[Avodah] Brain Death

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Natan Slifkin and R' Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer, in their discussion of the halachic view on brain death, seem to be disagreeing about the roles of the heart, the kidneys, the mind, and similar topics. It seems to me that this discussion is fundamentally flawed. What we need is a clear definition of "life", and I did not notice anyone who has given a good definition of that.

Actually, a definition of "life" is irrelevant. What we need is definitions "chayim" and "mavess". "Life" may or may not be the same thing as "chayim". If a person is clearly "alive", that does not prove that he is "chai". We presume these words to mean the same thing, but I think I can prove that they are not:

Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah 2, Siman 174, bottom right paragraph on page 288:

<<< If a person's head was cut off, even though the head and body are spasming, he has the din of 'meis mamash'. And even if there would be a way to connect the head to the body so that he would live, there is no chiyuv to do so even during the week, because there is no chiyuv to revive the dead, so on Shabbos it would be assur. See Bava Basra 74, where R' Yehuda says that a certain jewel exists which can revive the dead, even those who have been decapitated, but HaShem hid it from us. It is pashut that even if HaShem would make it available to someone, he would not be chayav to revive the dead. The Torah only obligated us to heal the sick, and even to be mechalel Shabbos, but not to revive the dead. >>>

In other words: Suppose we would have the ability to reattach a severed head and bring that person back to full health. One might think that his subsequent health is conclusive proof that he was still alive even while his head was unattached. But Rav Moshe says that he was "meis mamash", and that it is ASSUR to be mechalel Shabbos to reattach the head.

Perhaps other poskim are willing to define "chayim" in terms of "life", but Rav Moshe (it seems to me) is not.

Akiva Miller

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