Rabbi Meir Wrote Death Instead of Very Good

Midrash Rabbah Bereshit Rabbah 9:5 View source
Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team ·

It sounds shocking, I know.

The story starts with a curious discovery. In Rabbi Meir's personal Torah scroll, a peculiar reading was found in the verse “And, behold, it was very [me’od] good” (Genesis 1:31). Next to the word me’od, Rabbi Meir had written mot – death. It’s a play on words, a subtle shift in meaning that completely alters the verse. So, was Rabbi Meir suggesting that "…behold, death is good?"

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman recalls hearing Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar expounding on this very idea in Rabbi Meir's name. But how can death, something we often fear and grieve, be considered good?

Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina offers one explanation: Adam, the first human, was originally meant to be immortal. But, the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that later generations would produce figures like Nebuchadnezzar and Ḥiram, king of Tyre, who would claim divinity for themselves. To prevent this ultimate act of hubris, Adam was penalized with mortality. As it says about Hiram in (Ezekiel 28:13), "You were in Eden, the Garden of God." Was Hiram actually in Eden? Of course not! Rather, God was saying to him: "It is you who caused the one in the Garden of Eden to die."

So, Adam's mortality, in this view, was a preemptive measure against future wickedness. It's a heavy burden to place on the first human, isn't it?

Rabbi Yonatan raises an important question: if Adam's mortality was meant to prevent wickedness, why not just decree death for the wicked themselves, instead of impacting the righteous too? The answer given is that this would prevent the wicked from feigning repentance out of self-interest. They couldn't simply accumulate mitzvot (good deeds) to avoid death if death was only for the wicked.

Then, Rabbi Yoḥanan offers another perspective. He suggests that death is "good" for the wicked because, as long as they live, they anger God. "You wearied the Lord with your words" (Malachi 2:17). But, "There anger has ceased for the wicked" (Job 3:17). In death, they stop causing offense. And for the righteous? As long as they live, they struggle against their yetzer hara, their evil inclination. Death brings them rest. "There rest those whose strength is sapped" (Job 3:17).

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish adds that death allows for a double measure of reward for the righteous and double retribution for the wicked. The righteous, who were worthy of immortality, receive extra reward, while the wicked, who caused the righteous to accept death, face increased punishment. As (Isaiah 61:7) says, "therefore, they will inherit a double portion in their land."

It’s a complex and layered understanding of death, isn't it? Not a simple end, but a transition, a reckoning, and even, perhaps, a form of mercy. This passage from Bereshit Rabbah challenges us to reconsider our assumptions about life and death, good and evil, and the intricate ways in which they are intertwined. It invites us to see death not just as an ending, but as a part of a larger, divinely ordained plan. What do you think? Can death, in some way, be considered good?

Themes

Heaven Hell/Gehenna Angels Adam & Eve Daniel Job Torah Prophecy Repentance Exile Shabbat Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination)

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