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Living in Olam Haba whilst in Olam Hazeh



Olam Haba, surely we all want to get there. The posuk in Sefer Doniel chapter 12 tells us “Many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, others to rebuke, to everlasting shame.” Like many aspects of Yiddishkeit we can actually experience aspects of Olam Haba even whilst we live in Olam Hazeh. We know that Shabbos is m’ain Olam Haba. We say every Friday night “Mizmor Shir L’yom HaShabbos. Tov Lehodos La’Hashem. Shabbos is a day to thank Hashem. The Redak on this posuk explains:

“Shabbos is the day to thank Hashem as we are free from our work and worldly affairs and our soul can occupy itself with wisdom and serving Hashem.”

Olam Haba is experiencing a closeness to Hashem. When we thank Hashem, we too can tap into that closeness. Rebbe Nachman teaches:

“The essence of the delight of Olam Haba is thanking and praising Hashem’s great name. It is knowing and acknowledging Hashem, through which we come nearer and closer to Him. For the more we know and acknowledge Hashem, the nearer we are to Him.”

This challenges us greatly. As we mature, we sense our own independence. No longer must we rely on parents to take care of our every need. At first we crawl , then walk and talk and finally our parents are asleep long before we creep back into the house. We emerge as independent butterflies after years of being cocooned in the warm embrace of loving parents. This is all good and normal. As we develop and begin to provide for ourselves we can easily forget the source of where everything comes from. The problem is not new. The Rambam in Hilchos Avodah Zara describes the descent into idolatry:

In the days of Enosh, the sons of man erred exceedingly. Their mistake was this: Seeing, that Hashem created these stars and planets to rule the world, that He placed them high above to share honours with them, it is proper that they be praised and glorified and honoured, even as a king desires to honour those who stand in his presence, for such is the honour of the king. As soon as this matter was rooted in their heart, they commenced to erect temples in honour of the stars, to offer sacrifices to them, to praise and glorify them in words, and bow down to them. In the long process of time, there arose false prophets, who asserted that Hashem commanded them saying: "Worship the star, or all of the stars, and offer sacrifices to it. In this manner they began to draw images in temples, beneath trees, upon mountain-tops and elevated places, where they congregated to bow down to them. In this manner this thing spread throughout the world, and the worship of images with varied ceremonies, to sacrifice to them and to bow down to them was inaugurated. After the lapse of a long time the Glorified and Awful Name was forgotten to be mentioned by the mouth of all substance and blotted out from their consciousness, so that they gave Him no recognition.

Forgetting the source of our blessings is not a new phenomenon. It is unsettling to be constantly beholden to others. It makes us feel inadequate. In extreme situations not only do we not feel grateful we give others the impression that our existence is the greatest gift to mankind. What I am suggesting this week is an attitude shift that will afford us the opportunity to experience the delights of Olam Haba even now. Dear readers, I am sure that we have all encountered people socially or professionally that feel entitled, either by dint of family name or societal position or some other imagined greatness. Instead of appreciating what they have, they live life expecting more and making others feel indebted. Entitlement , indebtedness a lack of gratitude are the very opposite qualities of being a Jew and of the exalted nature of Olam Haba. If you think I have described an unrealistic situation, how about a common occurrence in many homes. Children jumping and screaming and generally causing chaos; a blessed scene, if not a noisy one. Instead of reacting positively to the brochos Hashem has given, we often get frustrated and complain. We wish that it was bedtime so peace and tranquillity can reign supreme.

Rebbe Nachman continues his previous thought with the following quote from Chazal:

“In the future ,all the Korbonos will be abolished other than the thanksgiving-offering” (Vayikra Rabbah 9:7,). Of all the hisKaRVus (closeness), the only one that will remain then is the thanksgiving- Korbon. This is the closeness achieved through thanksgiving and expressing gratitude. Giving thanks and praise and knowing and acknowledging Hashem, as it is written, “for the earth will be filled with daas of Hashem as water covers the seabed”—this is the entire delight of the World to Come. Giving thanks, which is the delight of the World to Come.”

Rebbe Nachman echoes a comment of Rashi on the Gemoroh in Brochos. The Gemoroh is discussing how they would respond to a brocho in the Beis Hamikdosh. Omein wasn’t used in the Beis Hamikdosh. The Posuk in Nechemia says “And let them say: Blessed be Your glorious name.” Rashi adds become used to making blessings in this world, in order to be able to be normalised to the kind of existence that is in the next world. In our mosdos and homes we are quite good and teaching text and encouraging learning, creating chumros and barriers to the dangers of secular society. We are capable of instructing our children in Halocho and how to perform mitzvos. We are less skilled at making Hashem real. We can do this by constantly thanking Hashem for every little thing in our lives. We must talk to Hashem out loud so that others can hear us and copy us. If we are genuine about wanting to be bnei Olam Haba then let us create a version of that right now. Begin by making Hashem felt in our homes, an ahavas Hashem. Our homes are centre of love, we must find the Eibishter of love too in our homes. Let us show Hashem that we are ready for “Kirvas Elokim Li Tov.”


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