Halakhah sobre Gênesis 7:22

It is axiomatic, according to Halakhah, that death coincides with cessation of respiration. The primary source of this definition is to be found in Yoma 85a in connection with suspension of Sabbath regulations for the sake of the preservation of human life. The case in point concerns an individual trapped under a fallen building. Since desecration of the Sabbath is mandated even on the mere chance that a human life may be preserved, the debris of a collapsed building must be cleared away even if it is doubtful that the person under the rubble is still alive. However, once it has been determined with certainty that the person has expired, no further violation of the Sabbath regulations may be sanctioned. The question which then arises is how much of the body must be uncovered in order to ascertain conclusively that death has in fact occurred? The first opinion cited by the Gemara maintains that the nose must be uncovered and the victim of the accident be pronounced dead only if no sign of respiration is found. A second opinion maintains that death may be determined by examination of the chest for the absence of a heartbeat. It is evident that both opinions regard respiration as the crucial factor indicating the existence of life; the second opinion simply adds that the absence of a heartbeat is also to be deemed sufficient evidence that respiration has ceased and that death has actually occurred. This is evident from the statement quoted by the Gemara in the name of R. Papa in clarification of this controversy. R. Papa states that there is no disagreement in instances in which the body is uncovered "from the top down." In such cases the absence of respiration is regarded by all as being conclusive. The dispute, declares R. Papa, is limited to situations in which the body is uncovered "from the bottom up" and thus the heart is uncovered first. The controversy in such cases is whether the absence of a heartbeat is sufficient evidence to establish death in and of itself, or whether further evidence is required, i.e., uncovering of the nostrils. The necessity for examination of the nostrils is based upon the assumption that it is possible for life to exist even though such life may be undetectable by means of an examination for the presence of a heartbeat—as Rashi succinctly puts it, "For at times life is not evident at the heart but is evident at the nose."⁷There is no opinion recorded in the Babylonian Talmud—majority or minority—which requires examination of the heart. See, however, Palestinian Talmud, Yoma 8:5, where the correct textual reading is the subject of dispute. According to the version of Korban ha-Edah, one Amora requires examination of the heart. Pnei Mosheh, in accepting a variant reading, rejects this contention. In demonstration of the principle that respiration is the determining factor, the Gemara cites the verse "… all in whose nostrils is the breath of the spirit of life" (Gen. 7:22). Both Maimonides⁸Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Shabbat 2:19. and Shulḥan Arukh⁹Oraḥ Ḥayyim 329:4. cite the first opinion as authoritative. Hence in terms of normative Halakhah, regardless of whether the head or the feet are uncovered first, death can be established only by examination of the nostrils and determination of the absence of signs of respiratory activity at that site.

There is some prima facie evidence indicating that lack of respiration and the state of death are, by definition, synonymous. The Sages inform us that the soul departs through the nostrils, thereby causing respiration to cease and death to occur. The Yalkut Shim'oni, Lekh Lekha, no. 77, observes that after sneezing one should give thanks for having been privileged to remain alive.¹⁶Cf. R. Baruch ha-Levi Epstein, Torah Temimah, Gen. 7:22. The Yalkut, noting that the first mention of sickness in Scripture occurs in Genesis 48:1, remarks that prior to the time of Jacob sickness was unknown. It is the view of the Sages that illness became part of man's destiny in answer to Jacob's plea for prior indication of impending death in order that he might make a testament before dying. Before the days of Jacob, according to the Yalkut, an individual simply sneezed and expired without any indication whatsoever that death was about to overtake him. The Yalkut can readily be understood on the basis of the verse "… and He blew into his nostrils the soul of life" (Gen. 2:6). In the narrative concerning the creation of Adam, the soul is described as having entered through the nostrils. According to the Yalkut, the soul departs through the same aperture through which it entered; hence terminal sneezing is associated with the soul's departure from the body. Apparently, then, respiration and life both cease with the departure of the soul.

However, it is certain and elementary that the nose is not the organ which gives life to men…. Rather the brain and the heart are those [organs] which give life to men…. We have the indicator of life only through the nose even though [the nose] does not cause respiration because we cannot properly recognize [life] in the heart or in the navel and certainly we cannot recognize [life] in the brain. The connotation of the verse "… all in whose nostrils is the breath of the spirit of life" (Genesis 7:22) does not [refer to] the intrinsic spirit of life for that is certainly not in the nose; rather, the spirit of life which we see is [perceived] in the nostrils even though it is not seen in the large limbs, the limbs of motion, and [it is perceived in the nostrils] even after it is no longer perceived either in the beating of the heart or the navel.⁵⁵See also Jewish Bioethics, p. 314, note 4.