Death, Burial, and Resurrection: The Torah's Perspective on Mortality

Rabbi Zweig addresses one of the most fundamental existential challenges: how to understand death and burial from a Torah (תורה) perspective. He begins by acknowledging the universal struggle with mortality — the fear children have of losing parents, the existential anxiety of youth, and the acute confrontation with death that comes through illness or loss. Most people, he notes, deal with death through denial, but the Torah demands a healthier approach. The shiur confronts what appears to be a theological problem: death seems like a harsh, disproportionate punishment for Adam's sin. If God is merciful, why introduce mortality? And why does Jewish law require burial in a plain wooden casket that allows decomposition, rather than preservation in an ornate mausoleum? These practices seem cruel and disrespectful.