All Of Israel Have A Portion In The World To Come

Dedicated By Irving Bauman 

In Honor of 

Horav Nosson Ben Itta Etil V'Horav Yaakov Kamenetsky 

May you have a Refua Shelaima Bekarov

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It is our tradition on the six Shabbosim between Pesach and Shavuoth, that we learn the six chapters of Pirkei Avos, Ethics of our Fathers, one chapter every Shabbos after mincha. Some, including Chabad, have the custom to continue learning Pirkei Avos throughout the summer, until Rosh Hashanah. 

Before we start the weekly chapter of Pirkei Avos, we say a Mishnah from Sanhedrin, "All of Israel have a portion in the world to come." The meaning of "the world to come" in this Mishnah, is the "world of the living," the time of Moshiach, when there will be the resurrection of the dead and we will have eternal life. 

How do we know that it is referring to the world of the living? Because the Mishnah continues, "And these are the ones that don't have a portion in the world to come, one who says that the resurrection of the dead is not in accordance with the Torah." And the Talmud tells us, that the reason for this is, since "He denies (the validity) of the resurrection of the dead, therefore he won't have a portion in the resurrection of the dead." 

This is difficult to understand, because the revelation in the time of Moshiach will be greater than the revelation that is in Gan Eden, heaven, even higher than the highest levels of Gan Eden. However, when it comes to entering Gan Eden, there are prerequisites as to who may enter, as it says, "Who will ascend on the mountain of Hashem, one who has clean hands and a pure heart..." But when it comes to the revelation of the time of Moshiach, there are no prerequisites "All of Israel have a portion in the world to come." 

How do we know that the revelation in the time of Moshiach will be greater than Gan Eden? Because there are neshamas that are in Gan Eden thousands of years, and every day they go up three levels, yet they will all rise and enter bodies in the time of Moshiach. Now, it wouldn't make sense to say that Gan Eden is a greater revelation, because it would be a punishment for neshamas to be resurrected in bodies and receive a lower revelation. Therefore we must conclude that the revelation in the time of Moshiach will be greater. 

How does it make sense that in order to receive the lower revelation of Gan Eden there are conditions, and the greater revelation in the time of Moshiach is for all of Israel, without any preconditions? 

In order to understand this, first we have to understand why we need bodies to receive this greater revelation. 

The problem with bodies, is that they are limited, they are physical and in a physical world, and physical things are limited. Neshamas in Gan Eden, on the other hand, are unlimited, they are spiritual and in Gan Eden, a spiritual world, and the spiritual is unlimited. Wouldn't it make sense for the greater revelation to be in the spiritual? 

Even though our bodies in the time of Moshiach will be at the highest level possible, like the body of Adam the first man, who was formed by Hashem Himself, whose body shown so bright that it made the sun look dim, and possibly even greater than the body of Adam, because our bodies will reach their pinnacle. This only explains why our bodies will be able to receive the great revelation, but it doesn't explain why the revelation will be specifically to neshamas in bodies. 

Even though the body will be able to receive this great revelation, it will still be severely limited. For example, the limitations of time and place apply mainly to the physical, the spiritual doesn't have those limitations. Yet this great revelation will be specifically for neshamas in bodies. 

What we take from all this, is that there are differences when it comes to these two revelations. The revelation of Gan Eden comes specifically through separation from the physical. As it is known, that before a neshama enters Gan Eden, it first dips into the River of Fire, in order to forget what it saw in this world, and every time it goes to a higher level in Gan Eden itself, it has to forget the revelation of the previous level. On the other hand, the revelation of the time of Moshiach, comes specifically through the neshama entering a physical body. Why? 

The explanation. It says, "This is the Torah, a person," the Torah is like a person. Just as a person is made up of a neshama and a body, so too, the Torah has a neshama, which is Torah study, and a body, which is the mitzvos. The Zohar says, "The 248 (positive) mitzvos, are the 248 limbs of the King," like the limbs of the body, and the Torah is "the blood which is the soul," it draws life into the mitzvos. 

Just like the body, the mitzvos are limited to the physical constraints of time and place. Just like the neshama, the Torah is above the constraints of time and place. That is why, "One who studies the laws of the Ola offering, it's as if he offered the Ola," even though it's neither the time or the place in which an Ola is meant to be brought. 

The same is as it relates to the one who is studying Torah and doing mitzvos, Torah study is mainly for the neshama and doing mitzvos is mainly for the body. 

The fact that Torah is higher than mitzvos, is only the way it's revealed in the physical world, but in their source, mitzvos are higher, because Torah is Hashem's wisdom and mitzvos are Hashem's will, will is higher than wisdom. You can also see that mitzvos are higher in the way Torah and mitzvos manifest in the world, because the Torah's purpose is to instruct us on how to do the mitzvos. 

The same is with the neshama and the body, the fact that the neshama is higher than the body, is only the way they are revealed in the world, but in their source the body is higher. The love and connection of Hashem to the neshamas of the Jewish people, is similar to a natural love, like the love of a father to a son. In this connection the two are, so to speak, relative to one another. On the other hand, the love and connection of Hashem to the bodies of the Jewish people, is based on free choice, Hashem chose the bodies of the Jewish people, as we say in Kiddush, "because You chose us," and as we say in the holiday Amidah prayer, "You chose us from all the nations." Hashem's choice comes from His essence, which is beyond existence, and it's not relative to us in any way. You can also see it in the physical, as the neshama's purpose is to enliven the body. 

Now, the reason that when it comes to mitzvos, all of us are the same, and when it comes to Torah study there are differences, as a Torah scholar is obligated to take "You should toil in it day and night," literally. However, a businessman satisfies his obligation with "one chapter in the morning and one chapter in the evening." Because mitzvos are from Hashem's will, in which division isn't possible, on the other hand, Torah is from Hashem's wisdom and wisdom is subject to division. 

And this is why when it comes to the actual performance of mitzvos, every Jewish person does mitzvos, as our sages say, "even the sinners of Israel, are full of mitzvos as a pomegranate (is full of seeds)." But when it comes to Torah study, not everyone is full of Torah. Because the differences that are found amongst the Jewish people, are only in the revealed physical. However since mitzvos are from Hashem's will, and are connected to the body which is chosen by Hashem's essence, therefore, all of the Jewish people are the same, they all do mitzvos. 

And now we will understand why "All of Israel have a portion in the world to come," although it's a greater revelation than Gan Eden. Because the revelation of Gan Eden is a reward for the Torah one studied, on the other hand, the revelation in the time of Moshiach is a reward for the mitzvos one does, and since all of the Jewish people do mitzvos, "All of Israel have a portion in the world to come." 

you may ask: If the revelation in the time of Moshiach is for the mitzvos done by the body, why have the neshama come along? It is similar to the saying of our sages, "Torah is greater because it brings to action." Since the neshama brings the body to do mitzvos, it is raised to a higher level. 

According to all that has been said, we can learn two things about the Torah of the world to come, the Torah of Moshiach. First, that it will be at the highest level that Torah could reach on its own. And second, the greatness the Torah will attain because of the mitzvos. And the same is true about the neshama. Not only will it attain the highest level that the neshama could reach on its own, it will also enjoy the higher source of the body, which is higher than the source of the neshama. 

May we merit to see how it was our mitzvos that brought Moshiach, and may we merit to learn the Torah of Moshiach, from the mouth of Moshiach. May it happen soon. 

While I was writing this article, my niece Sarah Rivka Chanowitz OBM passed on to the world of neshamas. We loved her, our hearts are broken. May Hashem console my sister, my brother in law, my nieces, my parents and the extended Hurwitz and Chanowitz families. May we see her soon, with the coming of Moshiach, the theme of this article.