Letting Go of Death
“What truly belongs to you, no one will take from you. If it is taken from you, it did not belong to you.”
Only your actions belong to you: the mitzvot, the good deeds, the Torah studied, the good given.
Letting go is not passivity: act wisely, defend yourself, be responsible, but turn the page quickly.
By letting go of death (this world), we stop suffering and live fully.
Only your actions belong to you: the mitzvot you do, the good deeds, the Torah you study, the good you give. No one can take that from you. Everything else is temporary, fleeting, illusion.
A man hears this teaching. His reaction: “What? You want me to live thinking like that? Impossible! Are you out of your mind?” He refuses, he rejects it: “It's madness!”
The result, according to the course: he went on suffering. People betrayed him, cheated him; he fought over pennies, spent sleepless nights going over it again and again, trusted no one anymore. His life came to a halt in suffering.
It is not: staying passive, not defending yourself, letting people walk all over you, doing nothing.
It is: acting wisely, defending yourself when necessary, being responsible, but turning the page quickly.
The attached (who suffers): loses 100 euros and rages for three months; is betrayed and can no longer trust anyone; his business fails and he falls into deep depression; he ruminates and cannot sleep. His life stops.
The detached (who is free): loses 100 euros: “OK, lesson learned, next”; is betrayed: “that person was not meant for me”; his business fails: “I start again with experience.” He turns the page quickly. His life goes on.
A universal experience: you are shown the photo of the whole class. Which person do you look at first? Yourself. According to the course, 100% of people do this.
Conclusion: what do people think about? Themselves, always. If you want to be interesting, talk to them about themselves, not about you.
Politicians have understood this: they talk about what you want to hear (“I will lower your taxes, raise your salaries, improve your life”). They talk to you about you, and you vote for them. A cynical but true saying, according to the course: “Promises only bind those who listen to them!”
When you let go of death (this world), you stop suffering. You keep acting, defending yourself, living fully, but you are no longer a prisoner.
And when you return to life (physical death), you will be free to enjoy it fully, not like the innkeeper who still asks for her makeup.
Quiz — Letting Go of Death
Five questions to check