Addendum: When I wrote this post I had not heard of the tragic suicide of a famous author yesterday. His poor family. So incredibly sad. [Wow - talk an about an article telling you nothingץ Here is one with a little bit more. The news sites (often) don't report what actually happens as much as what they want you to hear. Jewish and non-Jewish alike].
Speaking of suicide [in the last post]:
Society has only sympathy for people who commit suicide. This is a mistake.
Let me explain: If someone is mentally ill then they are not responsible for their actions and bear no guilt. Pashut. But if someone is in control of their actions and is suffering emotionally and in order to end the suffering they kill themselves, it is another story. Suicide is murder. In homicide the victim is someone else while in suicide the victim is the perpetrator. But both are killing. We Jews don't believe that anyone has the right to end another person's life. That is the sole domain the the One who created life.
The Halacha [not usually followed for (a) certain reason/s] is that when someone kills oneself the family doesn't sit shiva. The person is a sinner.
Isn't that INSENSITIVE??? No. We empathize with a person's suffering. We do everything in our power to help lessen the suffering of others. [Our PURPOSE in life is to make others feel GOOD, as per the Vilna Gaon. להיטיב לאחריני!!!] We accept the fact that the person is in tremendous pain and desperate to relieve themselves of the pain. But killing oneself is not the morally correct choice. If one is being beaten by a parent or spouse רח"ל they have every right to defend themselves but murdering the attacker is not the correct solution [unless they are causing a threat to one's life and then one MUST kill them. הבא להרוגך השכם להורגו]. Self-Murder is not an option. Ultimately, only G-d is the judge but down here on earth we were given rules which we must follow. One of them is that we don't terminate lives - not of others, not of fetuses and not of ourselves.
If someone thinks that it is a solution to their problems they will be in for a big surprise when they meet the Ribbono Shel Olam and have to suffer for their act forever. That is much longer than our pathetic 70-80 years on the planet.
Not only is it a sin against G-d it is also an EGREGIOUS sin against man. The amount of suffering inflicted on the family and close friends of the suicide is indescribable.
In our society we are taught that we must do everything we can to remain comfortable. There are limits to this. One is - don't ruin the lives of other people b/c you are suffering. Get help. Go to one of the countless mental health facilities that are available to help.
But in the name of G-d - PLEASE don't kill yourself!!!!
