269 - Olam Haba (Part-13)

How do I know if I'm doing well in terms of my spiritual scorecard? The truthful answer is that I don't know. But that's okay. I'm not meant to know because I'm not the judge. Hashem's job is to take an accounting of all our actions in order to reward us appropriately and fairly in the next world, B'ezrat Hashem, whereas our job in this world is never to know exactly how we are doing, but rather always to strive higher and higher. 

The Gemara in Berachos 28b states that when Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, one of the greatest sages, was passing away, his students asked him why he was crying. And he mentioned, because there are two roads after a person dies, that of Gan Eden, heaven, and that of Gehinnom, hell - and I don't know which path they are leading me onto. Now one might feel if Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai wasn't sure where he was going, what chance do I have? But again, as the Rambam says, every single individual is able to become as great as Moshe Rabbeinu. And as the commentaries explain, of course it doesn't mean that we are able to actually reach the same spiritual state as Moshe Rabbeinu, the greatest human being ever to live. But rather that just like he achieved his maximum potential, we are able to achieve our maximum potential. 

Hashem will certainly not make an unfair challenge that is impossible for us to pass, but rather the opposite. Let us remind ourselves, why did Hashem create the world in the first place? Only to give to us. Of course He does want us to have a challenge, and we are taught that one of the most basic fundamentals of Judaism is that we do have free choice, and we are able to exercise our choice in whether we are going to choose good or bad, whilst at the same time, the whole purpose of Hashem giving us that opportunity is only so that we should have the ability to earn a greater place for ourselves in the next world. On the one hand, of course we must remember that Hashem is never trying to catch us out, and He is an absolutely loving Father, whilst on the other hand, we should remember that just like Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai was worried that perhaps he would have to go through the terrible tortures of Gehinnom, so too each one of us should have that at the forefront of our mind, because by doing so, that could be a tremendous motivator to doing more good and staying away from bad. 

The Gemara in Bava Basra 10b tells of the son of Rabbi Yeshua ben Levi, who had a near-death experience, which as we know, means he went to the next world for a few moments, and then came back to this world. When he recovered, his father asked him what he saw in the next world. And he said, "I saw an upside-down world, because many people that were considered noble and respected in this world were the real poor people in the next world, and many of the paupers in this world were the ones that were of highest royalty in the next world." And his father said back to him, "you saw the real world; this world that we live in is the upside-down world, where many people are honoured for their material successes, whereas people who have truly achieved what counts in the real world, much of the time are ignored." The Torah commentaries teach us that in the next world, there is no beating around the bush. Everything is absolutely clear, and there are no excuses. 

The Chofetz Chaim in his Sefer Shem Olam, chapter 4, writes that the poorest of people in this world still have a way out, because they can really rely on the kindness that others might show them, such as by hosting them, giving them food and accommodation, and the like. However, says the Chofetz Chaim, there is no such thing in the next world. If one does not have a place in what he calls the Machaneh of the Shechina, the place where Hashem manifests Himself, he is then stuck in the outer chambers. And the Chofetz Chaim then brings a Midrash, which says that friends cannot save one another in the next world, to the extent that even a father cannot invite his own son into his place in the heavenly chambers - If you have not earned that place, you have no license to be able to go there on someone else's account. Every single one of us has the tremendous opportunity to be able to gain eternal Olam Abba and bask in Hashem's light forever. But with that comes the opportunity to choose each moment of our lives - how exactly are we going to make use of those moments.