The concept of death in the Bible – Rabbi Dr. Gil Gershon Tivon

The concept of death in the Bible – R’ Dr. Gil Gershon Tivon

The Bible discusses openly the concept of death, as part of life’s natural cycle, and gives a theological understanding of death. However, death is usually an unpleasant truthful reality that is either avoided or feared in the western culture.

Feifel states “four primary reasons why Americans have difficulty in dealing with death.”[1]

Firstly, he states is urbanization. In western culture, individuals are increasingly separated from nature and witnessing of the life/death cycle. The process of urbanization has led to people having less sense of community with others, and few common rituals to express feelings and guide behavior.

Secondly, healthcare practices segregate the aged and dying from the general populace into nursing homes and hospitals, making death a foreign experience that elicits the fear of being alone.

The third reason, the movement from extended family to nuclear family has limited the opportunity to see aged relatives die and to experience death as a natural part of the life cycle.

Fourthly, the increase of secularization. “Religion minimizes the impact of physical death by focusing on the hereafter, endowing death with a special meaning and purpose and provides a future and immortality. With the decline in religion, there has been a marked loss of these coping mechanisms.”[2]

However, the fear of death is apparently a universal phenomenon, and was always there throughout the ages in all cultures and religions. For death creates uncertainty, loneliness, fear of being lost forever, not knowing really much about it, and even for believing people, the fear of not knowing what waits for us.

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[1] Herman Feifel, Stephen Strack and Jason Aronson, Death and the Quest for Meaning (New York: Jason Aronson, 1997), 61.

[2] Ibid.

“Because of its seeming finality, death presents one of the most formidable challenges to the idea that human life has meaning and purpose. Given these facts, it should be no surprise that fear has been one of the most commonly expressed responses of humans to death and dying.”[3]

Are we deserving to go to heaven, or not, and even if we do, what is it like, and is it different from one person to another, that experience?

Will we be judged for all our actions in this world, as is the core belief in Judaism, as well as in other religions? For after all, what is life all about? In this world we pay for everything we do wrong, through the laws of the country/state we live in, so much more so God is watching every action, thought and feeling of ours, as it states “??' ??-??? ???? ???, ???? ????? ???" – “The Lord God judges with righteousness, examines our kidneys (meaning our morals and ethics) and our heart (what was really our intention in what we have done)”. )Jeremiah, 11, 20)

Will we carry on after death the most meaningful relationships we have built in this world?

And what about our loved ones that we leave behind at death, who will care for them, how will they manage, as orphans, as widows/widowers? Will they have another relationship after us, that will compromise our intimate relationship with them?

And witnessing death, as a finality of life, can create a shocking experience for us, as that person who had life and soul within him/her, now is lying there lifeless…, dead on all levels: spiritually, mentally, emotionally, socially and physically. Will we ever see him/her again, did we lose them forever, and definitely currently we have lost that person from our world. That finality is devastating!

The reality of life is that we are mortal be definition. Everyone and anyone who visited this earth is limited, human, mortal and finite. No matter how much we try to idolize different people in the history, all of them died, and are not here physically anymore.

[3]Clifton D. Bryant and Dennis L. Peck, Handbook of Death and Dying (London, UK: Sage, 2007), 51.

The reasons for that are firstly because the life on this earth is just a passage to the next world, the eternal life, prepare, repair and fix yourself in this world so that you can enter into the next world "????? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ???" (Pirkei Avot 4, 16).

The second reason is humility, and finality of our influence and service in this world. Any person who would like to turn himself into a god, for others to idolize him or her, or mount a monumental fortune and think or believe that it is his and that he owns it, comes God and tells us to start with that it’s not ours, and not due to our own merits, and life, possession, anything material, will be taken away from us, because it’s not ours, it’s His!: "????? ?? ????? ????" - “For the soul is yours (God’s) and the Body is your own creation” (Jewish Sidur as states by the sages of old, Yom Kipur, evening service).

In addition, we leave place for the next generation to create and achieve, by creating a space for them to shine, come up with new ideas and ways, and choose to walk in God’s ways or other ways…

So, according to Jewish ancient sources and tradition, death and dying gives meaning and purpose to life!

"???? ????? ???? ?? ??? ???, ?? ??? ???, ?? ???? ?????" – “And God saw and behold that it is very good – this is (the angel of) death!” (Genesis 1, 39; Holy Zohar part 1, 14, a).

Once we know life is finite, we try our absolute best to make it work and count! We will not be here forever, not our struggles, challenges, or our success. This is a source of motivation and passion to engage with life as long as we can, take ownership for our actions, evolve spiritually, develop our personality, and make sure that in order to achieve that, we choose to go according to God’s directives in the Bible, for He is our creator, who loves us and knows best what is right, good and best for us. We were commanded to “walk in God’s ways”, for we are all “the children of God”, nobody is more special to Him than any other, and we are each individually accountable for our actions, thoughts and feelings, intentions and ways facing God. "??? ??? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ?? ?? ????" – “The end of all things, when everything has been heard, fear God and keep his commandments (613 of them in the Bible, not less and no more) for this is the entirety of what a human being is” (Ecclesiastes 12, 13).

Some mistakenly have stated their opinion that the bible does not give or develop a theology of death and dying. But the Bible definitely does, as we have proven above! God, the creator of the universe, gives life and its cycle till death and after. So, it’s obvious that the Bible does give us all the tools and answers we as humans need to know in order to manage and handle life, including its end – death and dying!

We should realize that the Bible relatively is short, and is the essence of God’s words. In many places it states “as I have commanded you” – what does that mean? It means that an oral law was also given to Moses at Mount Sinai which explains very clearly the inner meaning of the bible and the 613 Mitzvot – commandments given by God to us. Without it, people can be very confused or make up their own explanation of things, as History proves… The bible and the oral law were obviously given in Hebrew, and therefore any translation into other languages will already be only a single human understanding of that person – human being – who translated it, and robed the original text of its rich deeper meaning…

God Bless

Rabbi Dr. Gil Gershon Tivon

@ All rights are reserved to R’ Dr. Gil G Tivon