Why Did Hashem Create the Esophagus Next to the Windpipe?

Greetings to the esteemed rabbi. I'm asking out of curiosity and not, heaven forbid, to give advice to the Creator. Why did Hashem, the Creator of the universe, design the esophagus to be next to the windpipe? Isn't there a risk of choking? Thank you very much in advance for the answer.

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Hello and blessings,

The swallowing tube splits into two pathways: the esophagus, which is intended for swallowing food and water, and the windpipe, which connects to the lungs and is meant for breathing.

Hashem created everything with great wisdom and as compactly as possible. If there needed to be a separate tube for the esophagus and one for the windpipe, then our throat would have to be divided into two and be twice its size, making it difficult to move. More importantly, we would need to have two mouths! Considering we need teeth and a tongue to articulate sounds and words, each mouth would require a set of teeth and a tongue, with only one being used for eating...

Moreover, the windpipe leading to the lungs allows us to cough, thereby expelling any foreign body from the airway. If the tubes were separate, any foreign object stuck in the esophagus (e.g., an insect or small object) could only be removed surgically. Thanks to the connected tubes, a person can expel with forceful air from the lungs - coughing, preventing foreign objects from entering both the windpipe and the esophagus.

To prevent choking, Hashem in His wisdom created a muscular valve deep in the throat, which automatically seals off the windpipe when we swallow food or drink. Choking often occurs when people talk during a meal, with food in their mouths. Aside from being an unpleasant and rude action, it poses a choking hazard. A person should not speak when their purpose is to eat and swallow food or drink.

Yet, choking is a very rare cause of death and has low mortality rates. The vast majority of people who choke on foreign bodies manage to cough and eject them.

With blessings,

Daniel Bels