The continuing Terri Schiavo saga is both tragic and encouraging. One cannot help but be drawn into the ethical and moral discussion surrounding the case. Much has been said about the US Congress and President’s interference in the life of a private family.
But when I heard about it I said “May God bless America” and here is why: according to Judaism there is no sin greater than murder.[1]
In Jewish law as long as a person has breath in his or her lungs s/he is considered fully alive and one who causes their death is considered a murderer.[2] The philosophy behind this is twofold. Firstly there is the theological reason that, “Whoever sheds human blood, shall have his blood shed by man; for man is made in the image of God.”[3] Each human, by virtue of being created in God’s image, has Divine protection. A murderer overrides the divine protection and as such is playing God.[4] There is, however, another reason why murder is the most terrible crime. The Talmud states that, according to common sense, on threat of death one must be killed rather than kill. The logic is famous: “What makes you think that your blood is redder? Perhaps his blood is redder.”[5] In other words, no one has the right to think that his/her life is more important than the life of another person. Thinking this way is the ultimate in egotism and the rabbis saw it as the root cause of all evil.[6]
One who makes a decision on the fundamental question of human life is not only overriding God but is also demonstrating appalling arrogance, saying, in effect, that her/his life is more valuable than the life of the other person. It is not within human capacity to decide on the question of life. According to the bible, a person who displays such overwhelming conceit is a danger to society who must be neutralised.
This is why, in my view, the United States and Britain had the moral high ground when they went to war to remove the evil dictator of Iraq. Democratic powers such as the US and Britain are great precisely because they understand that human life must be protected at all costs. They are societies that realize that life and death cannot be determined by fellow humans. They are countries that have a sense of humility and dignity. This is why it was so important for President Bush and the US Congress to do all they could to ensure that the precious life of this poor lady, Terri Schiavo, was not put at risk. If they had not done so they would have proven themselves worthless, narcissistic hypocrites. The fact that the political elite of America cared enough to interfere to save the life of a private individual gives hope for the future. To quote the Talmud again, “Whoever destroys a single soul it is as though s/he destroyed the entire universe; and whoever saves a single soul, it is as though s/he has saved the whole world.”[7]
[1] Guide for the Perplexed, 3:4 and Codes, Laws of Murder 1:4.
[2] See Rabbi Yoseif Ben Moshe Babad’s (1801–1874) famous and esteemed collection of essays on the 613 mitzvot .
[3] Genesis 9:6.
[4] See Rabbi Yosef Albo (1380–1444) Sefer Ha-Ikarim, 1:11.
[5] Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 25b.
[6] See ibid. Sotah 4b.
[7] See ibid. Sanhedrin 37a.