Shalom, Mitspacha!
The Renewed Moon has been sighted in South Africa! The first confirmed report for the sixth Renewed Moon came from Cape Town on Thursday evening, August 13, 2026. We therefore enter SHISHI 1, 6028 AA and the beginning of a new month.
Please also check with local moon-sighting communities, including Muslim communities in your area, to confirm whether the crescent was sighted elsewhere outside South Africa. You may also check the renewedmoon.com website for the latest worldwide sighting reports.
Human Dignity After Death
“When a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall certainly bury him that day, for he who is hanged is accursed of Elohim, so that you do not defile the land which YHVH your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance.”
- Devarim (Deuteronomy) 21:22-23
“Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kiriath-arba, that is Hebron, in the land of Kena'an. And Avraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.”
- Bereshith (Genesis) 23:1-2
“And Avraham stood up from before his dead and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, ‘I am a stranger and a sojourner among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.’”
- Bereshith (Genesis) 23:3-4
“Then Yoseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Yisrael. And forty days were fulfilled for him, for so are fulfilled the days of those who are embalmed; and the Mitsrites mourned for him seventy days.”
- Bereshith (Genesis) 50:2-3
“So David slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.”
- Melakhim Aleph (1 Kings) 2:10
YHVH's Torah establishes that even a person who has been judged worthy of death retains human dignity after death. A condemned person was not to be left exposed overnight. His body was to be buried that same day.
But the principle of honouring the dead is much broader than the treatment of those who were executed. Scripture repeatedly records the mourning and burial of people who died ordinary deaths. Avraham mourned Sarah and made deliberate provision for her burial. Yoseph arranged for the embalming and extended mourning of Ya'aqov, and David was buried after his death.
These accounts demonstrate that death did not erase a person's dignity or the responsibilities of those who remained alive. Mourning, burial and remembrance were treated as matters worthy of care and honour.
The Torah also connects the burial requirement for the condemned with the sanctity of the land. Even when punishment had been carried out, the dead were not to be left exposed in a manner that defiled the land YHVH had given to His people.
Justice does not require cruelty, and death does not cancel human dignity. The fact that someone has been found guilty does not mean that every form of humiliation or degradation becomes acceptable. Even a condemned person was to be buried rather than deliberately left exposed.
At the same time, Scripture shows us that honouring the dead is not restricted to those who died under judgement. Sarah was mourned and buried. Ya'aqov was mourned and carefully prepared for burial. David was buried after his natural death. The consistent pattern is that the dead were treated with dignity while the living fulfilled their responsibilities toward them.
This challenges us to examine how we speak about and treat those who have died, especially those whose lives ended in disgrace, violence, conflict or judgement. We should not confuse condemnation of wrongdoing with permission to deny the humanity of the person who committed it.
As followers of Yahusha HaMashiach, we are called to uphold truth and righteousness while refusing to cultivate hatred, contempt or needless humiliation. Justice belongs within the boundaries established by YHVH, while mourning, burial and remembrance remind us that human dignity does not simply disappear at death.
Heavenly Father, YHVH, thank You for teaching us to value life, dignity, justice and honour even in the presence of death. Help us to uphold truth without cruelty, to reject wrongdoing without hatred and to treat the dead with the dignity and respect that Your Word teaches. Give us compassion for those who mourn, wisdom when dealing with death and loss, and discernment when serious wrongdoing has taken place. Keep our hearts free from vengeance and contempt, and teach us to reflect Your justice, mercy and holiness in everything we do.
Baruch YHVH. Emet.
“YHVH bless you and keep you;
YHVH make His face shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
YHVH lift up His countenance upon you,
and give you peace.”
- Bemidbar (Numbers) 6:24-26
Shalom until tomorrow.