L’chaim to Life – I
There is an intrinsic quality to life. The greatest quality of life is the quality of life itself. ACHAREI-KEDOSHIM ACHAREI-KEDOSHIM
The Inestimable Value of Life
Life is Judaism’s most precious value.
This axiom of Judaism is based on a verse in this week’s Parsha that states: “You shall keep My statutes, and My ordinances, which a person shall do and live by them.” (Leviticus 18:5) Our Sages (Talmud, Yoma 85b) stress the juxtaposition of the admonition to keep G-d’s commandments with the admonition to live with them. This teaches us, that we should live to do G-d’s commandments and not die for them.
To be sure, Judaism has a place for martyrdom. As one writer said, “If there is nothing worth dying for, there is also nothing worth living for.” This does not mean, however, that Judaism is founded on the notion that we should all strive to die for G-d. Rather, the focus is to live for G-d, even as we must ACHAREI-KEDOSHIM be prepared, in some limited circumstances, to give our lives for G-d.
Why the Obsession?
Why is Judaism so obsessed with life?
It is not — as a common misconception among some in the Jewish community — because Judaism believes only in the here and now and rejects the belief in the hereafter. Judaism is unequivocally on record as believing in the immortality of the soul. Judaism also embraces the notion that the soul “goes” to a “place” that can be called Paradise or Heaven, where it embarks on a new phase in the soul’s development. Ethics of the Fathers state unequivocally: “This world is a like a vestibule, to enter into the world-to-come. Prepare yourself in the vestibule so you can enter the palace.”
Thus, if Judaism affirms life in this physical world it is not because it denies the afterlife. Judaism rather believes that there can be no greater affirmation of G-d’s existence than the introduction of a soul into a human body, with its capacity to make G-d’s plan a reality.
ACHAREI-KEDOSHIM
Even a so-called “vegetable” — i.e., a human being who can no longer function — still possesses the G- dly essence that transcends the value of any specific activity that a person can no longer perform. In other words, as long as there is life, there is a potent presence of G-d in the world.
New-Born’s Effects on the World
As a way of illustrating this point, I was once told of a new-born baby who was fighting for her life, a struggle she ultimately lost after two months. The entire community was galvanized. People were helping the family; providing material assistance and moral support. People were reciting heartfelt prayers for her recovery. Huge sums of charity were distributed to a host of noble causes for her sake. Many people began to do their own soul-searching and had their lives changed for the good.
In short, as one woman observed to me, “This little baby, in the brief two months of her life, accomplished more than dozens of rabbis combined had accomplished in their entire lives.”
This moving story demonstrates the intrinsic value of human life. This precious little soul had not spoken a word to anyone, nor performed any tasks ACHAREI-KEDOSHIM that could directly benefit the world. Yet, her mere presence in this word was able to turn a community on its head.
The Myth of Jewish Passivity
This obsession for life explains why, throughout Jewish history, Jews did not fight their enemy. It was not because Judaism is a passive and pacifist religion. On the contrary, the Torah obligates us to defend ourselves and others whose lives are threatened.
Rather, the reason for Jewish reticence in the face of adversity was the fear that their actions will result in a far greater loss of life than they would sustain by not fighting. Fighting solely to show courage, in and of itself, was never a Jewish value. The primary consideration that entered a Jew’s mind when confronted with danger was, “what can I do to save as many lives as possible.” That was often followed by the thought, “how can I continue to perform another Mitzvah or study some more Torah?”
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The Belief in Techiyas Hameisim-the Resurrection of the Dead
With this positive view of life, we can better appreciate the Jewish belief that the dead will ultimately come back to life in the Messianic Age.
Notwithstanding Judaism’s affirmation of the belief in the afterlife, where the soul lives on without its body, there is something unique about existence of the soul within a body.
So fundamental is this belief, known as Techiyas Hameisim, that Maimonides included it in his Thirteen Principles of Faith.
Moreover, according to Nachmanides and other great authorities, the ultimate reward will be eternal life in a physical body, within the confines of this physical world that we inhabit.
All of this is a conceptual extension of Judaism’s obsession with life—L’Chaim!
ACHAREI-KEDOSHIM
ACHAREI-KEDOSHIM
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Acharei-Kedoshim by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
