Some may consider the yom tov of Pesach to be the one occasion where the greatest division between Sephardim and Ashkenazim exists. I am, of course, referring to that curious Ashkenazi custom of refraining from eating kitniyot, as well as from chametz.
In fact, a much greater chasm has recently developed, one stemming from a life-and-death issue that touches the very core of the sanctity of life and its definition: the recent passing by the Knesset of regulations facilitating organ donation according to Jewish law.
Contrary to a common misconception, Jewish law does not forbid organ donation. Yes, you read correctly: Jewish law does not forbid organ donation. Allow me to explain: the saving of a life – pikuach nefesh – is of such importance that it overrides all other considerations. Hence the giving of a lung, heart, kidney, etc., is nothing but the greatest mitzvah, as one is by this act, literally saving a life.
There is one proviso to this simple, straightforward thought: the sanctity of human life is so supreme that it supersedes all other rules, except for the transgression of the three cardinal sins, one of which is murder.
In other words, Jewish law says it’s wrong to take one life in order to save another.
A long and heated debate has been waged as to when exactly life ends and at which point doctors are allowed to immediately remove vital organs from a body to save the life of others in dire need of them.
On one side is the opinion that as long as one’s heart is still beating, one is alive. On the other side is the position that once all activity in one’s brain shuts down, one is no longer deemed to be alive.
For the group equating death with brain death, organ harvesting is at this point not only permissible, it’s among the greatest of mitzvot. For the camp that believes life continues until the heart ceases to beat, the removal of organs before the heart stops is nothing less than murder – something that’s not justified, even if it will directly save the life of many individuals. However, an organ may be of little or no value once the heart stops.
The new Israeli law was supported by the Shas party, with the endorsement of Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef. At the same time, the Ashkenazi haredi camp under Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv opposed the law, as Rabbi Elyashiv’s understanding of when life ends extends until the last heartbeat.
While this important difference is not necessarily an issue of Sephardi versus Ashkenazi – the late Rabbi Moshe Feinstein’s opinion on this point has been vigorously argued by his students, with each interpreting their teacher’s ruling in a mutually exclusive fashion – it’s a difference that certainly pits the followers of one interpretation against the other.
For those interested in halachic organ donation, I invite you to visit the website of the Halachic Organ Donation Society at www.HODS.com.