For the source text click/tap here: Ketubot 104
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We learn more about the death of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. It seems that no-one was permitted to say that he was to die lest he be stabbed with a sword, though HaNasi was suffering terribly, putting on and taking off his tefillin multiple times while going back and forth from the bed to the bathroom and back. The rabbis refused to stop begging G-d for Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi's recovery.
His maidservant, however, known to be a wise, pious and witty, went to the roof and prayed for G-d to help the upper world impose its will on the lower will. She then broke a jug. The crash startled the rabbis into silence for a moment, at which time the Rabbi died.
We explore the halachic ramifications of suffering and dying as well as recent approaches to physician aid in the dying process.