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Question
Is the Shema the last prayer, when a person is on the death bed? Recently during the murder trial of a Rabbi's wife, the Rabbi was asked if he gave her the last rites (it started with the letter "v" which we have never heard of). If it were a confessional and the person was already dead how could it have been said with her? There was quite an issue made as to why the Rabbi did not say this prayer for his wife, and another Rabbi who was at the scene did. It is all very confusing.
Answer
The "Shma" and "Vidui"
(confession) is said together with the person that is about to die. This is of
course only if the person in conscious and in a lucid state of mind - (source:
"Code of Jewish Law" Y.D. 338:1). If the person is not in a condition
to say anything, it is customarily said by those around him, on his behalf.
With
blessings from Jerusalem,
Rabbi Shraga Simmons
Aish.com
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