Halachic Organ donor Society, 3926 W. Touhy Ave, Suite #365, Lincolnwood, IL, 60712-1028. Phone: 646-599-3895, Email: office@hods.org

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Rabbi Shlomo Aviner
Chief Rabbi of Bet El

[3 minutes]

TRANSCRIPTION OF VIDEO

Interviewer:

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner is the Chief Rabbi of Bet El, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Hesder Ateret Kohanim of the Old City of Jerusalem, a prolific writer on contemporary halachic issues and a major halachic authority. Rabbi Shlomo Aviner is a proponent of organ donation.

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner:

According to the Torah, donating of organs is a big mitzvah, a very important mitzvah, mitzvah of pikuach nefesh. So, it overrides any prohibition like using the dead and so on. Donating organs is sure a big mitzvah, mitzvah of pikuach nefesh. Everybody knows that to save people is a big mitzvah, and even if this mitzvah must be done and we must transgress some interdictions, almost all the interdictions we are allowed to transgress in order to save people. So that is no problem to make any… to have any… lehenot, to have any benefit from organs, and no problem of despise [desecrated] organs and not burying organs. There are no problems. Because this reason of pikuach nefesh. According to the Jewish halacha, brainstem death is considered like death, and it’s possible to take organs. The resurrection of the dead? It’s no problem. Every organ will come back. After a person is dead, all his organs become dust. And on the contrary: If you did mitzvot with an organ, at t’chiyat hametim, the resurrection of this organ will be more enlightened [enhanced] than any organ you have.
It’s a mitzvah according to the Torah to give an organ even if it is going to a non-Jew.

 

    

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