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Posts Tagged ‘afterlife’

Every creation has a natural lifespan. A cow lives 20 years and an ant, 12 months. We humans also have a natural lifespan, as Chazzal teach us, “Y’mei Shenoseinu, Shivim Shana – The days of our lives are 70 years…etc.” However, this lifespan only reflects our limited time on this Earth. The reality however, is that we continue to live on for eternity in the afterlife. The belief in human afterlife is not a matter of Religion. Indeed, it is a very practical and rational understanding which feeds and nurtures this belief. Practically speaking, there is no reason in the world that with my death, I will simply disappear forever. While my physicality and body may cease to function, my personality and unique spirit – which can be defined as my very essence will live on (in the afterlife) for eternity.

Therefore, our job on this world, is to understand our mortality here, vs. our immortality in Olam Habba. We must always strive to seek the truth and to live a life which is consistent with a proper preparation for the next world which will be forever!

There is a story (allegory) of a man who needed to travel to Israel from N.Y.C. Once in Israel, his plan was to settle there and live there permanently. His itinerary would have him stop over for a few months in Paris, before continuing on to Israel. In preparation for his Journey, the man spent many months learning how to speak French. A friend asked him, “do you speak Hebrew”? He replied that he did not. “In that case, why are you spending so much time learning French, when you should be learning Hebrew, asked his friend?” He responded by saying that “first things come first”. First he will learn French because he is flying to Paris and later on he will bother with Hebrew! This man is obviously a fool! Here, he will be spending 2 months in Paris, whereas he will be spending the rest of his life in Israel!! Of course his first priority should be to learn Hebrew! This story is appropriately applied to those of us who spend so much of our limited time on this Earth in pursuit of all forms of fleeting pleasures and enjoyments, instead of pursuing those accomplishments which will stand us in good stead for the World to come, where we will live on forever and ever – once we depart from this life!

<Heard From Rav Shimshon Pincus>

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If we were to ask a child about the concept of Olam Habah (the world to come),  he/she would surely describe a place full of enjoyment and infinite pleasures.

While this is certainly true, it behooves us as we mature, to seek a mature definition of this concept. We are tasked with the responsibility to find a deeper definition to the concept of Olam Habah.

The Rambam explains the words of Chazzal that say “Ratza Hakadosh Baruch Hu L’zakos Es Yisroel, Lifichach Hirbah Lahem Torah Umitzvos – Hashem wished to grant us the ability to merit defining our own destiny and he therefore gave us the Torah and Commandments as a conduit for achieving this pupose.

Says The Rambam, the purpose of our service of Hashem is for us to aquire a connection with him and in so doing, to merit a dwelling place in Olam Habah. However, in order for us to achieve this connection and to secure a dwelling, we must fulfill one Mitzva (at least) in its completion. It is for this reason that Hashem granted us the privilege of doing Mitzvos.

When we fulfill Hashems’ Mitzvos, we not only derive a great sense of inner joy, we in fact, secure a place for ourselves in the world to come – which is a world of “Netzach Nitzachim” – it is a world of forever and ever with no boundaries and no end.

How do we practically define the concept of “Netzach – Forever”?

I once heard a beautiful illustration to explain this. Imagine a mountain of tiny particles of grain, the size of Mt. Everest. Imagine a dove flying over this mountain once a year and taking up one kernel of grain in its beak and then flying across the world to deposit it on the other side of the Earth, before returning again a year later to start all over again.

By the time this dove has completed the task of transferring the ENTIRE mountain of grain to the other side of the Earth, we still have not come close to defining the meaning of “Netzach – Eternity”!

However, there is also an additional dimension to Olam Habah. This is the dimension of “Hischadshus” – Renewal, as we shall now explain.

The Hebrew word “Sechok” literally means laughter. Laughter can be a good thing or a  bad thing. There is the laughter that is the result and manifestation of derision and there is laughter as a byproduct and result of Joy and Simcha. Either way, laughter is triggered by a spontaneous, initial and overwhelming reaction to a specific stimulus.

For example, imagine you buy a lottery card and quickly scratch off the top to find that you have just won ONE MILLION DOLLARS! You look…then you look back again…and again..blink your eyes….and lo and behold, the winning number is still there staring back at you from the card!

Imagine your initial and spontaneous reaction! You would be overcome with a sense of untold joy and indescribable laughter!  This is “sechok”.

The Vilan Gaon explains the pasuk “Az Yemalei Sechok Pinu” – (that) “At the end of time (categorized by the term – “Az” which cannotes a time in the distant future) when Mashiach comes, we will be filled with a joyous and spontaneous laughter”!

However, the initial phenomena of “sechok” – by definition, cannot continue ad infinitum. For example (in the scenario we described above), after the initial laughter of realizing that you have just won the lottery, you enter into a stage of happiness and contentment. This stage of happiness is more constant. However, it does not feature the same power of the initial, spontaneous and finite sense of “Sechok”.

Herein lies the specifc power of the joy and rejoicing in Olam Haba!

Rejoicing in the afterlife, is categorized by a constant renewal of the initial feelings of “Sechok”!

The first moment that a person enters into Olam Haba, it is as if he/she just won the lottery! There is that indescribable moment of “Sechok”! However, instead of dissipating – which is the natural result of this reaction, – the 2nd moment of being in Olam Haba brings a brand new sense of “schok”!….and so it is with the 3rd moment, the 4th moment and on and on ad infinitum!

This indescribable and palpable dimension of “sechok” is renewed for us again and again and again for all of eternity!

It is this added dimension of the renewal – “Hischadshus” of our (initial) reaction of joy and laughter, that brings depth to our rejoicing in the afterlife!

<Heard From Rav Shmishon Pincus>

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