The Consequence of Stripping the Soul

Honoring the Dead, Confronting the Living, and the Weight of Justice

Growing up Jewish, I didn’t hear much about the devil, though in the company of certain people I’d hear it mentioned quite a bit.

My dad’s best friend Charlie was a born-again, evangelical Christian.

Our next door neighbors were Catholic, and I’d hear Barbara talk about Satan from time to time.

In the arts I just understood it to be the evil side of the character.

From Hebrew School I learned about the Holocaust, and how Jews had been propagandized as the devil in print advertising, presented entertainment, and in common commentary.

Later, I heard other countries refer to America as “The Great Satan”.

I figured that everyone could tell it’s all rhetoric as well as I could—that it’d been designed to make people hate and driven to do harm. It was nonsensical.

Up until a couple of years ago, I always believed that I was the dumbest person in any room. If I could understand something, everyone else must too.

I’ve always been “the slow” one. The disappointment. The one who just never got it.

Even now, people I encounter usually expect me to be intellectually stunted.

They treat you differently when they think you’re weak or incompetent.

Despite all proof, I couldn’t imagine people becoming “that”. I mean, within me I could never get a full sense of it.

To become aggressive is a feeling I despise, though I only know that due to experience.

I’ve always hated feeling anger and pain. I used to think I was so weak and had such a low pain threshold. That’s not true. It’s garbage other “people” fed to me.

No matter what anyone ever did to me or how bad things got, I refused to become anything like “them”. Except for one time.

I hit my brother in the head with a hammer.

We were young kids.

I’d seen it on cartoons.

I had no idea it could actually hurt him more than an “oow!!” and make him cry—pretty normal behavior for him anyhow.

I learned from that experience to never do anything like that ever again. I carried that guilt for a very long time.

It shakes me still to even think about.

Our house was constantly violent.

Until Sean got diagnosed with cancer.

From that point forward, all violence was solely directed towards me, and I became my brother’s body guard.

I’ve always put my primary attention on what’s been real, and what I’d be able to take from any experience—good, bad, or indifferent.

Why wouldn’t I?

What else am I supposed to do?

There's always opportunity for growth.

My childhood was torture.

All I wanted was to be free from harm.

That’s what peace is to me.

I learned in Hebrew School as a child that Jews don’t kill.

We don’t self harm, and we don’t get tattoos by choice.

And they knew this.

Thus, Catholic guilt.

It had to get baked in.

We don’t cremate our families.

We do not hold a wake.

Christians do.

Do you know why?

In understanding the nature of evil, I came to recognize it not just in ideology, but in action.

To see Satan, one must be Satan.

It took me many years of deep exploration to figure that one out.

The Nature of Perception & Projection

What one believes and perceives, in alignment with their level of Christ Consciousness, becomes their lived reality. They needn’t recognize it. This is the Law of Creation.

In order to see something fully, one must have an intimate understanding of it.

If someone can truly see what they deem to be Satan—recognizing “his” nature, “his” patterns, “his” presence—it suggests they have either aligned with “him” in some way, or transcended him by knowing his depths without succumbing.

In Kabbalistic thought, the Sitra Achra (the “Other Side”) is not an external enemy but a force within. To recognize it means one has either embraced it or defeated it internally.

Moses had to enter the house of Pharaoh, confront the darkness, and know it in order to break it.

Jesus saw Satan in the wilderness because he was being tested—standing on the edge of human and divine choice. That’s the edge of sanity. For everyone.

Job’s suffering allowed him to see Satan’s workings, but he did not become him.

I’ve taken care of serial killers, extending them dignity and respect—until and unless they push my patience too far. Then we’re done for the day.

In some traditions, gazing too long into darkness invites it in (Nietzsche: “He who fights monsters should take care lest he become a monster.”).

If one “sees Satan” in others, it may reflect their own corruption or projection.

Where did you develop your moral guidelines?

My mother had her father embalmed when he died, and organized a viewing at his funeral—against his conservative Jewish wishes.

She had her mother’s sister, Judith, cremated and scattered in the garden of the cemetery where she’d bought a plot for herself at—so that they’ll be “together forever”.

These are direct violations against Jewish burial traditions that are considered sacred.

My mother’s actions violated several core Jewish laws concerning death and burial, which are deeply rooted in Halacha (Jewish law).

If you can begin to grasp how deeply these laws matter, you might also begin to understand why Israel and America fight for their own survival—because desecration, whether of the dead or the living, is never just about the moment; it’s about what’s at stake, since and for eternity. In the present. Always.

This is My Home.

These laws have been in place since biblical times and are reinforced in the Talmud and later rabbinic rulings.

Embalming and public viewing are against Jewish law because they interfere with the natural return of the body to the earth.

The Torah states, “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19).

The body is meant to decompose naturally.

The Talmud (Sanhedrin 46b) emphasizes burial as quickly as possible, and unnecessary delays (like embalming for display) are prohibited.

Cremation is considered a desecration of the body (nivul hamet).

Jewish law requires burial in the ground.

“You shall surely bury him the same day” (Deuteronomy 21:23).

This commandment is taken to mean that burial in the earth is a divine requirement.

The Mishnah (Avot 3:1) teaches that the body is on loan from God and must be returned in its original form.

Cremation is seen as spiritually harmful because it prevents the soul from fully transitioning and undergoing tikkun (rectification).

Jewish law requires burial in a Jewish cemetery. Scattering ashes is considered an additional desecration.

In Orthodox Jewish courts (Beit Din), her actions would be seen as severe violations of Jewish law.

In secular law, embalming and cremation are legal, so there’s no civil penalty.

The Deeper Meaning

Ancient Jewish law is designed to preserve the dignity (kavod hamet) of the deceased and maintain the sanctity of life.

By violating these laws, my mother didn’t just break tradition—she stripped her parents' souls of their rightful rest, according to Jewish belief.

The consequences of violating God’s laws—both in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and New Testament—are severe. Especially when it comes to mistreatment of the dead, the widow, and violations of burial law.

Defying a Parent’s Wishes (Dishonoring Father & Mother)

“Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12)

Violating this is seen as inviting divine judgment, including a shortened life (Deuteronomy 27:16—“Cursed is the one who dishonors his father or mother.”).

I had taken him and my grandmother to the funeral home, at his request, where they made the arrangements for themselves, with me in the room.

He even wrote out the cheque and put a prepayment in the hand of the salesman right in front of me.

My mother and her brother made other plans for their parents though.

They kept my grandfather on ice, “for Sean”, and had him made up for an open casket viewing.

I fought this. I fought everything.

My mother and her brother wouldn’t even allow my grandmother to attend her husband’s funeral, no matter what I was willing to do.

My brother did not fight with me. He was already hers.

Mistreating a Widow (Cruelty to the Vulnerable)

“You shall not mistreat a widow or an orphan. If you do mistreat them and they cry out to Me, I will surely hear their cry, and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword.” (Exodus 22:22-24)

This is one of the strongest warnings in the Torah—God explicitly threatens death by divine retribution for harming widows.

Mishandling the Dead (Bizayon HaMet – Disrespecting the Deceased)

“His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day… so that you do not defile the land.” (Deuteronomy 21:23)

Not giving a proper burial is considered a spiritual contamination and brings a curse upon the land.

Breaking a Vow & Misusing Money for the Dead

“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be a sin in you.” (Deuteronomy 23:21)

As my grandfather prepaid for his burial, using that money differently is a violation of vows and theft, which brings divine judgment (Proverbs 22:22-23—God will take up the case of the oppressed).

Consequences according to the New Testament

Jesus reinforces that dishonoring parents is a grave sin with deadly consequences.

In the New Testament, proper burial is shown as sacred, and denying it is a sign of divine disfavor (Acts 5:6—Ananias is struck dead, and his body is buried immediately as a sign of justice).

The Judgment for Oppressing the Helpless

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.” (Matthew 23:14)

Those who oppress widows will face greater judgment in the afterlife.

The Sin of Betrayal & Hypocrisy

“It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.” (Luke 17:2)

Jesus warns that betrayal and causing harm to others—especially the vulnerable—brings severe divine consequences.

God does not ignore the suffering of the dead or the widow.

Who would?

Not My Side.

There is no escaping divine justice—whether in this life or the next.

Are You starting to get the picture yet?