBI and ADAM are standing by the shulchan

RABBI: I don't know, Adam. I mean, this Contemporary Minyan thing… it feels separatist.

ADAM: We've been down that road, remember? Prayer helps a person talk with Gd, and to grow spiritually, in a way that makes him better. So what's the point of preserving Community Prayer, if there is no Prayer?

RABBI: Because I've come to think that the emphasis in Communal Prayer should be more on the Communal than the Prayer.

ADAM: Huh? Where does that idea come from? Of course the point is Prayer - doesn't the Talmud state that davening communally is good because Gd always hears the prayers of the community? It's about the prayer![1]

RABBI: That's not necessarily the main benefit. Communal prayer has always emphasized community. Look at the mishkan that the Jews traveled with in the wilderness; the site for talking with G-d was in the centre of the camp, the glue holding the tribes together. Or the Beit haMikdash, built on communal land owned by no single tribe, to be neutral ground on which everyone could unite.[2]

ADAM: So the community's Feng Shui is oriented around the shared place in which they daven. But that doesn't mean that communal prayer is designed to build community!

RABBI: Why not? Rambam even said that biblical rituals were designed to build community! He wrote that the purpose of עלייה לרגל, of the mitzvah of going to Yerushalayim for each holiday is to build community![3] Or look at the 40 loaves of bread brought with a korban todah, a thanks-offering, in the Beit haMikdash – the Netziv says that the Torah allows just one day to eat all 40 loaves, in order to make sure that it will turn into a community feast.[4]

ADAM: So you're telling me that the reason to daven together is community-building. Do you think that works?

RABBI: Sociologists at the University of Connecticut and Ben Gurion University in Israel think so; they've pointed out that praying in a group increases cooperation and trust among the members of the group.[5] They've found that religious men who attend shul daily are more cooperative and trusting with each other than any other group, including religious men who don't go to shul, religious women, secular men, and secular women.

ADAM: Huh? How did they prove that?

RABBI: It's a bit of a story, but for example, they did a study with 558 members from 18 kibbutzim in Israel: They paired up people, and gave each pair an envelope with 100 shekel to divide between the two of them. To make a long story short, the pairs of men who attended minyan together took less for themselves, and expressed greater trust in each other, than did any other group. The researchers even found that davening together created greater trust than eating together.

ADAM: They should come to our shul, and join the kiddush club; then they could daven and eat together – that will really build community!

RABBI: Yeah, yeah. Listen, there are other benefits besides trust, too. In a shul, davening in a large group brings the children who daven there into the community.[6] And it offers chances for people to give each other emotional support and to address communal needs.

ADAM: Communal needs? How?

RABBI: Think about it – We add elements like the Kel Malei and Yizkor for grieving, to give people the chance to cry together; that's what אב הרחמים was originally for, too, after the Crusades. We have the מי שברך for people who are sick, which raises awareness of people's needs. We recite יקום פורקן to encourage volunteerism by blessing the community's volunteers.

ADAM: Hah! That assumes the volunteers are actually back from the kiddush club in time for יקום פורקן, to hear it.

RABBI: That's two on the kiddush club; make another joke at their expense and you'll never act in this town again! But the practical aid is about more than prayers and emotional support - appeals for tzedakah have always been the norm in shul, and in older times they would announce Lost and Found and even help people find jobs in shul.[7]

ADAM: So you're claiming that this is what Gd had in mind – that tefillah b'tzibbur, communal davening, is really about community first, and davening second? You do realize that this idea encourages talking in shul, right?

RABBI: Yes, I-

JOSH enters; Rabbi stops speaking to look over at him

JOSH (agitated): Rabbi, Adam, you're not going to believe this. I just heard from some of the teens who go to the Contemporary Minyan.

RABBI: And?

JOSH: They don't find the Contemporary Minyan very contemporary; they want to break away and form an Alternative Contemporary Minyan.

ADAM: But what don't they like?

JOSH: For starters, they think the Waiters' idea of a berachah for the stock market is lame.

ADAM (sarcastic): Sure, until they want to draw on their trust funds!

RABBI: So what berachos do they want instead?

JOSH (counting on his fingers): They want one for the environment and global warming. And another for world peace – not just Jewish peace, but peace everywhere. And they want one for children in Africa, and they want one for the homeless-

RABBI (impressed): Well, it's good that they have such serious concerns. Maybe you're right – we should be encouraging the kids to take their davening so personally. If they want to talk to Gd about African children - I'm impressed!

JOSH: Um…. and they want one for keeping Justin Bieber out of jail.

RABBI: They may want growth, but I guess they're kids all the same…

---

[1] Berachos 6a, 7b-8a; Mishneh Torah Hilchot Tefillah 8:1; Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 90:9

[2] Yoma 12a, and the Rambam rules this way

[3] Niddah 34a, Maharitz Chajes there; Moreh haNevuchim 3:34

[4] Haameik Davar Vayyikra 7

[5] Religious Ritual and Cooperation: Testing for a Relationship on Israeli Religious and Secular Kibbutzim (Current Anthropology 44:5 2003); Does it pay to pray? Costly Ritual and Cooperation, The Berkeley Electronic Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy 7:1 (2007) ; The Adaptive Value of Religious Ritual, American Scientist

[6] Prayer is a Positive Activity for Children, International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 10:3 Dec. 2005

[7] Succah 51b; and see the בית כנסת של טרסיים in Megilah 26a and Nazir 52a

Shiur Theatre: 21st Century Tefillah, Part 1

One of the various pursuits that has taken me away from this blog recently has been the effort to produce a new edition of Shiur Theatre, this one on "21st Century Tefillah". The challenge: To make the arguments for and against modern customization of communal prayer. This isn't about halachic debates regarding inventing berachot or egalitarian ritual, as you will see in the text; it's about changing the language of davening - its requests, its expressions of gratitude, and so on - to fit modern reality.

I'm not sure I am entirely comfortable with what I came up with, but I think there is a lot of truth in it. Here is Act One:

ADAM, SARA, JOSH and RABBI are all standing at the Shulchan, in the middle of a meeting. Please try to look at the crowd and each other, not the script.

ADAM (facing the Rabbi): Believe it or not, the waiters want to add a berachah for the stock market for the new Contemporary Minyan. Without Gd's Name, of course, just a מי שבירך.

SARA (also addressing the Rabbi): And the lifeguards want a berachah for the weather, too; we can have Barech Aleinu for farming weather, and Beach Aleinu for swimming weather.

JOSH (bemused): Seriously? So they want a berachah for the stock market, and a berachah for beach weather. What else?

ADAM: Personally, I think it would be a good idea to add HaTikvah.

JOSH: But we already say three separate prayers for Israel and her soldiers. And we daven for HaShem to return to Tzion, and for Yerushalayim to be rebuilt with a Beit haMikdash. So where are you going to fit in Hatikvah?

ADAM: Fine, so maybe we should just require the tune of Hatikvah. Like, the chazan for Musaf must use the tune of Hatikvah for some part of Kedushah. What do you think, Rabbi?

RABBI: I'm… (hunting for tactful words)… not so comfortable.

ADAM: What's your objection to Hatikvah?

RABBI: It's not an objection to Hatikvah; I'm uncomfortable with this whole thing, this Contemporary Minyan idea as a whole.

ADAM: But we've been through this. The kids will absolutely conform with any halachah you present, but they find it hard to relate to the davening as it is. You see them staring off into space, straggling in late, not putting on tefillin, talking to each other with their siddurim closed, don't you?

RABBI: Yes, but are they staring into space because they can't relate to the words or because they don’t think tefillah works at all?

ADAM: Probably some of both.

JOSH: He has a point, Rabbi. We expect these kids – or their parents, for that matter – to connect with words written thousands of years ago, on a different continent, in a different culture and economy and  climate. These kids are reciting words about persecution and farming and a Temple, but they're thinking Internet, reality TV and social media! The world is changing, Rabbi -

SARA (Cut off Josh): And it's not just that society is changing, but we are changing society, ourselves. We don't do things the way our ancestors did, we insist on changing them. All of the great movements of recent history – nationalism, humanism, feminism, racial equality, even Zionism – all of these express the belief that We can shape our world. We construct our own identities.[1] It's time that Judaism let us shape the way we pray.

ADAM: It's true. Look, I'll speak for myself. A few months ago, I had a friend in the hospital, facing a life-and-death surgery. Do you think I connected to G-d with רפאנו?

RABBI: So what did you do?

ADAM: I said the normal amidah, but then I added my own prayer. It was much more meaningful for me. And yes, it would have been more meaningful had I been able to do that communally, maybe having some kind of responsive reading with a tefillah I wrote myself.

SARA: And it's about more than the words. It's about the whole structure. I have a hard time growing close to Gd, or feeling moved, by a prayer that gives me rules for bowing, stepping backward, stepping forward, standing with my feet together.

RABBI: What  - you want interpretive dance instead?[2]

SARA (faux enthusiastically): Yeah! (Josh and Adam swivel around to stare at her, as if to ask, "Seriously?")

RABBI: Look, I get it. When the Shulchan Aruch[3] writes that one shouldn't even change the tunes of davening on Yom Kippur night, it does seem like he is going very far to freeze the way we daven. But if that's what Judaism is, then all of these changes are simply off-base!

SARA: Then we're going to lose these kids, Rabbi. Listen – these aren't cynical kids. These aren't the ones who are dropping out. These kids are in the system, they want to daven, they want to connect to Gd. They don't look at tefillah as some magical way to get Gd to work for them, they believe in growth and getting close to Gd. They aren’t even challenging halachah. Their only "sin" is that they want to add prayers that fit where their hearts are.

RABBI: I hear.

SARA: Look - Rabbi, do you know Jason?

RABBI: Jason Schwartz? Skinny kid in the Grade 6 division?

SARA: Yes, him. Remember how much trouble he was from the start of camp? Refusing to participate in activities he didn't like, picking fights?

RABBI: Sure; but then he seemed to adjust nicely.

SARA: He didn't adjust on his own, Rabbi. (turns to Josh) Josh, tell him what you did.

JOSH (shy about his own role): It wasn't really much; I ran into him one night, sitting in the grass by the main road in a thoughtful mood, and we got to talking. Turns out, his family was going through some bad financial problems.

RABBI: So you talked it out?

JOSH: Actually, no. He asked me… (emotional, pauses) he asked me for a prayer he could say for his father to find a job. He genuinely wanted to talk to HaShem about the situation. I told him he could add a line in Barech Aleinu, but he decided to write his own version of Barech Aleinu. And yeah, since then he does seem to have settled down.

ADAM: We all have individual needs. Look at the Torah reading from this morning, with the Jews camped in the wilderness by tribe. Doesn't Ibn Ezra[4] say that each tribal flag had a unique image, reflecting its special character? And doesn't Rabbeinu Bechayye[5] say the same thing about the unique stone that each tribe had on the Kohen Gadol's breastplate, that it was chosen to reflect their distinct traits? Judaism admits that each of us is different.

JOSH (also addressing Rabbi): And consider this: Rambam wrote[6] that the reason the sages set specific words and form for davening was only a concession to reality. Individuals didn't know how to daven, so the sages gave them a davening, but it's not לכתחילה, ossification isn't the way things were meant to be.

ADAM: So let's allow the kids to change it. Rabbi Eliezer said that one who davens in a way that is fixed, rote, is not davening an acceptable tefillah.[7] חנוך לנער על פי דרכו,[8] let each kid grow in his own way, with his own character![9]

RABBI: I hear you, and I respect what you're saying. I respect what the kids are saying. But at the same time, this sounds an awful lot like Sheilaism – you know, that woman who created her own religion around the idea that we should love ourselves, be gentle with ourselves, and take care of each other.[10] Reject the status quo and do whatever you want, right?

SARA: Rabbi, Judaism was founded on rejecting the status quo and shaping things ourselves. Avraham rebelled against his society, and was known as an עברי for it.[11] Chanah davened her own way at the mishkan in Shiloh. We charted our own path then, and we should do it again. Enough with the limits!

RABBI (growing frustrated): But there are limits! We aren't allowed to add to the Torah,[12] even a prophet can't add to the Torah![13]

JOSH: So is that your ruling? The kids can't create their Contemporary Minyan?

RABBI: (pause for thought, sigh and exhalation) No, I'm not going to block it. But I've reviewed the rest of the ideas the kids have submitted, and there is one I will have to cut.

ADAM: Which one?

RABBI: The מי שבירך for the Maple Leafs – that ought to be a קל מלא רחמים.

SARA: But they can keep the berachah for Rob Ford's political future?

RABBI: No way, Sara; that's a ברכה לבטלה if I've ever heard one.

Act Two and Act Three may follow...

---

[1] Charlotte Krolokke and Anne S. Sorensen, Gender Communication Theories and Analyses; http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/15267/religious-leaders-attack-idf-on-the-gender-battlefield/; Ilan Stavans Lost in Translation: An Autobiographical Essay

[2] http://jwa.org/blog/finding-a-jewish-feminist-home

[3] See Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 619:1; Mishneh Berurah 619:7, Maharil Hilchos Yom Kippur 11

[4] Ibn Ezra to Bamidbar 2:2

[5] Shemot 28

[6] Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Tefillah 1:4

[7] Mishnah Berachos 4:4

[8] Mishlei 22:6

[9] And see Orot haTeshuvah 5, and Rav Kook's poem אל חכי שופר, on each person's unique character

[10] Bellah and Madsen, Habits of the Heart, cited in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheilaism

[11] Bereishit Rabbah 41

[12] Bal Tosif

[13] Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Yesodei haTorah 8

Who carries whom?

I don't know that I have regular readers anymore, but if I do, sorry for the lag between posts. It's not for lack of topics on which to blog. I'm trying to get my schedule under control, but I don't expect to succeed until after Shavuos...

In the meantime, here is an article I wrote for this week's Toronto Torah, on the job of carrying the Aron. The core idea is original, but I think it's right:

Our Torah portion, collaborating with Parshat Naso, offers perplexing misdirection.

This week we are told, "Aharon and his sons will take down the curtain, and use it to cover the Aron [Ark]. They shall place over it a cover of tachash, spread a garment of techelet above it and put its poles in place… and then the sons of Kehat will come to transport." (Bamidbar 4:5-6, 15) Next week we will add, "The sons of Kehat… work with the sacred items, transporting [these] upon their shoulders."

These verses teach that the clan of Kehat carries sacred items, including the Aron. However, the Talmud (Sotah 35a) contends that the Aron actually carries its "bearers". Describing the way the Jews entered Canaan, the Talmud claims that G-d split the Yarden River to allow the Jews to cross, then the river was restored, and then "the Aron carried its bearers" across the water. Lest one say this levitative incident was a momentary fluke, the Talmud continues to say that this state is the norm. [See Shemuel II 6 for more regarding this.]

If the Aron truly carries itself, why does the Torah pretend that human beings carry it?

Perhaps we may compare "carrying" the Aron with another unlikely biblical pretense of transportation. The prophet Yechezkel describes four chayot which transport a Divine throne. (Yechezkel 1) As explained by Don Isaac Abarbanel, the chayot do not actually move the throne; rather, "transporting the throne" refers to carrying out the Divine will. One chayah, which has the image of a bird, flies swifly to the rescue of those who serve G-d. A second chayah, pictured as an ox, delivers benefit like the blessings of the fields. The third chayah, appearing like a lion, deploys massive strength to punish criminals. And the fourth chayah, looking like a human being, conveys the Divine message via prophecy. The bearers of the Divine throne are transported by that throne, charged with a mission and energized with the power to carry it out. The same may be said for the task of carrying the Aron; to "carry" the Aron is to be charged with implementing a mission on its behalf.

This idea may illuminate a debate regarding which people were charged with "carrying" the Aron. Bamidbar 4 teaches that the Levite clan of Kehat carried the Aron. On the other hand, Devarim 31:9 mentions "the Kohanim, sons of Levi, who carried the Aron." Is this mitzvah for Levites, or for Kohanim? The mixed message persists after the Jews enter Israel. When the Jews cross the Yarden River (Yehoshua 3-4), the Kohanim carry the Aron. The Kohanim also carry the Aron when the Jews surround the city of Yericho (Yehoshua 6), and when the first Beit haMikdash is dedicated. (Melachim I 8) On the other hand, Divrei haYamim I 15 records that the Levites carried the Aron during the days of King David. So whose mitzvah is this?

Rambam (Sefer haMitzvot, Aseh 34) contends that Levites only carried the Aron in the early days, when there were few Kohanim, and then the mitzvah was transferred to the Kohanim. Ramban (Hasagot to Shoresh 3) disagrees, contending that the mitzvah was always for the Levites; the three recorded times when the Kohanim carried the Aron were exceptions, commanded by prophets.

Perhaps transport by the Kohen and Levite reflects two different missions carried out with the Aron on behalf of G-d: the Kohen's service in the Beit haMikdash, and the Levite's task of teaching Torah to the nation. (Devarim 33:10) Per Rambam, the Aron is a denizen of the Beit haMikdash, associated with the Kohen's service of G-d in the Beit haMikdash; carrying the Aron is an act between Man and G-d. Per Ramban, the Aron is home of the Torah, associated with the Levite's teaching of Torah to the Jews; carrying the Aron is an act of conveying the presence of G-d to the nation. Within this view, only in unique moments of Divine closeness – crossing the Yarden, the miracle at Yericho and the inauguration of the Beit haMikdash – is the Aron carried by those who conduct the service in the Beit haMikdash.

Whether transporting the Aron is a way for Man to serve G-d or a way to communicate G-d's Torah to Man, one point is clear: its bearers, like those who bear the Divine throne, have a fundamental mission. G-d does not need the service of the Kohanim or the Torah teaching of the Levites, but if the Torah were to state openly, "the Aron moves on its own," then the bearers might take their mission lightly. By stating, "You shall carry the Aron upon your shoulders," the Torah emphasizes our great task. Service of G-d, and communication of the Divine message to human beings, ought not be left to others, or to G-d; these responsibilities rest upon human shoulders.

Tzniut and Depression?

A friend recently sent me to a video advertisement for Pristiq, an anti-depressant. Click on the picture below to go to the 1-minute video (the video's poster has blocked embedding on Blogger):

Pristiq's "wind-up doll" ad campaign has been criticized for various sins over the past few years, but my friend's point was unique: In this ad, all four of the depressed women wear long skirts and long sleeves. All four of the happy women wear pants or shorts, and two of them have no sleeves.

Of course, a commercial for medication is not a planned statement against the tzanua [perhaps best translated as "private"] attire traditional among observant Jews. However, I think this ad demonstrates a negative social stereotype which casts tzanua dress in a bad light. As reflected in this ad, people tend to view long skirts and long sleeves as signs of negative body image, or avoiding the world's gaze.

This is upsetting, of course. From a traditional Jewish perspective, being private - with one's body, one's thoughts, one's life - is an active choice, designed to promote self-development and a strong relationship with Gd. Tzanua conduct isn't supposed to be about flight from the world or a sign of insecurity. Tzniut is a healthy lifestyle decision, whether regarding the way one dresses, or the way one speaks, or the way one socializes.

I find the message this ad sends regarding tzanua dress, and tzanua conduct in general, depressing.

The Omer: It's not a sad time!

From time to time, I hear people call the Omer a "sad time". Of course, this is a reasonable conclusion from the absence of music during the days between Pesach and Lag ba'Omer, but in truth, sadness is not what the Omer period should represent.

True, we commemorate the death of Rabbi Akiva's students (Talmud, Yevamot 62b), as well as other historic catastrophes which occurred during a period of time that coincides with the Omer. Nonetheless, as presented in the Torah, the Omer is something entirely different.

There is a second popular misconception regarding the Omer: that we are counting the days until we receive the Torah at Sinai. True, the Omer count concludes, on our calendar, with the fifth of Sivan, and we received the Torah on either the 6th of 7th of Sivan. (Talmud, Shabbat 87a-88a) However, the Torah (Vayikra 23:9-22) does not present this as the reason for counting.

As commanded in the Torah, from the time we first settled the land of Israel we were to bring G-d an annual offering from our new barley, on the 16th of Nisan. Then, we were to count 49 days while harvesting the year's new wheat, and on the 50th day we would bring an annual offering to G-d from our new wheat. In other words: during the Omer period we count the days until we are able to bring G-d a present.

This is the reigning emotion of the Omer: joyous anticipation of an occasion when we will be able to offer G-d the fruit of our efforts, when we will stand in the Beit haMikdash, with loaves of our grain presented before us, and say, "Thank You for all of Your help! As we collect our food from the fields, we dedicate this first portion to You."

• The Omer count weaves together the humility of one who recognizes Divine aid with the pride of one who can show off results.
• It blends the generosity of giving a gift with the gratitude of recognizing that we have received a gift from G-d. 
• It mixes the spiritual rite of the Beit haMikdash with the manual labour of the fields.

What a wonderful celebration; this theme should never be forgotten, even in the face of the presentation of the Torah at Sinai, or the grief of 33 days. May we soon bring these offerings again!

Becoming a slave

A thought for Pesach:

Many themes thread through the events of our departure from Egypt, but one caught my eye this week: The focus on time and schedule -

The Jews are told on Rosh Chodesh Nisan (Shemot 12:1) that they should plan to designate a lamb on the tenth of Nisan (ibid. 12:3), to be slaughtered on the fourteenth of Nisan (ibid. 12:6), for their meal on the night of the fifteenth of Nisan. (ibid. 12:8) They are told to eat from this meal only that night; anything left until the morning is to be burned. (ibid. 12:10)

The Jews are told that for all generations, they are to observe this holiday of Pesach for seven days - and repeatedly, the schedule for the holiday is drilled into them: For seven days you shall eat matzah. On the preceding day you shall destroy chametz. Anyone who eats chametz from Day 1 to Day 7 will be punished. The first day shall be holy. The seventh day shall be holy. On the fourteenth day of the month, at night, you shall eat matzah, until the 21st day of the month, at night. For seven days, chametz shall not be found in your homes. (ibid. 12:15-19)

Moshe emphasizes to Pharaoh that the plague striking the firstborn will happen in the middle of the night (ibid. 11:4), and indeed, we are told that it happens at midnight (ibid. 12:29)

And the departure is emphatically punctual; we are told, "The Children of Israel dwelled in Egypt for 430 years. And it was, at the end of 430 years, on that very day, G-d's multitudes left Egypt." (ibid. 12:40-41)

Why are these schedules drummed into our heads? Here's one thought: When a slave is freed, the least likely result is that he will get up on time the next day. But the Jews are told that they are not becoming free in order to serve their own desires; rather, they are becoming free in order to serve a new master. They are now to become avdei HaShem, servants of G-d, and to run on G-d's schedule. All will happen on the clock of the Boss.

Of course, one might then ask whether the Jews gained anything at all by leaving Egypt; indeed, the Jews themselves asked this question repeatedly in the ensuing months. But a quick comparison of their bosses provides the answer: When serving Pharaoh, the goal was to satisfy Pharaoh's needs. When serving G-d, the goal would be to grow and develop as human beings and as Jews. The mitzvot, as a midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 44:1) declares, are meant not to satisfy G-d, but to purify G-d creations.

When we celebrate Pesach, then, we celebrate not release from slavery, but entry into a new relationship. As we say at the start of Hallel, "Hallelu, avdei HaShem!" Praise G-d, servants of G-d!

To my mind, this is the challenge of Jewish History: Will a free person choose a Master? And meeting this challenge is our mission on Pesach.

[I am grateful to my chavrusa, Jerry Balitsky, for planting the seed of this idea in my head.]

Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Source Sheet

As I mentioned last week, I will be addressing a group of rabbis on Monday on the topic of Physician-Assisted Suicide, Gd-willing. This is in relation to a proposed bill promoting "terminal palliative sedation" and "medical aid in dying".

Below please find the source sheet I plan to use; I am grateful to those who submitted suggestions in response to my post last week, publicly and by email.

As always when I post a source sheet, I know that the structure of the session will be unintelligible from this page alone. However, you might find the sources themselves interesting, or the bibliography at the end useful.

Physician-Assisted Suicide

R' Mordechai Torczyner – torczyner@torontotorah.com

Introduction

1.   Rabbi J. David Bleich, GodTalk: Should Religion Inform Public Debate? Loyola of L.A. Law Review 29 (1996)

[T]his [religious] line of argument will hardly be regarded as respectable in academic circles, certainly not within legal academic circles. And recognition that this type of advocacy is not respectable becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If one regards a certain position as somewhat less than respectable, one does not engage in discourse advocating that position. Failure to engage in that type of conversation confirms its lack of respectability and the wall of separation is thereby reinforced not only as a wall between church and state but as a wall between religion and the public square. Accordingly, religious concerns, even when introduced into the public square, lose their validity. But the converse is also true: Religious concerns presented in public discourse again and again dispel embarrassment and become self-validating. But in order for religion to become present in the public square we must first overcome the reticence from which we all suffer.

Division I       Terminal Palliative Sedation

Division II     Medical Aid in Dying

The Imperative for Palliation

2.   Biblical basis for the imperative to mitigate pain                 Leviticus 19:16, 19:18; Deuteronomy 22:2, 22:3

3.   Maimonides, Commentary to Mishnah Pesachim 4:10

ולא הארכתי לדבר בענין זה אלא מפני ששמעתי וגם פירשו לי ששלמה חבר ספר רפואות שאם חלה אדם באיזו מחלה שהיא פנה אליו ועשה כמו שהוא אומר ומתרפא, וראה חזקיה שלא היו בני אדם בוטחים בד' במחלותיהם אלא על ספר הרפואות, עמד וגנזו. ומלבד אפסות דבר זה ומה שיש בו מן ההזיות, הנה ייחסו לחזקיה ולסיעתו שהודו לו סכלות שאין ליחס דוגמתה אלא לגרועים שבהמון. ולפי דמיונם המשובש והמטופש אם רעב אדם ופנה אל הלחם ואכלו שמתרפא מאותו הצער הגדול בלי ספק, האם נאמר שהסיר בטחונו מד'...

I would not have gone on at length about this but for that which I heard, and they have explained to me, that Solomon composed a book of cures, such that a person who took ill with a particular ailment could turn to the book, do as it said and be healed. Hezekiah saw that people who became ill did not put their faith in Gd, but in the Book of Cures, and so he hid it away.

Aside from the fact that this is wrong and foolish, they have ascribed to Hezekiah and his complicit associates a foolishness which would be inappropriate to ascribe to the lowest of the masses! Per their confused and foolish imagination, one who hungered and ate bread, which would undoubtedly heal his great pain – would we say he had removed his trust in Gd?!...

4.   Talmud, Ketubot 33b

אילמלי נגדוה לחנניה מישאל ועזריה, פלחו לצלמא.

Had the Babylonians whipped Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah, they would have worshipped the idol.

5.   Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg (20^th century Israel), Tzitz Eliezer 13:87

כל היכא שתכשירי הרפואה הניתנים, הן בצורת כדורים והן בצורת זריקות, נתנים המה ע"י הרופא במטרה כדי להקל מעליו יסוריו הקשים מותר לו לתת לחולה, הגם שמאידך המה מזיקים לו ועלולים גם לקרב יותר את מיתתו, כי נראה שזהו ג"כ בכלל נתינת הרשות שנתנה התורה לרופא לרפאות...

Whether the medical means are pills or injections, so long as they are given by a doctor with the goal of lessening his great suffering, ony may give them to the patient even though they will also harm him and they could bring his death closer. It appears that this is part of the Torah's permission to the physician to heal…

6.   Talmud, Berachot 19b

גדול כבוד הבריות שדוחה [את] לא תעשה שבתורה. ואמאי? לימא אין חכמה ואין תבונה ואין עצה לנגד ד' (משלי כא)! תרגמה רב בר שבא קמיה דרב כהנא בלאו דלא תסור. אחיכו עליה, לאו דלא תסור דאורייתא היא! אמר רב כהנא גברא רבה אמר מילתא לא תחיכו עליה, כל מילי דרבנן אסמכינהו על לאו דלא תסור ומשום כבודו שרו רבנן...

"Dignity is so great that it overrides a biblical prohibition." But why not apply Proverbs 21:30, "There is neither wisdom nor understanding nor counsel opposite Gd!" Rav bar Sheva explained before Rav Kahana: The prohibition here is that of, "Do not stray [from the words of the sages]."

They laughed at Rav bar Sheva; the prohibition of "Do not stray" is itself biblical!

Rav Kahana said: When a great man says something, do not laugh at him. The sages linked all of their words to the prohibition of "Do not stray", and for a person's dignity they permitted violation.

7.   Rabbi Dr. Avraham Sofer Avraham, Nishmat Avraham Orach Chaim 301:11:2

ואמר לי מו"ר הגרי"י נויבירט שליט"א... מסתבר שיהיה מותר לחולה כזה לצאת עם המכשיר בשבת, גם במקום שאין עירוב (אך אינו רה״ר גמורה), אם הוא לובש אותו בשינוי־כגון אם הוא כורך וקושר את חגורת הבד מסביב לרגלו או לידו ותוחב שם את המחט... ואמר לי מו״ר שליט״א שיש משום כבוד הבריות בחולה סוכרת כזה כי ללא היתר כנ״ל לא יוכל אף פעם, כל ימי חייו, לצאת מביתו בשבת. אך הוסיף שההיתר הוא דוקא לשם מצוה...  עוד א״ל מו״ר שליט״א שאדם שלא בא אף פעם לביהכ״נ או לשיעור תורה ידברו עליו וזה גם נקרא משום כבוד הבריות.

Rabbi Yehoshua Neuwirth told me… It is logical to contend that such a patient could go out with the device on Shabbat even without an eruv (in an area which was not a full-fledged public domain), if he would wear it in an unusual way, such as by wrapping and tying the band around his leg or hand and poking the needle into it... And my mentor stated that this is a matter of dignity for such a diabetic, for without this permission he could never, in his entire life, leave his house on Shabbat. He added, though, that this permission is only for a mitzvah… He noted that people would talk about someone who never attended synagogue or Torah classes, and this is also an element of "dignity".

8.   Talmud, Ketubot 104a

סליקא אמתיה דרבי לאיגרא, אמרה: עליוני' מבקשין את רבי והתחתוני' מבקשין את רבי, יהי רצון שיכופו תחתונים את העליונים. כיון דחזאי כמה זימני דעייל לבית הכסא, וחלץ תפילין ומנח להו וקמצטער, אמרה: יהי רצון שיכופו עליונים את התחתונים. ולא הוו שתקי רבנן מלמיבעי רחמי, שקלה כוזא שדייא מאיגרא [לארעא], אישתיקו מרחמי ונח נפשיה דרבי.

Rebbe's maid ascended to the roof and said, "The Heavens request Rebbe and the earthly realm requests Rebbe. May it be Gd's will that the earthly realm should overpower the Heavens!"

When she saw how often Rebbe had to go to the washroom,removing his phylacteries and then putting them back on, and how he was in great pain, she said, "May it be Gd's will that the Heavens should overpower the earthly realm!"

The sages were not silent in their prayers for Gd's mercy, so she took a pitcher of water and threw it from the roof. The praying people paused, and Rebbe passed away.

9.   Rabbeinu Nisim (14^th century Spain) to Talmud, Nedarim 40a

פעמים שצריך לבקש רחמים על החולה שימות כגון שמצטער החולה בחליו הרבה ואי אפשר לו שיחיה.

Sometimes one needs to pray for mercy for the patient to die, such as where the patient is in great pain due to his illness and he cannot live.

10.      Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (20^th century Israel), Minchat Shlomo 1:91:24

גם באותה שעה שמבקש ומתפלל לד' שהחולה ימות ג"כ חייב הוא להתעסק בהצלתו ולחלל עליו את השבת אפילו כמה פעמים...

 Also, as one requests and prays to Gd for the patient to die, he is also obligated to involve himself in saving the patient and desecrating Shabbat for him, even many times.

Application: Division I – Terminal Palliative Sedation

11.      Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Halperin, http://98.131.138.124/db/showQ.asp?ID=6936

I wish to receive counsel and guidance regarding my 91-year old mother, who has fractures all along her spine due to osteoporosis. Recently she fell and was bounced around, and since then she has experienced great pains.

The advice of the doctors is to sedate her, to prevent pain. According to the doctors she will not return to walking, or to moving her lower body. She can move her arms [only] lightly. However, she is still lucid. The question: May one go along with the doctor's advice and introduce her into sedation to prevent pain? I understand that this sedation would become a permanent state for the rest of her life.

Response: The discussion is of a lucid woman. Therefore, this depends exclusively upon her desire, and one should ask her directly.

12.      Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica

It would seem that nobody may lawfully kill a man in self-defense. For Augustine says to Publicola (Ep. XLVII): "I do not agree with the opinion that one may kill a man lest one be killed by him; unless one be a soldier, exercise a public office, so that one does it not for oneself but for others, having the power to do so, provided it be in keeping with one's person." Now he who kills a man in self-defense, kills him lest he be killed by him. Therefore this would seem to be unlawful.

13.      Rabbi Yaakov Emden (18^th century Germany), Mor uKetziah Orach Chaim 328

אבל יש שבוחרין בספק נפשות כדי להציל עצמן מיסורין קשין כאותן שמוסרין עצמן לחיתוך מפני אבן שבכיס ובגיד וחצץ הכליות הכואב אותן מאד בצער קשה כמוות ר"ל. ולאלה מניחין אותן לעשות כחפצם בלי מוחה, מחמת שכמה פעמים נושעים ונרפאים.

Some choose to endanger their lives in order to avoid great pain, like those who undergo surgery for a kidneystone… which pains them like death. They may do so without protest, for they are often saved and healed.

Moving to Division II: May we actively end a patient's life?

14.      Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenberg (19^th century Germany), HaKtav v'haKabbalah Noach 9:5

ומיד האדם. כפל לשון אדם ואיש, גם חבר אליו מלת אחיו. נ"ל כי יש שני אופני רציחה. אם לרעת הנרצח לנקום נקמתו ממנו, או לקחת ממונו וכדומה, אם לטובת הנרצח כשהוא משוקע בצער גדול ויבחר מות מחיים

"From the hand of adam [and from the hand of ish, his brother]" – The Torah doubled the term adam and ish, and also joined the word "brother". Apparently, there are two forms of murder: Harming the victim by avenging one's self upon him, taking his property and the like, or benefiting the victim when he is immersed in great pain and he would choose death over life.

15.      Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein (19^th century Poland), Aruch haShulchan Yoreh Deah 339:1

ואף על פי שאנו רואים שמצטער הרבה בגסיסתו וטוב לו המות מ"מ אסור לנו לעשות דבר לקרב מיתתו והעולם ומלואו של הקב"ה וכך רצונו יתברך

Although we see that he is in great pain in his goses state, and it would be better for him to die, still, we are prohibited from doing anything to hasten his death. The world and all in it belong to Gd, and such is His will.

Enabling a patient to take his own life: The opposition

16.      Maimondies, Laws of one who Wounds and Harms 5:1

אסור לאדם לחבול בין בעצמו בין בחבירו, ולא החובל בלבד אלא כל המכה... דרך נציון הרי זה עובר בלא תעשה

One may not wound himself or any other person.

17.      Rabbi David ibn Abi Zimra (15^th century Spain/Israel), Commentary to Maimonides, Laws of Sanhedrin 18:6

שאין נפשו של אדם קניינו אלא קנין הקב"ה שנאמר "הנפשות לי הנה" (יחזקאל י"ח) הילכך לא תועיל הודאתו בדבר שאינו שלו, ומלקות פלגא דמיתה הוא.

A person's life is not his property; it is the property of Gd, as Yechezkel 18:4 says, 'The souls are Mine.' Therefore, one's admission regarding something that is not his cannot be effective. [This is even true if the admission would lead not to death but only to lashes, for] lashes are a partial death.

18.      Rabbi Alvin Reines, Reform Judaism, Bioethics and Abortion, Reform Judaism 37:1

Reform Judaism as a polydoxy is a religion that affirms the ultimate moral right of the individual person to exercise authority over her/himself. Stated in other terms, Reform asserts that every person is the ultimate owner of her/himself with the moral right, consequently, to do with her/his mind or body that which she/he chooses to do…It is evident that a Reform Jew has a moral right to commit suicide.

19.      Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (20^th century Israel), Minchat Shlomo 1:91:24

הענין של "חיים" אין לנו שום קנה - מידה כמה למדוד את יוקרם וחשיבותם אפילו לא בתורה ומצוות, שהרי מחללין את השבת גם על זקן חולה מוכה שחין אף על פי שהוא חרש ושוטה גמור, ואינו יכול לעשות שום מצוה וחייו הם רק למשא וסבל גדול על משפחתו וגורם להם ביטול תורה ומצוות, ונוסף לצערם הגדול הרי הם אזלי ומדלדלי... אבל מ"מ הואיל וסוף סוף החיים של המשותקים הם רעים ומרים, וגם יש אשר טוב להם המות מהחיים, לכן בכגון דא מסתבר שאין חייבין לעשות מעשה של נתוח בקום ועשה...

We have no measuring stick for "life", to gauge its value and importance even without Torah and commandments. We violate Shabbat even for an elderly, ill, boils-ridden person, even if he is deaf and mute and entirely insane, and he can perform no commandment, and his life is only a burden and great suffering for his family, and he takes them away from Torah study and other commandments, and in addition to their great pain they are deteriorating… But still, because the lives of people who are entirely paralyzed are bad and bitter, and for some of them death would be better than life, in such a circumstance it is logical to say that there is no obligation to operate…

Enabling a patient to take his own life: Suicide due to pain may be different

20.      Talmud, Avodah Zarah 18a

הביאוהו וכרכוהו בס"ת, והקיפוהו בחבילי זמורות והציתו בהן את האור, והביאו ספוגין של צמר ושראום במים והניחום על לבו, כדי שלא תצא נשמתו מהרה.... אמרו לו תלמידיו... פתח פיך ותכנס [בך] האש! אמר להן: מוטב שיטלנה מי שנתנה ואל יחבל הוא בעצמו. אמר לו קלצטונירי: רבי, אם אני מרבה בשלהבת ונוטל ספוגין של צמר מעל לבך, אתה מביאני לחיי העולם הבא? אמר לו: הן. השבע לי! נשבע לו...

They brought him and wrapped him in a Torah scroll, and bound him with vines and kindled them. They brought wool sponges and soaked them in water and placed them on his heart so that his life would not depart quickly… His students said to him… Open your mouth and let the fire enter! He said to them: Better that the One who gave it take it back, and not that I harm myself.

The executioner said to him: My master! If I were to increase the flame and remove the wool sponges from your heart, would you bring me to the next world? He replied: Yes. [The executioner said:] Swear to me! He swore.

21.      Samuel I 31:3-4

(ג) וַתִּכְבַּד הַמִּלְחָמָה אֶל־שָׁאוּל וַיִּמְצָאֻהוּ הַמּוֹרִים אֲנָשִׁים בַּקָּשֶׁת וַיָּחֶל מְאֹד מֵהַמּוֹרִים: (ד) וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל לְנֹשֵׂא כֵלָיו שְׁלֹף חַרְבְּךָ וְדָקְרֵנִי בָהּ פֶּן־יָבוֹאוּ הָעֲרֵלִים הָאֵלֶּה וּדְקָרֻנִי וְהִתְעַלְּלוּ־בִי וְלֹא אָבָה נֹשֵׂא כֵלָיו כִּי יָרֵא מְאֹד וַיִּקַּח שָׁאוּל אֶת־הַחֶרֶב וַיִּפֹּל עָלֶיהָ:

And the war turned heavily against Saul, and the archers found him, and he suffered greatly from the archers. And Saul said to his armour-bearer: Unsheathe your sword and stab me with it, lest these uncircumcised ones come, stab me and mock me! But his armour-bearer would not, for he was very afraid. And Saul took the sword and fell on it.

22.      Some of the justifications for Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyon

·         The flames were not directly raised (Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, Torah sheb'Al Peh 62)

·         Concern for causing stumbling was overridden (Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Choshen Mishpat 2:74:2)

·         It's not self-wounding (Rabbi Shlomo Luria, Yam shel Shlomo to Bava Kama 8:59)

·         Desecration of Gd's Name (Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg, Tzitz Eliezer 4:13:2:7)

·         It is matter of choosing a 'better' death (Rabbi Menasheh Klein, Mishneh Halachot 7:287)

23.      Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (20^th century Russia/USA), Igrot Moshe Choshen Mishpat 2:74:2

וגם אפשר שבן נח אינו אסור ברציחה שהוא לטובת הנרצח ושאני בזה האיסור לישראל מהאיסור לבן נח

It is also possible that a Noachide is not prohibited from such murder, for it benefits the victim. In this regard, the prohibition for a Noachide may be different from that of a Jew.

24.      Rabbi J. David Bleich (21^st century USA), Treatment of the Terminally Ill, Tradition 30:3 (1996)

Although Rabbi Chanina would have been required to expend his entire fortune in order to avoid that transgression he was not obliged to accept the greater burden of prolonged suffering entailed by a slow death at the stake.

25.      Rabbi Moshe Tendler and Dr. Fred Rosner, Quality and Sanctity of Life, Tradition 28:1 (1993)

One of us (MDT) has suggested that, as an extra measure of cruelty not mandated by the Emperor or Governor, the Executioner had placed the wads of wet wool and had lowered the flame. "Burning at the stake" had a formal protocol which was not followed by the cruel Executioner. Restoring the flame to its original intensity is not considered an act of hastening death but merely the removal of the extra measure of cruel torture introduced by the Executioner.

26.      Some of the justifications for King Saul

·         Desecration of Gd's Name (Rabbi Yom Tov el-Ashvili, as cited in Weiner, Ye Shall Surely Heal)

·         To save the rescuers (Rabbi Shlomo Luria, Yam shel Shlomo Bava Kama 8:59)

·         To avoid mockery (Rabbi David Kimchi, Commentary to Samuel I 31:4)

27.      Rabbeinu Asher (13^th century Germany/Spain) Commentary to Moed Katan 3:94

היה איבוד מותר לו כדאיתא בבראשית רבה ואך את דמכם לנפשותיכם אדרוש מיד נפשותיכם אדרוש את דמכם יכול אפילו נרדף כשאול תלמוד לומר אך לפיכך לא היה בכלל מאבד עצמו לדעת

Suicide was permitted for him, as seen in a midrash, "'But only, your blood for your lives I will seek; from your lives I will seek your blood.' I might say this even for one who is pursued, like Saul? For this reason it says 'But'." Therefore, he was not within the category of willful suicide.

In sum

·         Division I : Continuous Palliation vs. Terminal Palliation

·         Division II: Active ending of a life vs. Double effect vs. Enabling suicide vs. Escaping pain

"Hard cases make bad law"

28.      Five concerns

·         Slippery slope

·         Pressure on the patient

·         Protecting the laws regarding assault

·         Society's responsibility

·         Who advises the patient?

29.      Deutsche-Welle, Belgium approves assisted suicide for minors, Feb. 13 2014

http://www.dw.de/belgium-approves-assisted-suicide-for-minors/a-17429423

The vote on Thursday by Belgium's House of Representatives removed all age restrictions on the right of the incurably sick to end their lives, a vote that has caused considerable controversy.

30.      John Keown, On Regulating Death, Hastings Center Report (1992)

31.      Jane Parkis and R. Warwick Blood, Suicide and the Media, Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/cri/22/4/146/

Reviews 42 studies concerning the relationship between nonfiction media reporting and portrayal of suicide and actual suicidal behavior and ideation. Studies of nonfiction newspaper, television, and book accounts of reported suicide were examined. Results show an association between nonfictional media portrayal of suicide and actual suicide. The association satisfied sufficiently the criteria of consistency, strength, temporality, specificity, and coherence for it to be deemed causal.

32.      Washington State Medical Association, Pain Management and Care of the Terminal Patient (1992)

Adequate interventions exist to control pain in 90 to 99% of patients.

33.      The Bill in Question

28. The physician must be of the opinion that the patient meets the criteria of Section 26, after, among other things… making sure that the request is being made freely and without any external pressure; making sure that the request is an informed one…

34.      Margaret Dore, Preventing Abuse and Exploitation, ABA Senior Lawyers Division 25:4

I have had two clients whose fathers signed up for the lethal dose. In the first case, one side of the family wanted the father to take the lethal dose, while the other did not. He spent the last months of his life caught in the middle and traumatized over whether or not he should kill himself. My client, his adult daughter, was also traumatized. The father did not take the lethal dose and died a natural death.

In the other case, it's not clear that administration of the lethal dose was voluntary. A man who was present told my client that his father refused to take the lethal dose when it was delivered ("You're not killing me. I'm going to bed"), but then took it the next night when he was high on alcohol. The man who told this to my client later recanted. My client did not want to pursue the matter further.

35.      Succession Law Reform Act (1990) Chapter S.26 Part 12

Where a will is attested by a person to whom or to whose then spouse a beneficial devise, bequest or other disposition or appointment of or affecting property, except charges and directions for payment of debts, is thereby given or made, the devise, bequest or other disposition or appointment is void so far only as it concerns,

(a) the person so attesting;

(b) the spouse; or

(c) a person claiming under either of them,

but the person so attesting is a competent witness to prove the execution of the will or its validity or invalidity. R.S.O. 1990, c. S.26, s. 12 (1).

Bibliography of secondary sources on Jewish Law

English articles

·         Rabbi Y. Breitowitz, Physician-Assisted Suicide, jlaw.com

·         Rabbi Y. Breitowitz, The Right to Die, jlaw.com

·         Rabbi J. David Bleich, Treatment of the Terminally Ill, Tradition 30:3 (1996)

·         Rabbi J. David Bleich, GodTalk:Should Religion Inform Public Debate? 29 Loyola L.A.L.Revi. 1513 (1996)

·         Rabbi J. David Bleich, Life as an intrinsic rather than instrumental good, Law and Medicine 139 (1993)

·         Cohen-Almagor/Shmueli, Can life be evaluated? Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 21 (2000)

·         J Kunin, Withholding artificial feeding from the severely demented Journal of Medical Ethics 29 (2003)

·         Neeman/Sacks, Euthanasia, The Institute for Jewish Medical Ethics

·         Chaim Povarsky, Is euthanasia permissible under Jewish Law, Jewish Law Report Aug 1994

·         Prof. Steven Resnicoff, Physician-Assisted Suicide Under Jewish Law, jlaw.com

·         R' Zev Schostak, Ethical Guidelines for Treatment of the Dying Elderly, J. of Halacha & Contemporary Society 22

·         R' Tendler/Dr. Rosner, Quality and Sanctity of Life in the Talmud and the Midrash, Tradition 28:1 pg. 18 (1993)

·         R' Yaakov Weiner, Insights on the Treatment of the Terminally Ill, Jerusalem Forum on Medicine and Halacha, #5

Hebrew articles

·         Rabbi Chaim Dovid HaLevi, Techumin II (1981) ניתוק חולה שאפסו סיכוייו לחיות ממכונת הנשמה מלאכותית

·         Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Halperin, Assia (1997), מניעת טיפול בחולה א.ל.ס. והמתת חסד

·         Rabbi Yisroel Meir Lau, Torah sheb'Al Peh 25, רצח מתוך רחמים-המתת חסד

·         Rabbi Dr. Abraham Steinberg, Assia (1978), רצח מתוך רחמים לאור ההלכה

·         Rabbi Moshe Stern, Bishvilei haRefuah 5 (1982), רצח מתוך רחמים או תפילה על חולה אנוש שימות

·         Rabbi Yaakov Weinberger, Dinei Yisrael 7 (1976) רצח מתוך רחמים בהלכה היהודית

Books

·         R' Bleich, R' Brayer, Dr. Rosner, Jewish Bioethics (1980)

·         R' Bleich, Judaism and Healing: Halakhic Perspectives (2002)

·         R' Yaakov Weiner, Ye shall surely heal: Medical Ethics from a Halachic Perspective (1995)