Question:
My grandmother passed away on her Jewish birthday. A relative said that in Judaism it is considered a particular blessing to die on one’s birthday. Is that correct?
Answer:
That is indeed the case. The Talmud teaches that Moses passed away on the 7th day of the Jewish month of Adar, which was his 120th birthday. The Talmud explains that G‑d calculates and completes the lifespan a righteous person, as we read in Exodus (23:21), “I will complete the number of your days.”1
Why is this significant?
The Chassidic masters explain that on the day we are born we are entrusted with a mission. The righteous person lives his life achieving his fullest potential and completes his mission on earth in the most perfect way possible. This perfection is expressed in the fact that his mission ends on the very same day that it was begun.2
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