Askmoses-A Jews Resource
What is the Omer?
Browse our archives

The Scholar is ready to answer your question. Click the button below to chat now.

Scholar Online:

Type in your question here:

Is suicide forbidden under all circumstances?

by Rabbi Moshe Miller

  

Library » Life Cycle » Death » Passing On | Subscribe | What is RSS?

PRINT EMAIL COMMENT

To commit suicide is forbidden by Jewish Law, except for certain circumstances which we will address shortly. The Torah states: "However, your blood which belongs to your souls I (G-d) will demand".1 This includes one who takes his own life.2 The Talmud3 also discusses the issue and comes to the same conclusion -- it is forbidden.

However, if a person is afraid that he/she will be forced to violate one of the three cardinal prohibitions which one must never violate even at the pain of death (idolatry, murder, or certain sexual prohibitions such as incest or adultery) or to avoid terrible degradation and torture (like King Saul) then his/her suicide is not censured. This is the rationale behind the mass suicide at Masada, and King Saul's suicide.

greatest tragedy is for a person to waste that precious gift of life -- and not fulfill the mission of their soul
Now let us look at the issue from another point of view: One of the great Sages of the Talmud, Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyon was sentenced to death by the Romans. They sadistically wrapped wet wool around him and then wrapped him in the Torah scroll from which he had been teaching (against the roman decree), and they then set him ablaze to die an agonizingly slow death, since the wet wool prevented him from dying quickly. His students begged him to open his mouth and breathe in the flames so that he would die more quickly. He answered: "It is better that He who gave (my soul) should take it..."4

In other words, the life we have been given is very valuable. Each person is unique, and has something unique to contribute to the world - for if this were not so, then they would never have been born. The greatest tragedy is for a person to waste that precious gift of life -- and not fulfill the mission of their soul. It is not always easy to find out what this mission in life is, but it is possible.

A good place to start is by helping others who are less fortunate than ourselves, such as volunteering for Chai Lifeline (http://www.chailifeline.org) or Friendship Circle (http://www.friendshipcircle.org).

Footnotes

  • 1. Genesis 9:5.
  • 2. Bereishit Rabbah ch. 34.
  • 3. Bava Kama 91b.
  • 4. Talmud Avodah Zara 18a.

ADD A COMMENT

Please email me when new comments are posted (you must be  logged in).

COMMENTS

king saul

Posted by: Anonymous on Dec 06, 2005

Hello, I thought the TNK pointed a negative picture of Shaul, how does Judaism in general look at him? I thought the tale of his death was to point him in a bad light, ie one who forsoke Hashem even at the last..

todah

Editor's Comment

While he had certain flaws, the very fact that he was personally chosen by G-d to be the first Jewish king demonstrates his greatness. He was a prophet and a scholar -- who made an occasional mistake.
Torah
Torah is G–d’s teaching to man. In general terms, we refer to the Five Books of Moses as “The Torah.” But in truth, all Jewish beliefs and laws are part of the Torah.
Talmud
Usually referring to the Babylonian edition, it is a compilation of Rabbinic law, commentary and analysis compiled over a 600 year period (200 BCE - 427 CE). Talmudic verse serves as the bedrock of all classic and modern-day Torah-Jewish literature.
Saul
First king of Israel, anointed by the prophet Samuel in 878 BCE. Was dethroned because he failed to carry out G-d's command, and the royal crown was transferred to King David and his descendents.
G-d
It is forbidden to erase or deface the name of G-d. It is therefore customary to insert a dash in middle of G-d's name, allowing us to erase or discard the paper it is written on if necessary.