In the Bible, there are four instances: Samson brings the Temple of Dagon crashing down upon both himself and the Philistines (Judges 16.30); King Saul falls on his sword after being defeated in battle (I Samuel 31.4)
Achitophel hangs himself after the failure of the rebellion against David he supported, (II Samuel 17.23). Zimri, one of the kings of Israel sets his house on fire with himself in it (I Kings 16.18).
Yet none are condemned. If this leaves us confused, the Talmud also does not help: there is the famous case of Rabbi Judah Hanasi, the dying scholar who is being kept alive by the prayers of his colleagues until a maid distracts them by smashing a pot. The disciples temporarily halted their prayers and his soul slipped away (Ketubot 104a).
However, this relates more to the question of stopping someone from being kept alive artificially – in Judah’s case by interrupting the prayers being said on his behalf – while in modern settings the equivalent would be turning off a life support machine sustaining someone; but it is not a person taking their own life.
The same applies to Chanina ben Teradion, a rabbi being burnt at the stake by the Romans. He accepts the offer of the executioner to remove wet woollen tufts that had been placed on his chest to delay his death and increase his suffering (Avodah Zarah 18a).
Once again, though, this is removing a procedure that was delaying death, not actually instigating it.
It is not that Jewish tradition is impervious to suffering, but that it feels unable to authorise suicide. The most permissive attempt to help such a person has come in modern times from the late Moshe Feinstein, the acknowledged authority of Orthodox Jewry in the United States.
He wrote that it is permitted to pray for a suffering person’s death. While this may be a way of nudging God, it still rules out any human intervention (Igrot Moshe, Chosen Mishpat 2.73).
In justification of leaving death to the divine will, it is often said that it is not for us mortals “to play God”. But that is very misleading, as we constantly play God every time we give a blood transfusion or sanction a heart transplant.
If we can actively override impending death, why can we not permit it to relieve an already dying person?
Perhaps we should admit that neither the Bible nor the Talmud are addressing modern assisted dying, as it simply was not on their radar. Rather than squeeze the question into ancient scenarios, we should look for an answer that combines traditional values with new insights.
What would be most helpful here is to be clear about terms and their very distinct applications: euthanasia (associated so hatefully with the Nazis, but long
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predating them) is when the state kills a person.
Suicide is when a person takes their own life, but might well have lived many years had they not done so. Assisted dying is when a terminally ill person ends their life a few weeks or months early, so as to avoid suffering further.
The “assisted” part is that they apply for and receive life-ending medication (but they have to administer it themselves); assisted dying is therefore not shortening life, but shortening death.
This would certainly chime with the Jewish value of compassion. Obviously if a person wishes to carry on to their last breath, they should receive every medical and pastoral help possible. Assisted dying and palliative care should co-exist as choices.
The cry “sanctity of life” means valuing it highly – our life and that of others – but not insisting a dying person lives on against their will in pain. In whose interest are we forcing a dying person to stay alive who wants to let go?
Naturally there will be practical checks before permission can be granted, such as ensuring a person is terminally ill, mentally competent and is not being pressurised into such a decision.
Bearing in mind that the legislation being proposed is based closely on that in Oregon, which has been operating successfully since 1997, we are not be leaping into the unknown but following a tried and tested route.
There are different types of assisted dying elsewhere, but the Oregon model is the one with the longest track-record and strictest controls, and in that respect, the most kosher.
We need to support greater funding for hospices so palliative care is available for all, but also allow those dying in pain to gently let go early. That feels very Jewish.
Rabbi Romain’s book A Better Death – the Case for Assisted Dying, Reaktion Press, is out next month. He will speaking about it at Jewish Book Week on March 1
Top image: Campaigning outside Parliament in support of the Assisted Dying Bill, which is currently being debated in the Lords (photo: Getty Images)
