EXOD318 The body belongs to God. For Judaism, God, as creator of the world, owns everything in it, including our bodies. God loans our bodies to us for the duration of our lives, and we return them to God when we die. Consequently, neither men or women have the right to govern their bodies as they will; God, as creator and owner, asserts the right to restrict how we use our bodies in ways articulated in Jewish law. Some of God's rules require us to take reasonable care of our bodies, just as we would be obliged to protect and clean an apartment that we rent. Rules of good hygiene, sleep, exercise, and diet in Jewish sources are, therefore, not just words to the wise designed for our comfort and longevity, as they are an American thinking; they are, rather, commanded acts that we owe God. So, for example, American ideology in law would permit me to eat a half gallon of ice cream every night of the week; I might be stupid to do so because I will look and feel terrible and endanger my life, but that is my choice. In Jewish law, though, I do not have that right, because I have a fiduciary duty to take care of my body since it belongs to God. Just as we are commanded to maintain good health, so we are obligated to avoid danger and injury. B. Shabbat 32a; B. Bava Kamma 15b, 80a, 91b; M.T. Laws of Murder 11:4-5; S.A. Yoreh De'ah 116:5 gloss; S.A. Hoshen Mishpat 427:8-10]. Indeed, Jewish law views endangering one's health as worse than violating a ritual prohibition. B. Hullin 10a; S.A. Orach Hayyim 173:2] Conservative, Reform, and some Orthodox authorities have thus prohibited smoking as an unacceptable risk to our God – owed bodies. Judaism also teaches that human beings do not have the right to commit suicide, for doing so obliterates something that belongs not to us but to God. In contrast, the laws of most American states permits suicide (although most prohibit aiding and abetting a suicide).