“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing.”
Ecclesiastes 9:5

Based on this, some have (erroneously) thought that the dead are unaware of this world’s goings on. But as we will uncover, the verse means something quite different.

When his colleague attempted to bring proof from this verse to answer our very question, the Talmudic sage Rabbi Chiya told him: “If you read the verse, you did not read it a second time, and if you read it a second time, you did not read it a third time, and if you read it a third time, then they did not explain it to you properly…”1

Since the Talmud itself discusses this question quite extensively, let’s start there.

The Talmud relates that Rabbi Chiya once told Rabbi Yonatan to lift his tzitzit while walking through a cemetery. Otherwise, he explained, the dead might perceive this as lo'eg larash—mocking those who can no longer perform mitzvot. Rabbi Yonatan initially objected: If the dead know what is happening, how can the (above) verse state that “the dead know nothing”?

“You obviously haven’t learned Scripture properly,” Rabbi Chiya responded. “For the living know that they will die”—refers to the righteous, who are called living even in death ... “But the dead know nothing”—refers to the wicked, who are called dead even while alive.’”2

Where Is the Orphans’ Money?

The Talmud then tells a number of stories to determine whether or not the deceased know what is going on in this world. One example:

Shmuel’s father was often appointed a guardian for safekeeping money belonging to orphans. Shmuel did not know where the money was kept, and when his father died suddenly, a problem arose. Because he was unable to return the money, people started calling him “the son who eats orphans’ money.”

Determined to clear his name, Shmuel went to the cemetery to find his father. He asked around for “Abba,” but was told there were many souls by that name. He narrowed it down to “Abba bar Abba (Abba the son of Abba),” but there were still too many. Finally he specified “Abba bar Abba, father of Shmuel,” and was told his father had gone up to the heavenly study hall.

While waiting for his father’s soul to return, Shmuel noticed his father’s old friend Levi sitting outside, away from the rest of the group. Levi explained that he was being kept out because he’d caused offense by skipping Rabbi Afes’s classes for years.

Then Shmuel's father arrived, crying and laughing at once. Crying, he said, because Shmuel would join him before long; laughing, because Shmuel was so highly regarded in the world of the living. Shmuel used the moment to intercede for Levi, asking that if he himself was so important, Levi should be let into the study hall — and his request was granted.

Finally, Shmuel asked about the money. His father told him to check the millhouse: the coins on the top and bottom were their own, and the orphans’ money was tucked safely in the middle. Asked why he’d arranged it that way, his father explained: if thieves struck, they’d take from the top; if the ground swallowed coins, it would take from the bottom. Either way, the orphans’ money in the middle would be protected.

The Soul’s Connection to the Physical World

After this, Rabbi Yonatan reconsidered his position:

From where is it derived that the dead converse with each other? As it is stated: “And the L-rd said to him, this is the land that I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying: I will give it to your offspring.3” What is the meaning of “saying”? It means that G‑d told Moses: Go and tell Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that the oath that I swore to you I have already fulfilled for your descendants.

Based on this, many commentators, including Rabeinu Bechaye,4 determine that this is indeed the Talmud’s conclusion: Not only are the dead aware of matters of heaven, they are aware of matters taking place in this world as well—and they concern themselves with those matters.5

As for the verse in Ecclesiastes, it must be taken figuratively, as Rabbi Chiya asserts. The “dead who know nothing” refers to the wicked, who are called dead even while alive.

In his classic mystical work Ma’avar Yabok, Rabbi Aharon Berachiah Modena explains that the soul remains connected to the physical world even after death through the etzem luz, a small bone in the spine that does not decay and serves as the point of connection between the soul and the body until the Resurrection of the Dead in the Messianic era. In this sense, death is not a complete cessation of the body’s existence, but a temporary state until the body is restored to life. Therefore, death does not mean that all awareness or sensation ceases.6

The Departed Actively Pray for Us

Not only are the souls of the departed aware of what goes on, but the Zohar teaches that they actively intercede on behalf of the living.7

This is especially true when visiting the graves of the departed. A special lingering connection of the soul remains tied to the grave and aware of the suffering of those in this world. When people go to a cemetery to pray, the nefesh part of the soul is awakened, arousing the ruach and neshamah (higher levels of the soul), which in turn seek mercy from G‑d on behalf of the living.8

In fact, the Zohar states that if not for the prayers of the departed on behalf of those down here, the world could not endure.9 This is especially true before Rosh Hashanah, when the world is judged; the souls of our ancestors seek mercy for us.10

The mystics also explain that the souls of our ancestors going back at least three generations, and at times going even further back, attend joyous occasions such as the weddings of their descendants.11

We Bring Them Joy, Too!

Perhaps this can best be summarized by a letter the Rebbe wrote to a grieving widow whose husband had been killed. The Rebbe explained that the bond between people is not rooted in the physical body, but in the soul, which is the person’s true essence. Death severs the soul’s physical connection to the body, but it does not sever its connection with those it loves. The soul continues to live eternally and remains connected to its family, sharing in their sorrow and rejoicing in their happiness. It is only those living in this physical world who can no longer see or touch that connection.

The Rebbe further emphasized that the soul derives particular satisfaction when it sees its children continuing to live with strength and purpose, being raised in the ways of Torah, building Jewish homes, and performing good deeds.12

While we have discussed the souls of the departed being aware of what goes on, and sharing in our joys and sorrows and praying for us in times of need, it is equally important to keep in mind that there is something we can do for the souls of the departed which they can no longer do for themselves: doing physical acts of mitzvot and Torah learning in their merit. For once they have departed this physical world, they are dependent on us, their descendants, to bring merit to their souls and help them climb ever higher.

May we merit the day when we will once again be reunited with our loved ones down here, with the coming of the Final Redemption and the Resurrection of the Dead!