Frightened of death – Ask the Rabbi
Q. Is there anything wrong with being afraid of death?
A. We all know that the day of death will come. The Simchat Torah service says, “Moses died – who will not die?” A French writer says, “I want to die whilst planting my cabbages”.
For my part, if I am afraid it is of death coming before I have completed my task. Which means getting things tidy at the end of every stage of life, doing whatever I can whilst I have the power and the opportunity. There is a saying about making hay while the sun is shining. That’s me too – hoping the sun will shine long enough for my hay-making.
Another French writer says that being dead is not something to fear. We can only fear what we know. Maybe being dead is a joy. What we have reason to fear is suffering whilst dying. We should all pray and hope for what Judaism calls mitah yaffah, a “beautiful death”. In the meantime let’s make the most of life.
