The concept of duality teaches that life is created from a balance of opposite or competing forces. Where there is light, there is darkness. Where there is stillness, there is movement. And where there is life, there is also death. But these dual forces are not just opposite — they are also complementary. Acknowledging and facing our own mortality can make for a richer life. Experiencing a brush with death — or a brush with life — can have a profound impact on us. It changes us. And it’s important to reflect on the moments when death teaches us about life.

Rabbi Steve Leder is the senior rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles and the best-selling author of five books, including “The Beauty of What Remains” and most recently, “For You When I’m Gone.” Rabbi Leder has officiated more than 1,000 funerals over the course of 30+ years, but it wasn’t until his father’s passing that he understood the truth about death, and the duality between Steven Leder the Rabbi and Steven Leder the son.