Rabbi Mayer TwerskyThe Blessing of Life, the Reality of Death

"And die on the mountain where you will ascend and be brought to your people as Aaron your brother did on Mount Hor and was brought to his people" (Devarim 32:50).

This week's parsha concludes with Hashem's instructions to Moshe Rabbeinu regarding his impending death. Indeed the prospect of Moshe Rabbeinu's death provokes the context for all of sefer Devarim, and in parshas Vezos Habracha, Chamisha Chumshei Torah climax with the account of Moshe Rabbeinu's death. Why?

Why should Torah - a Toras Chaim, a Torah to be lived - conclude on this note?

The Torah is underscoring a fundamental, indispensable perspective on life. We must live our lives with a keen awareness of our mortality. This perspective ought to be sobering and energizing, not depressing or paralyzing. Armed with this perspective, we are able to establish and maintain correct priorities. Since olam ha-zeh is simply a gateway to olam ha-ba ("olam ha-zeh resembles a corridor before olam ha-ba. Prepare yourself in the corridor so you can enter the banquet hall" Avos 4:17), it is the ultimate folly to pursue physical pleasures and material possessions. "Fear not when a man grows rich, when he increases the splendor of his house. For upon his death he will not take anything, his splendor will not descend after him" (Tehilim 49:17-8). By dint of nature and nurture, we always plan for the future. We prudently establish pension plans, invest in IRA's, etc. But the ultimate and eternal future is olam ha-ba. Are we equally prudent in prioritizing and planning for that future? We can only hope to answer the question affirmatively if we maintain a perspective of mortality.

This perspective is also indispensable in sensitizing us to the preciousness of time. A person lacking the perspective of mortality has "all the time in the world". Just as a tycoon does not count his pennies, so too one who feels immortal does not have to guard his time. One the other hand, one who is keenly aware of his mortality values every moment. Mashal l'ma ha'davar dome? A student is taking the MCAT's. He has to complete the standardized test in the allotted time. He works feverishly, capitalizing upon each moment, because his life's ambition - to become a physician - rides on these few hours. He will not squander a moment because what he accomplishes or fails to accomplish will reverberate endlessly.

A person who lives his life with the perspective of mortality is similarly energized.

And thus the Torah appropriately climaxes with the account of Moshe Rabbeinu's passing. " 'And God saw all that He had made and behold it was very good' - in the teachings of Rabbi Meir they found written 'and behold it was very good', behold death is good." Life can be very good, to be lived joyously and cherished, but only if one is aware of death.