Recalling the Day of Death as a Strategy of Repentance
TALMUDIC AGGADA
By Rav Yitzchak Blau
Shiur #13: Recalling the Day of Death as a Strategy of Repentance
Tremble, and do not sin; commune with your
own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah (Tehillim 4:5).
The above translation follows Radak in reading rigzu as trembling. However, the word rogez can also connote anger and
contention. The following
gemara builds on that connotation:
R. Levi bar Chama said in the name of R.
Shimon ben Lakish: A person should always incite his good inclination against
his evil inclination, as it says: Tremble and do not sin. If he succeeds, well and good; if
not, he should engage in Torah study, as it says: Commune with your own heart. If he succeeds, well and
good; if not, he should recite the Shema,
as it says: Upon your bed. If he
succeeds, well and good; if not, he should remind himself of the day of death,
as it says: And be still. Selah
(Berakhot 5a).
This interpretation breaks the verse down into four components, where
each component is a strategy for preventing sin.
We begin with the basic approach of trying to overcome our evil
inclinations through more positive aspects of our personality. When that does not work, we turn to
Torah study and the Shema. Meiri has an unusual reading of those
two stages in which yaasok bTorah
refers to fulfilling the commandments, whereas
Shema symbolizes concentrating on the
existence and singularity of God. Thus, we have approaches based on repeated
practice and intellectual appreciation.
R. Yechezkel Landau, in his Tziyyun
Le-nefesh Chaya, thinks that the second strategy refers to Torah
study, which prevents idleness, a frequent cause of evil actions. So much foolish behavior results from
not having positive content with which to fill ones time. R. Landau cites Rambams closing
message in Hilkhot Issurei Biah
(22:21): A person should turn himself and his thoughts to words of Torah and
expand his knowledge of wisdom, because thoughts of lewdness only become
overpowering in a heart empty of wisdom.
According to R. Landau, if one is regularly occupied with thoughts of
Torah, thoughts of sexual immorality will not be overpowering, because there is
no space for them. Alternatively,
Torah study provides wisdom and perspective, which helps to avoid transgression.
Of course, Torah study does not guarantee good behavior, and we may
encounter those knowledgeable in Torah whose actions leave much to be desired. R. Yaakov Reisher says that Torah
study only helps when the person studying allows the ideas to penetrate into the
core of his being. When the study is
from the lips and outward, an intellectual gesture with no dimension of
personal transformation, it remains inert and ineffective.
How does the final strategy work?
Thinking about death may inspire fear of Divine punishment on the day of
ultimate judgment, and it may also provide perspective on the true worth of
worldly things. Why pursue wealth when you cannot take it with you? In either case, this last strategy
seems a powerful one; it works even when Torah study and reciting the
Shema have failed. If so, why not save time and simply
skip the earlier stages, beginning with the most effective remedy against the
evil inclination?
In the context of physical health, powerful medicine often brings
negative side effects, and the world of the spirit is no different. R. Yaakov Reisher suggests that
focusing on death causes depression, which is not conducive to being productive. Illness may lead us to
administer strong medication, but we only take it as a last resort, due to
negative side effects. In the same way, we prefer to combat sin without dwelling
on death, but will do so if necessary.
R. Kook finds a related problem with this powerful prescription. In characteristic fashion, he argues
that all human traits have their legitimate place; therefore, our goal is not to
neutralize aspects of the human personality, but to channel them in positive
directions. Torah study and reciting
the Shema help achieve that goal. Thinking about death, on the other
hand, often crushes parts of our personality, leaving them unredeemed. As a result, we only adopt this
strategy as a last resort.
This issue touches on the famous story about the
mussar movement controversy told by
R. Yosef Dov Soloveitchik. When R.
Yisrael Salanter and his disciples founded the
mussar movement, prominent rabbinic
figures fought the introduction of mussar
to yeshivot.
Halakhic Man recounts a debate between R. Yitzchak Blaser, disciple
of R. Salanter, and R. Hayyim Soloveitchik.
The latter objected to early mussars
emphasis on fear of punishment and thoughts of mortality. R. Blaser cited our
gemara
in Berakhot to bolster his
position, and R. Hayyim countered the proof:
Evidently, R. Blaser emphasized, the Sages
preferred the effectiveness of the remembrance of the day of death to the study
of the Torah, for do we not have here stated that at times occupying oneself
with Torah will not subdue the evil impulse while the remembrance of the day of
death will vanquish it? R. Hayyim
replied: If a person is sick we prescribe castor oil for him. However, it is certain that if a
healthy person ingests castor oil he will become very sick
We in Volozhin,
thank God, are healthy in spirit and body, are whole in our Torah; there is no
need here for castor oil (Halakhic Man,
p. 75).
Despite the cogency of the above approaches, I believe that a more profound
argument lies at the heart of R. Shimon ben Lakishs reluctance to use the day
of death as a spur to repentance. R.
Reisher argues that the day of death is a very effective medicine, but one with
dangerous side effects. But one can
challenge R. Reishers assumption that remembering the day of death is
effective. R Eliyahu Lopian (1876 -
1970) was an influential Rosh Yeshiva and
Mashgiach (Yeshiva head and spiritual advisor) in England and Israel. In his
Lev Eliyahu (parashat Toldot), he insightfully
explains why musing about death may be ineffective. Thoughts of mortality certainly
create a sense of urgency; given little time, we rightfully focus on what we
truly care about. Yet some
peoples ultimate concerns revolve around the trivial and the mundane. If a
persons lifetime goal is pursuing the perfect steak, then thinking about the
limited time remaining will only energize his attempts to locate novel steak
options. As Yeshayahu pointed out
long ago, some react to the prospect of death by indulging in physicality: And
behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and
drinking wine--'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die!' (Yeshayahu 22:13). A
sense of urgency only helps those whose heart is in the right place to begin
with.
R. Lopian cites an earlier biblical source for this idea. Esav says: I am at the point of
death; what do I need the birthright for? (Bereishit
25:32). According to Rashi, Esav
considers the many halakhic restrictions involved in Temple service and foresees
committing a capital offense. In a
more straightforward reading, Ibn Ezra explains that hunting reflects a
dangerous lifestyle, so Esav harbors constant doubts about how long he will
live. Either way, thoughts of
mortality do not bring Esav to greater religiosity; on the contrary, they make
him think about his next meal.
Chatam Sofers creative reading of a different
gemara
echoes R. Lopians insight:
Reish Lakish sold himself to the Ludae
(Rashi Shabbat 10a says that they
Ludae were cannibals. Marcus
Jastrow says that they were people who hire men for gladiatorial contests). He
took with him a sack and a stone. He
said (to himself): I know that on a persons last day (before they kill him),
they grant him whatever he wishes so that his blood will be atoned for. On his last day, they said: What
would you like? He said: I want to tie you up and sit you
down and give each one of you a sack and a half (i.e. hit them with the sack). He tied them up and sat them down. He hit each one of them, and their
spirit departed. They gnashed their
teeth. He said: Are you smiling at
me? I still have another half to give you.
He killed them all (Gittin
47a).
We could take this
gemara at face value, portraying Reish Lakish
as heroically and cleverly removing scourges of society. Accepting such a literal approach,
Tosafot think this story must have occurred in the earlier stages of Reish
Lakishs life, before he joined the world of the
beit midrash (see
Bava Metzia 84a). Yet given the fantastical nature of
this tale, it might make more sense to read it allegorically. R. Sofer does so by connecting this
gemara with Reish Lakishs statement in
Berakhot 5a. He identifies the Ludae as the evil
inclination that consumes flesh. The
hit refers to Shema and Torah
study, the preferable ways of subduing the evil inclination; the half hit refers
to recalling the day of death, a less optimum strategy. Given Reish Lakishs righteousness,
the first hit knocked out the evil inclination, and he did not require the half
hit.
Like R. Lopian, R. Sofer mentions the possibility of mortality motivating a turn
to hedonism. He says that
remembering the day of death only works when one first studies Torah and recites
Shema. Given the right background and
priorities, thoughts of death can help.
Yet this strategy has great limitations; it requires the right context to
work and, even when effective, causes negative side effects.
Educators who are frustrated by their students apathy may try to up the
emotional ante by talking about such matters as death or the Holocaust. They feel that only such powerful
themes will affect indifferent students.
R. Lopian and R. Sofer remind us not to quickly adopt such an approach. Torah study and reciting the
Shema are more basic and positive
educational strategies.
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