איוב, פרק ד׳, פסוק כ״א

Human existence is fundamentally fragile and temporary. In the final moments of life or during judgment before God, all the advantages a person has gathered simply vanish, leaving them to end their days in a state of confusion. This sudden conclusion to life is an act of uprooting and scattering [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. It is often compared to pulling up the pegs of a tent just before it is entirely dismantled and packed away [רש״י, אבן עזרא].

There are different perspectives on the exact nature of the advantage that is taken away from a person at this time. The primary approach among commentators is that this refers to the spiritual and intellectual superiority humans hold over animals, namely the mind and the soul [מצודת דוד, רלב״ג, אלשיך]. If a person fails to develop and perfect their intellect during their lifetime, they are left with absolutely no advantage when they die [רלב״ג]. Others suggest the loss is material, referring to the wealth and assets a person has accumulated [אבן עזרא, מצודת ציון, מלבי״ם]. According to this view, God strips away a person's property as a mild penalty in order to spare them from the much harsher fate of eternal ruin [מלבי״ם]. Additional perspectives view this lost advantage as human pride and power [רש״י, רמב״ן], or as the total destruction of whatever small remnant a person has left, because no one can ever win in a trial against God [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The ultimate tragedy of human mortality is how life comes to a close. People often pass away without ever attaining genuine wisdom [מצודת דוד]. While they may have spent their days believing that gathering wealth was a wise pursuit, their death ultimately proves that the true purpose of life is the pursuit of spiritual understanding [אבן עזרא]. For some, death strikes so suddenly that they lack the awareness to even comprehend their own passing [רמב״ן]. Yet, even in a slow physical decline, where the soul departs the body gradually from the feet upward and the person clearly sees the end approaching, they still die without wisdom. A spirit of foolishness overtakes them, leaving them without the basic understanding to repent for their sins even in their very last moments [אלשיך].