Deathbed confession
Encyclopedia
A deathbed confession is a confession
of some sort when someone is assumed to be close to death
. Sometimes, it takes place on their "deathbed
," the bed in which a person dies or lies in during the last few hours before death, hence the phrase.
teaches that “if one falls sick and his life is in danger, he is told: “Make confession, for all who are sentenced to death make confession.” Masechet Semachot adds that “When someone is approaching death, we tell him to confess before he dies, adding that on the one hand, many people confessed and did not die, whilst on the other, there are many who did not confess and died, and there are many who walk in the street and confess; because on the merit of confession you will live.”
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
of some sort when someone is assumed to be close to death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
. Sometimes, it takes place on their "deathbed
Deathbed
A deathbed is a place where a person dies or lies in during the last few hours before death.Deathbed may also refer to:* Deathbed conversion, a religious faith conversion...
," the bed in which a person dies or lies in during the last few hours before death, hence the phrase.
Judaism
The TalmudTalmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
teaches that “if one falls sick and his life is in danger, he is told: “Make confession, for all who are sentenced to death make confession.” Masechet Semachot adds that “When someone is approaching death, we tell him to confess before he dies, adding that on the one hand, many people confessed and did not die, whilst on the other, there are many who did not confess and died, and there are many who walk in the street and confess; because on the merit of confession you will live.”
Suggested deathbed confessions
- Naomi ShemerNaomi ShemerNaomi Shemer was a leading Israeli songwriter hailed as the "first lady of Israeli song and poetry."-Biography:Naomi Sapir was born on Kvutzat Kinneret, a kibbutz her parents had helped found, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. In the 1950s she served in the Israeli Defense Force's Nahal...
- in a letter to Gil AldemaGil AldemaGil Aldema is an Israeli composer and conductor.-Biography:Aldema was born in Giv'atayim in Mandate Palestine on September 17, 1928. He graduated from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Mannes College of Music in New York....
before dying of cancer, she confessed to using a BasqueBasque peopleThe Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
melody for her famous song Jerusalem of Gold, something she had long denied.