Self-Immolation; Insights from Hebrew Scriptures and Rabbinic Tradition

Abstract

A powerful ritual and religious symbol, blood was valued by primitive people and modern people alike, as it could have harmful or healthy connotations, cleansing or destroying connotations. Blood symbolized the soul or life. Religion provides invaluable terms for referring to it. The article starts by exploring the historical existence of human sacrificial phenomena in world civilizations, followed by elaborating the nature of its existence in Judaism. It deals with such questions; Is there any Biblical narration 0f human bl0od shed and its pr0hibition exits? When, according to the Jews, bl0od loses its veneration and 0ne intends to shed human life? What the Hebrew terms Kiddush Hashem and Yom kippur are meant in relation to the religiously motivated death? Does the Hebrew Bible and Judaic Tradition record any instance of self-sacrifice/martyrdom; Individual and collective throughout Jewish history? Do the Jewish scriptures motivate its adherents to do so? What could be the objectives and reasons in fostering this extreme act of self-sacrifice? H0w the Talmudic Teachings and Rabbinic Law treat this phenomenon and elaborates its legitimacy or the other way round? The article is an attempt to present the Jewish approach on the subject matter by applying the hist0rical and descriptive method.