DEUT1610 Human life, like personality, forms an end in itself and is sacred. Life is an attribute of God, who is visioned as " the source of life" and as "delighting in life." Coming from God, it is man's highest good, which he must cherish as a trust. Life is identified with the good, and death with evil (this verse and Deuteronomy 30:19). Shedding of blood, say the rabbis, defiles the land and causes the Shechinah to depart from Israel. Yoma 85b Preservation of life has recommended itself to the Jew as the supreme duty of man. The laws of Sabbath observance, of fasting on Yom Kippur, of kashrut, etc. are set aside when life is at stake. Even where it is not certain that life can be saved, these laws may be set aside.