In parshas Pinchas HaKadosh Baruch Hu tells Moshe rabenu to go to the mountaintop to take a look at the land of Israel. This is because his death is imminent and he will not enter the holy land because of his sin when he struck the rock at Mey Meribhah. A precursor to this is the request of the daughters of Tzelafchad to receive a portion of the land of Israel as an inheritance. The idea is that the land of Israel is dear to the new generation and they certainly will accept it.
Moshe is not dying because he failed to talk to the rock. Rather it is because at the age of 120 the time has arrived for him to depart from this world. The holy land is very important to him, especially that the people of Israel should accept it. Therefore an assurance about this and a last look is a comfort.
To describe death the Chumash uses the idiom, “you will be gathered to your people”. The Hebrew word is אסף and here it means join. So to speak Moshe will be joining his people. The same language is used with Aaron, the patriarchs, and Ishmael. Curiously with Yosef, it simply says he died (וימת). Concerning the kings of Judah, it often says that they slept or laid (שכב) with their fathers. These are often reckoned as references to a life after death. The most explicit is the prophet Samuel when he is conjured up by King Saul. The first thing Shmuel does is ask, why did you wake me up, as if he had been sleeping. The Gemara describes sleep as one sixtieth of death.
The Chumash uses the word שְׁאוֹל as a horrible place for the wicked after death. Concerning the righteous it seems that they will be resurrected to everlasting life in the Garden of Eden. A description of this is given in Isaiah 11. It is mainly a prophecy of the coming of the messiah and the world of his domain. Concerning nature it states, “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard lie down with the kid; The calf, the beast of prey, and the fatling together, With a little boy to herd them. The cow and the bear shall graze, Their young shall lie down together; And the lion, like the ox, shall eat straw. A babe shall play Over a viper’s hole, And an infant pass his hand Over an adder’s den”, (Isaiah 11:6-8).
These verses are the source of considerable debate. The rationalists say this is an allegory meaning the malevolent who are like these animals will change their ways for the good. In line with this is the idea that the only difference between this world and the days of the messiah is that Israel will no longer be dominated by the nations. Concerning the after life, it will be totally unlike this world. There will be no food, drink, or sex, rather the righteous will sit with their crowns and take pleasure from the radiance of the divine presence.
The other side says that these verses should be taken literally. The nature of the world will be different. Not only will vicious animals be friendly but man will be immortal with eternal youth. And in fact it was like this before the sin of Adam the first man. Nature is the way it is today in order to fulfill humanity's request to know good and evil.
Pirke Avos 6:9 says that when a person wakes up in the world to come their conversation will be the Torah and mitzvahs they acquired in this world. A person's violations and nonsense have no relevance to a righteous meaningful world. The point is that people should make good use of their days and their abilities. Of particular importance is the values accepted by means of the free will. The result is that the saintly will have a large portion in the next world. However those that did little, at least they will have something. The wicked will be burnt to dust.
But what will the next world be like? It seems to me that it will be composed of the good people, things, and ideas that we love. It will include parents, grandparents, family, and the friends we acquired. The environment will be dictated by the values we cherish. In addition HaKadosh Baruch Hu will give us generous recompense for the service we rendered to Him in this world.
לע"נ האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח
העלון ניתן לקבל בדואר אלקטרוני וגם באתר http://dyschreiber.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment