Value of Saving Lives
וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֤ם אֶת־חֻקֹּתַי֙ וְאֶת־מִשְׁפָּטַ֔י אֲשֶׁ֨ר יַעֲשֶׂ֥ה אֹתָ֛ם הָאָדָ֖ם וָחַ֣י בָּהֶ֑ם אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָֽה׃ {ס}
You shall keep My laws and My rules, by the pursuit of which man shall live: I am the LORD.
אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל:...״וְחַי בָּהֶם״ — וְלֹא שֶׁיָּמוּת בָּהֶם.
“You shall keep My statutes and My ordinances, which a person shall do and live by them” (Leviticus 18:5), and not that he should die by them.
מי שיש לו חולי של סכנה מצוה לחלל עליו את השבת והזריז הרי זה משובח והשואל הרי זה שופך דמים:
For someone who has a dangerous illness, it is a commandment to break Shabbat for him. One who hurries to do this is praised. One who [in the moment] asks about this is a murderer.
Duty to Save
...לֹ֥א תַעֲמֹ֖ד עַל־דַּ֣ם רֵעֶ֑ךָ אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָֽה׃
...Do not stand by the blood of your fellow: I am the LORD.
גופא מניין לרואה את חברו שהוא טובע בנהר או חיה גוררתו או לסטין באין עליו שהוא חייב להצילו ת"ל לא תעמוד על דם רעך והא מהכא נפקא מהתם נפקא אבדת גופו מניין ת"ל והשבותו לו
אי מהתם הוה אמינא ה"מ בנפשיה אבל מיטרח ומיגר אגורי אימא לא קמ"ל
Concerning the matter itself, it is taught in a baraita: From where is it derived that one who sees another drowning in a river, or being dragged away by a wild animal, or being attacked by bandits, is obligated to save him? The verse states: “You shall not stand idly by the blood of another” (Leviticus 19:16). The Gemara asks about this derivation: But is this really derived from here? It is derived from there, i.e., from a different verse, as it is taught: The Torah teaches that one must return lost property to its rightful owner. But from where is it derived that one must help his neighbor who may suffer the loss of his body or his health? The verse states: “And you shall restore it [vahashevato] to him [lo]” (Deuteronomy 22:2), which can also be read as: And you shall restore him [vehashevato] to him, i.e., saving his body. Consequently, there should be no need for the additional verse: “You shall not stand idly by the blood of another.”
The Gemara answers: If this halakha were derived only from there, I would say that this matter applies only to saving the person in danger by himself, i.e., that he himself must come to his neighbor’s rescue if he can, as is the halakha with regard to returning a lost item. But to trouble himself and hire workers for this purpose, one might say that he is not obligated, just as he is not obligated to hire workers to recover another’s lost item. Therefore, the verse “Do not stand by the blood of another” teaches us that he must even hire workers, and he transgresses a prohibition if he does not do so.
כָּל הַיָּכוֹל לְהַצִּיל וְלֹא הִצִּיל עוֹבֵר עַל (ויקרא יט טז) "לֹא תַעֲמֹד עַל דַּם רֵעֶךָ". וְכֵן הָרוֹאֶה אֶת חֲבֵרוֹ טוֹבֵעַ בַּיָּם. אוֹ לִסְטִים בָּאִים עָלָיו. אוֹ חַיָּה רָעָה בָּאָה עָלָיו. וְיָכוֹל לְהַצִּילוֹ הוּא בְּעַצְמוֹ. אוֹ שֶׁיִּשְׂכֹּר אֲחֵרִים לְהַצִּילוֹ וְלֹא הִצִּיל.
Anyone who can save another's life and does not do so has broken the commandment "do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor." This is the case of someone who sees another drowning in the sea, or robbers attacking him, or a wild animal attacking him — and can save him by himself, or can hire others to save him, and doesn't do so.
Respect for the Dead
Integrity of Dead Body
(כג) לֹא־תָלִ֨ין נִבְלָת֜וֹ עַל־הָעֵ֗ץ כִּֽי־קָב֤וֹר תִּקְבְּרֶ֙נּוּ֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא כִּֽי־קִלְלַ֥ת אֱלֹהִ֖ים תָּל֑וּי וְלֹ֤א תְטַמֵּא֙ אֶת־אַדְמָ֣תְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָֽה׃ (ס)
(23) you must not let his corpse remain on the stake overnight, but must bury him the same day. For an impaled body is an affront to God: you shall not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
(Implicit logic: if the body of an executed criminal needs to be treated with respect, how much more so anyone else's.)
Missing Body Parts as Impediment to Resurrection
Sa'adia Gaon, Book of Doctrines and Beliefs (10th century Babylonia and Baghdad)
We know of no Jew who opposes this doctrine [of resurrection of the dead], or finds it difficult from the perspective of reason that God could revive the dead, since it is already clear to him that God created the world ex nihilo [out of nothing]. He can, therefore, find no difficulty in believing that God should, by a second act, create something from something disintegrated and dissolved.
Delay of Burial
איסור הלנת המת ומתי מותר להלינו. ובו ב' סעיפים:אסור להלין המת אלא אם כן הלינו לכבודו להביא לו ארון ותכריכין או מקוננות או כדי שיבאו קרובים או להשמיע עיירות:
It is prohibited to leave the corpse [unburied] over night, unless they left him over night for the sake of his honour, [viz.,] to provide for him a coffin or shrouds, or [professional] lamenting women, or in order that relatives should [have time] to come, or to assemble [surrounding] townships [for his funeral].
Benefiting from the Dead
זבח גופיה מנלן דכתיב (תהלים קו, כח) ויצמדו לבעל פעור ויאכלו זבחי מתים מה מת אסור בהנאה אף זבח נמי אסור בהנאה
From where do we derive the fact that there's a prohibition not to benefit from an idolatrous offering itself? It is derived from a verse, as it is written: “They joined themselves also unto Baal of Peor, and ate the offerings to the dead” (Psalms 106:28). This verse teaches that just as deriving benefit from a corpse is prohibited, so too, deriving benefit from an offering of idolatry is prohibited.
Weighing These Laws vs. Preservation of Life
Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman (former Chief Rabbi of Israel) (1886-1976)
Regarding the question of whether the law permits surgical removal of tissue from a dead body ... subsequently to be transplanted as an organic part of the living .. .I find the matter to be simple. Since these procedures constitute preservation of life there is no difficulty. After all, weighty Torah prohibitions are set aside for the preservation of life. Hence, such surgical procedures conducted to save a life are absolutely permitted.
When Does Death Take Place?
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן עַד הֵיכָן הוּא בּוֹדֵק עַד חוֹטְמוֹ וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים עַד לִבּוֹ ... אַבָּא שָׁאוּל מוֹדֵי דְּעִיקַּר חַיּוּתָא בְּאַפֵּיהּ הוּא דִּכְתִיב כׇּל אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁמַת רוּחַ חַיִּים בְּאַפָּיו אָמַר רַב פָּפָּא מַחְלוֹקֶת מִמַּטָּה לְמַעְלָה אֲבָל מִמַּעְלָה לְמַטָּה כֵּיוָן דִּבְדַק לֵיהּ עַד חוֹטְמוֹ שׁוּב אֵינוֹ צָרִיךְ דִּכְתִיב כׇּל אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁמַת רוּחַ חַיִּים בְּאַפָּיו
The Rabbis taught: If a person is buried under a collapsed building, until what point does one check to clarify whether the victim is still alive? Until what point is he allowed to continue clearing the debris? They said: One clears until the victim’s nose. If there is no sign of life, i.e., if he is not breathing, he is certainly dead. And some say: One clears until the victim’s heart to check for a heartbeat. ...Abba Shaul admits that the main sign of life is in the nose, as it is written: “All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life” (Genesis 7:22). Rav Pappa said: The dispute with regard to how far to check for signs of life applies when the digger begins removing the rubble from below, starting with the feet, to above. In such a case it is insufficient to check until his heart; rather, one must continue removing rubble until he is able to check his nose for breath. But if one cleared the rubble from above to below, once he checked as far as the victim’s nose he is not required to check further, as it is written: “All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life” (Genesis 7:22).