Description: Section II - Chapter 2 - 04
Derech Hashem
Section II Chapter 2 – 04
There’s a story with the Alter of Slabodka or of Kelm. A great maskil who had plagued the yeshivos died and had a big funeral. Talmidim were wondering why such a rashah merited such honor during his funeral. They asked the Alter. He speculated that perhaps one time he had shown some respect to a talmid Chacham. The talmidim said, this maskil had been at funerals where they recited kaddish – maybe he answered Amein Yehay Shmei Rabbah one time? The Alter said, ‘Impossible – this wouldn’t come even close to a repayment for a mitzvah like that!’
There is one more point to be made here. Although we have clarified that the point of yesurim and gehinnom is so that every person is afforded the level of perfection necessary to be a part of olam habah – so that they can connect to Hashem in perfection, this doesn’t mean that everyone will be on the same level. The process is just so that everyone can reach the minimum necessary to be able to enter olam habah. However, the actual level of connection and good that each person will experience will be in accordance to the level that he has achieved during his lifetime.
This is part of Hashem’s ultimate wisdom, that not only should a person only be zocheh to good through his own efforts, and it shouldn’t be given to him as a gift, but also the exact amount of good that he gets is only in accordance to his own efforts. Whatever he ends up with is precisely what he has achieved for himself, nothing less and nothing more – he has no ability to complain!
According to this, there is another very important point. Even someone who does mitzvos and will be zocheh to enter the world-to-come, and some of his avairos are removed with suffering in this world, it is still possible that some of his good deeds will not be rewarded in the world-to-come, rather he will receive his reward in this world. The reason for this is because those good deeds are very tainted with bad, and the combination of what they actually are, what intent they were done with, how much harm they caused in addition to good, restricts them from receiving reward in the world-to-come, and they can only be rewarded in this world. These people are tzaddikim, and will enjoy the world-to-come according to their level, but these mitzvos aren’t capable of granting the person a higher level in the world-to-come, and have their place only in this world.
Everything we have said is to explain that the suffering of tzaddikim and the peace that reshaim enjoy in this world, is all as a preparation for the world-to-come. Any good that tzaddikim do experience in this world is not only as repayment for mitzvos, but also more than that as we shall learn in the coming chapters.
Derech Hashem
Section II Chapter 2 – 04
There’s a story with the Alter of Slabodka or of Kelm. A great maskil who had plagued the yeshivos died and had a big funeral. Talmidim were wondering why such a rashah merited such honor during his funeral. They asked the Alter. He speculated that perhaps one time he had shown some respect to a talmid Chacham. The talmidim said, this maskil had been at funerals where they recited kaddish – maybe he answered Amein Yehay Shmei Rabbah one time? The Alter said, ‘Impossible – this wouldn’t come even close to a repayment for a mitzvah like that!’
There is one more point to be made here. Although we have clarified that the point of yesurim and gehinnom is so that every person is afforded the level of perfection necessary to be a part of olam habah – so that they can connect to Hashem in perfection, this doesn’t mean that everyone will be on the same level. The process is just so that everyone can reach the minimum necessary to be able to enter olam habah. However, the actual level of connection and good that each person will experience will be in accordance to the level that he has achieved during his lifetime.
This is part of Hashem’s ultimate wisdom, that not only should a person only be zocheh to good through his own efforts, and it shouldn’t be given to him as a gift, but also the exact amount of good that he gets is only in accordance to his own efforts. Whatever he ends up with is precisely what he has achieved for himself, nothing less and nothing more – he has no ability to complain!
According to this, there is another very important point. Even someone who does mitzvos and will be zocheh to enter the world-to-come, and some of his avairos are removed with suffering in this world, it is still possible that some of his good deeds will not be rewarded in the world-to-come, rather he will receive his reward in this world. The reason for this is because those good deeds are very tainted with bad, and the combination of what they actually are, what intent they were done with, how much harm they caused in addition to good, restricts them from receiving reward in the world-to-come, and they can only be rewarded in this world. These people are tzaddikim, and will enjoy the world-to-come according to their level, but these mitzvos aren’t capable of granting the person a higher level in the world-to-come, and have their place only in this world.
Everything we have said is to explain that the suffering of tzaddikim and the peace that reshaim enjoy in this world, is all as a preparation for the world-to-come. Any good that tzaddikim do experience in this world is not only as repayment for mitzvos, but also more than that as we shall learn in the coming chapters.