Eliminating Death

Parshat Chukat has the subject of death as its major theme. It begins with the rules of the Red Heifer, whose ashes remove the impurity of having come in contact with the dead.

The Parsha also discusses the death of Miriam on the tenth of Nissan, as well as the death of Aharon on the first of Av. When they died, the באר מרים, “the well of Miriam” that gave water, ended.

Similarly, the “Clouds of Glory” that protected the Jewish people in the desert, disappeared with the death of Aharon. Both deaths took place in the last year of being in the desert.

A further reference to death is connected with the “copper serpent.” A plague took place in the camp when the people were tired of eating the Manna. There were serpents that killed many of the transgressors. But when they looked to this “copper serpent,” which represented turning to Hashem, they were spared.

There are many references to the fact that death was not meant to happen. The נחש, snake, in the Garden of Eden is the reason why death was decreed to the world.

It is said that had the Jewish people maintained their high level of holiness that they possessed on Mount Sinai, death would have been abolished. The sin of Adam was rectified. The sin of the Golden Calf, undid that special sanctity.

There is a verse in Isaiah 25:8 that says, בלע המות לנצח, “Death should be eliminated forever.” We do believe that the day will come, when righteous people will live forever.

In the meantime, we are urged to remember that we will all die. We must live every day to the fullest. And we must remember that there will be a day of reckoning. We will stand before Hashem and we will receive perfect justice. We will be rewarded for our good deeds and we will be punished for our sins. It is time to wake up now, and return to Hashem before it’s too late.