“Get a Life” Parashat Acharei Mot – Kedoshim 5786 |
Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary‑General of Hezbollah from 1992 until his death in 2024, once famously said, “We have discovered how to hit the Jews where they are the most vulnerable. The Jews love life, so that is what we shall take away from them. We are going to win, because they love life and we love death,” Nasrallah was eventually proven wrong – emphatically so.
The value of human life is deeply ingrained in the Torah. We are directed [Vayikra 18:5] “Keep My laws and My rules, by the pursuit of which humans shall live: I am G-d” and [Devarim 30:9] “Choose life, so that you and your descendants might live”. Let’s take a closer look at the first verse. How do humans “live” as a result performing G-d’s commandments? Do we reduce cholesterol and trans-fats by refraining from cheeseburgers? Rashi[1] quotes our Sages in the Midrash [Sifra Acharei Mot 8:10] who assert that the “living” that is promised is in the World to Come. Rashi concludes with a fairly cheeky comment: “If you say it means that he shall live in this world, is it not a fact that in the end he must eventually die?” Not everyone agrees with Rashi. The Talmud in Tractate Yoma [85b] teaches that words “You shall live” mean “You shall live by the commandments in the Torah, not die by them”. The Torah was given to preserve human life, such that saving a life (pikuach nefesh) overrides almost all commandments. One must violate Shabbat, dietary laws, or fasting if doing so saves a life, and this is considered fulfilling G-d’s will. There are only three exceptions – idolatry, forbidden sexual relations, and murder – where martyrdom is required. Overall, the Torah is fundamentally a Torah of Life.
In this essay, we seek to demonstrate that Rashi and the Talmud, are not necessarily at loggerheads. The Rambam [Hilchot Teshuva 9:1-2] addresses a central difficulty in Jewish philosophy: G-d repeatedly promises material rewards – rain, peace, prosperity – for a person who keeps the Torah and threatens material punishments – famine, defeat, exile – for one who does not. Nevertheless, Jewish tradition teaches that the true reward is in the future World to Come while the true punishment is the soul’s loss of that........