What to do the day before you die

R’ Eliezer ben Hyrcanus’s teaching at Avot 2:15 has become so familiar to Torah students that it might be fair to say that some of us have come close to not thinking about it at all any more.  In the middle of this mishnah he says:

שׁוּב יוֹם אֶחָד לִפְנֵי מִיתָתָךְ

Repent one day before your death.

Who now is unfamiliar with the explanation that, since we do not know which is the day before our death, R’ Eliezer is telling us that we should repent every day? This is the well-worn path taken by the Talmud (Shabbat 153a), Avot deRabbi Natan (15.4), Rambam, Rabbenu Yonah, the Me’iri, the Bartenura, the commentary attributed to Rashi, and others.

R’ Yitchak Magriso (Me’am Lo’ez) agrees, adding an explanation of Rabbenu Bachye (Chovot Halevavot) and the Midrash Shmuel that there is a further meaning to this mishnah: even if a person lives a life entirely devoted to sin, it is never too late for one’s repentance to be accepted—even if it’s at the last minute.

R’ Yisroel Miller (The Wisdom of Avos), having concurred with its traditional understanding, takes a refreshingly different look at this teaching, one that is founded on a midrashic cadenza on a verse from Ecclesiastes. He writes:

Koheles [= Ecclesiastes] tells us: “At all times let your garments be white” in celebration. But Chazal [= our sages] say that the “white garments” mean shrouds, to always be prepared for the day of death, which is somewhat odd. A Midrash generally adds depth to the plain meaning of the pasuk, yet here it seems to teach the very opposite of the plain meaning!

Rav Isaac Sher explained that there is no contradiction. The pasuk says to celebrate each day, and the midrash shows us the way to feel how precious each day is—by saying to yourself: “I will live this day as if it were my last”.

If I had but one more day, I would make sure to tell my spouse and children how much I love them and what they mean to me. I would savor the sunlight, pour out my heart at my last davening, and feel my soul bond with one last hour of Torah learning….”

R’ Miller continues in this positive vein. Gila Ross (Living Beautifully) hits upon the same theme:

“How does a person know when he is going to die? He doesn’t. He’s telling us to treat each day as though it were our last….

Imagine if we all lived every single day as though it was our only opportunity in this world. We would be in a state of perpetual self-improvement, of living in the moment, of taking opportunities to do mitzvos. We would be the very best people we could be!”

These words may have strayed a little from the simple but austere message of R’ Eliezer, but they certainly address the contemporary Jew in a constructive and meaningful manner.