Self Sacrifice

I know that there are religions in which it's a great thing to die for your faith, and doing so makes you a saint or gets you a ticket to paradise. What is the Jewish view? Is a person supposed to die for his beliefs?

The Binding of Issac and the Meaning of Jewish Martyrdom

The defiance of Mordechai as he refuses to bow to Haman is a pivotal moment in the Purim story. All the king’s servants who were in the king’s gate would kneel and prostrate themselves before Haman, for so had the king commanded concerning him, but Mordec...

Before facing the trial of love for his own child, Abraham was forced to ask, “Where is my whole world? Where is my whole concept of justice? Where is my morality?” At the Akeidah, Abraham sacrifices not only his son’s body but his own soul.

Pinchas' deed evokes many associations -- courage, decisiveness and religious passion are several that come to mind -- but peace hardly seems one of them. Pinchas, after all, killed two people. So why does the Torah describe him as a man of peace? To unde...

Professor Wiesel replied: “I put on tefillin in Auschwitz every morning. I probably shouldn’t have done it. But I did.”

What is so special about Avraham’s self-sacrifice for G-d, considering that we find many who were willing to give up their life for all types of causes?

As we spoke, another passenger approached, stated he was heading to Starbucks, and asked the soldier if he wanted anything. He politely declined. Moments later, another traveler sat next to the soldier. And a repeat of my very questions from his end ensue...

The Jews' devotion to maintaining their spiritual freedom can only be described as supernatural. What gives us this miraculous strength?

Noam was hailed a hero by students and rabbis at the yeshiva for his actions. Had he not locked that connecting door during his final moments, many more people would have been killed that night. After Noam's death, his family discovered a trove of poems i...