During a lecture delivered last night in New Jersey, Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto addressed the concept of life and death from a perspective of faith. He emphasized that most fears people experience, especially regarding death and life’s uncertainties, stem from excessive attachment to worldly pleasures.
“When a person lives solely for self-love, pleasure, and the pursuit of comfort, honor, and the luxuries of this world, they lack the strength to withstand challenges,” Rabbi Pinto explained. “Such people live moment to moment, enjoying the present—having money, status, and convenience. But this is not true faith.”
According to him, those whose faith is rooted in the understanding that this world is transient and temporary do not fear change or the unknown. “A person must have complete faith in God, recognizing that there is another level beyond this world. Even if one loses everything here, they have an eternal and better place waiting for them above.”
The difference between believers and those who live in fear, he explained, lies in their outlook on life. “Most people are fearful. Why? Because they only believe in what they can enjoy here and now. Those who love themselves and their lives too much are the ones who fear death the most,” Rabbi Pinto stated.
He cited the example of Rabbi Akiva, who, during his execution, joyfully accepted the yoke of divine sovereignty and recited Shema Yisrael. “He was not afraid,” Rabbi Pinto explained. “A person with true faith does not live in fear. Today, God wants me here; tomorrow, He wants me elsewhere. That is the purpose.”
Concluding his lecture, Rabbi Pinto urged each individual to reflect on their own lives and ask themselves: Do I truly believe? Do I live with faith or with fear? “Those who are attached only to this world panic when it ends. But those connected to eternity know they are simply continuing to the next stage of their journey.”
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel