Jewish Approaches to Suicide, Martyrdom, and Euthanasia

The Anomaly of Masada

KALMAN J. KAPLAN, PH.D. MATTHEW B. SCHWARTZ, PH.D.

Freedom and creativity are seen very differently in Greek and Hebrew writings. In the Greek and Roman world, they come to be equated with the right to suicide. The Hebrews, in contrast, generally condemn suicide and see freedom and creativity in the context of living in obedience to God. The anomaly of the mass suicide at Masada is discussed in this context.

Freedom is a central and fundamental idea in the literature and thought of both the ancient Greeks and the Hebrews. But the way in which each culture understood and dealt with freedom was very different. To the Greeks freedom is a struggle against the control of others and an effort to establish some sense of control over one’s own life. The highest form of control over one’s self is the freedom to decide whether to continue to live or to die; i.e., to suicide. Suicide thus becomes a creative act and an intensely important issue in Greek thinking, a subject discussed at length by many of their best writers (e.g., Plato, Cicero, and Seneca), who never found satisfactory resolution.

The Hebrews, in contrast, see freedom as a central feature of their foundation stories; for example, the freeing of the Hebrews from the bondage of Egypt. However, the issue of control is resolved in a direct manner. Man’s true freedom is in a moral sense. God gives him freedom to make decisions as to whether he will or will not follow God. If he acknowledges God’s rule over the earth, then he has freedom from the urge to self-destruction. More, he can be creative in living—a partner, not a rival, of God in the ongoing work of Creation. Thus freedom can be achieved, but only in the acceptance of the realities of man’s relationship with God. This sets the stage for a striking psychological contrast. For Greeks and Romans, suicide represents a very high form of creativity. For the Jews, life itself is the essence of creativity and suicide only destroys this opportunity.