NUMBERS VI:21-VII:89
THE PROHIBITION OF SUICIDE
According to the Midrash, the commandment that forbids the murder of another human being includes the instruction not to cause one’s own death: suicide. Moreover, this heading includes the prohibition of taking unnecessary risks that may result in death. Israel Gilat makes the excellent observation that, by committing a murder, the person is doubly in default. On the one hand, he violates the “thou shalt not kill” and, on the other hand, due to his disobedience he will receive the death penalty; that is, for the grave fault he has committed caused the death of the victim and his own death: the punishment he will receive for the crime.
We start from the premise that the body does not belong to the individual, that is, the person cannot exercise his free will with reference to his survival. It is limited. One has the obligation to go to a doctor when one is sick and should not lacerate himself or herself, as a demonstration of independence and total freedom. However, history testifies about several personalities who chose suicide when they had to face pressing situations. King Saul threw himself on a sword stuck in the ground, so that he would not fall alive into the hands of the enemy.
The theme of suicide is pertinent because it is related to the judge Shimshon (Samson), the most famous Nazir(a person who promises to abstain from wine and any derivatives of grapes, not to cut his hair, and not to have contact with a corpse) in Tanakh (Bible), and the state of being a Nazir is one of the central themes of these chapters. In the final stage of his life, having lost his sight during a Philistine celebration, Shimshon requested that he be placed between the two pillars that supported the pagan temple. With supreme effort, he moved the columns and thus caused the death of the Philistines who were in the vicinity and, unfortunately, his own death.
Several explanations are offered. Perhaps suicide is allowed when death is inevitable. It can be argued that the episodes referred to refer to exceptional situations of a historical moment and, therefore, should not serve as a guideline for the future. In both situations, the consequences could include the death of many because, especially in the first case, the Hebrews would have tried to rescue King Saul after he fell into the hands of his enemies. As for Shimshon, he succeeded in eliminating a large number of enemies of the Jewish people who might otherwise have caused many deaths.
A shameful and tragic event for humanity at the time of the Holocaust testifies to the mass suicide of a group of young Jewish women who chose death rather than submit to the rape of their bodies and their subsequent murder at the hands of the Nazis. The decision of these young women was a demonstration of courage sustained by their unwavering faith.
It is pertinent to mention the case of the inhabitants of Masada, who chose suicide when they were besieged by the enemy who began to climb towards the summit, announcing the inescapable end of the defense of the fortress and the death of its inhabitants. In this regard, we can quote the famous opinion of the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Shlomo Goren, who considered this suicide not only permissible but perhaps obligatory, due to the probability that, when captured by the enemy, the inhabitants of Masada would have been forced to violate the ordinances (committing incest, publicly denying the existence of God, murder), and to avoid this transgression, the person must choose death. Many scholars challenged Goren’s view; however, his sentiment points toward the possibility of considering suicide as a valid option under certain circumstances.
MITZVAH: ORDINANCE OF THE TORAH IN THIS PARSHA
CONTAINS 7 POSITIVE MITSVOT AND 11 PROHIBITIONS
1.Numbers 5:2 Sending the ritually unclean individual out of the field of the Divine Presence.
2.Numbers 5:3 The ritually unclean individual must not enter the Temple.
3.Numbers 5:6 Confessing Sin.
4.Numbers 5:15 Comply with the laws of Sota(wife suspected of committing infidelity).
5.Numbers 5:15 Do not include oil in the offering of the Sota.
6.Numbers 5:15 Do not include species in the offering of the Sota.
7.Numbers 6:3 A Nazir should not drink wine or other strong beverage derived from grapes.
8.Numbers 6:3 A Nazir should not consume fresh grapes.
9.Numbers 6:3 A Nazir should not consume raisins.
10.Numbers 6:4 A Nazir must not consume the seed of the grape.
11.Numbers 6:4 A Nazir must not consume the rind of the grape.
12.Numbers 6:5 A Nazir must not shave his hair.
13.Numbers 6:5 Allow the Nazir’s hair to grow long.
14. Numbers 6: A Nazir must not enter the enclosure where a dead body lies.
15.Numbers 6:7 A Nazir must not acquire ritual impurity through a corpse or any other source of ritual impurity.
16.Numbers 6:13 Shave the Nazir’s hair and bring his offering (at the end of the period of his promise from Nazir, or if he acquires ritual impurity).
17.Numbers 6:23 Recite the blessing of the Kohanim,
18.Numbers 7:9 The tribe of Levi must carry the Aron Hakodesh, the Holy Ark, on their shoulders.
