259 - Olam Haba (Part-3)

We've been discussing the topic of Olam Haba, the next world, and the tremendous importance there is to learn about this topic and contemplate on the fact that as the Torah commentaries teach us, ultimately Hashem created the entire world in the first place just in order to share His goodness with us and give us pleasure. And ultimately that is going to take place in the next world. The only reason that we are in this world is in order to earn our place in the next world for eternity. And as discussed many times, the core of the entire Torah and mitzvos is Emunah. When I know something, I have no need to believe because I am able to see it, understand it, and there is no reason for me to therefore take that necessary step to believe in something that might at first glance be difficult to understand. We've discussed many times throughout this daily inspiration how this applies to many areas of our lives in this world and how the benefits of both Emunah and Bitachon can affect the quality of our lives in many ways. 

It's important to also build our Emunah, our belief, in the next world. Again, just like we've discussed many times that the levels of Emunah in Hashem, in the Torah, in the mitzvos and the like are immeasurable and there are countless levels that one can strive more and more each day to move towards, in the same vein, there are many levels in what it means to believe in Olam Haba. Of course if one is not yet privy to know the information that there is a next world, then that is certainly the first step. But assuming that one does know that there is a next world, there are many levels of what it means to believe so and to internalize that information. And again, although part of our job is to learn about the topic of Olam Haba and know the information in a theoretical manner, but perhaps a much bigger part of our job is to internalize that information just a little bit more each day to truly believe in Olam Haba.

We discussed previously how sometimes people are afraid to discuss the topic of death, which b'ezrat Hashem ultimately leads to Olam Haba, and how truthfully, although we are human beings and it is certainly valid and acceptable to feel anxious about the topic of death for one who does, however the first thing to keep in mind is that much of the time when we feel anxiety and stress about the unknown, that is exactly because of that fact - that it is unknown and we have no idea what's coming. And in a sense the more we learn about it, the less anxious and stressed we might feel about the topic. And a second point to bear in mind is that regardless of our feelings towards the topic, to just hide behind the door and ignore what's on the other side would be a very silly approach.

Imagine you are employed in a certain company and you are now given the instruction that in a year's time from now, you are going to need to relocate to another country. Now you are fully committed to this company and there is no other option to go elsewhere, so you know that in a year's time from now, you will for sure be relocating. Now in this new country that I am relocating to, I need to find an area to live, a house, a community, perhaps schooling for my children and many other things. So a very silly approach would be to say, let me just enjoy myself for the remainder of this year where I currently am and I guess at the end of the year, when the time comes, I'll just get on the plane, arrive at my new destination and find my way from there, not having a clue about how anything works there and being completely unprepared for what's coming. 

We can all easily understand how that would be a very silly approach. Whereas the smart thing to do, would be to investigate the new location and with good preparation, we'll find the right house, community, schools and the like and we'll certainly be much more well prepared than if we just wake up at the last minute because we were too scared to face the reality initially. We are taught loud and clear from countless Torah sources that this world that we exist in is not by any means the final destination. So let's make an effort to begin to try and understand and internalize where we are actually headed towards. Olam Haba.