At the end of Avot’s fourth perek, Rebbe Yaakov makes two statements about the relationship between this world and the next, that this world is compared to a corridor before the world to come and we should prepare ourselves in that corridor so we can enter the palace. And it is better to spend one hour in this world doing teshuvah and good deeds than all the life of the world to come. However, one hour of tranquility in the World to Come is better than all the life of this world. The two statements are connected and together define the focus and goal of life in this world.
A Mere Corridor
Rebbe Yaakov begins by comparing this world to a corridor that leads to a palace—Olam Haba (the world to come). [1] Olam Hazeh (this world) is not the end goal. There is a bigger, better, more meaningful place, the palace, that we will reach after passing through this world, which is actually a mere corridor.
We are, of course, familiar with this world, drawn to its pleasures, and focused on its reality and challenges. Rebbe Yaakov teaches that this world is essentially just the hallway that leads to the main event, which is the World to Come.
Mesillat Yesharim begins by explaining (based on our Mishnah) that we need to realize that we were not created just for this world. [2] Our souls ultimately seek things that are more meaningful than what this world has to offer. We should remember this and take precautions not to be led astray by the non-spiritual trappings of this world.
Ultimate Reward
This concept connects to two other statements of Rebbe Yaakov. The first is his assertion that Hashem rewards mitzvah observance only in the Next World, not in this one. [3] Understandably, the reward is given in the palace, not the corridor.
Rebbe Yaakov also expresses this idea in the second Mishnah, where he teaches that “one hour of tranquility in the World to Come is more precious than all of life in this world.” [4] Unlike this world, which does not offer complete happiness, the next world offers us true peace, harmony, and contentment. Reward is given only in the next world because one moment of peace and calm there is more significant than a whole lifetime of this world’s pleasures. Spending our lives pursuing pleasure would be selling ourselves terribly short. [5] Knowing that the next world is the ultimate destination should help us avoid that mistake.
The Way In
This does not mean that there is no importance to this world, the “hallway.” Though not the ultimate end, life in the hallway is significant, and our time here should be maximized. We see this from the first part of the second Mishnah, where Rebbe Yaakov asserts that “one hour of repentance and good deeds in this world is more precious than all of the World to Come.” Though the next world is the world of reward and satisfaction, we earn the reward and satisfaction through our actions and personal growth in this world. [6] Though only a corridor, it is where we prepare to enter and earn our place in the palace. [7]
Kohelet Rabbah adds that “the next world is earned only by what we do in this world.” [8] Like passing through a corridor that is the sole entry to the palace, preparation in this world is the only way to gain access to the next one. Our efforts in this world are not just one way forward; they are the only way to earn and enhance our portion in the World to Come. [9]
Rebbe Yaakov emphasizes the need to take advantage of life in this world in the first Mishnah as well when he urges, “Prepare yourself in the corridor, so that you may enter the palace.” [10] The right to enter the palace of Olam Haba is earned through our efforts in Olam Hazeh.
The Vilna Gaon expresses this idea with the last words he spoke while crying on his deathbed. [11] His talmidim asked him why he was crying. Was he afraid of facing his Creator? What did he think he would be punished for? The Gra responded by saying he was crying because soon he would be unable to perform mitzvot and earn reward. The Vilna Gaon appreciated the unique opportunity offered by life in this world. It is only here where we can perform mitzvot and enhance our eternal life in the “palace” of the World to Come. [12]
Rebbe Yaakov’s teachings help us to develop the proper perspective on our world. We should realize that this world and the pleasures it affords are not the ultimate goal. That said, this world is important as the venue through which we earn our place in the next one. In the words of Rav Saadiah Gaon, “The tzaddik loves this world, not for itself, but because of the level he reaches through it that allows him to rise to Olam Haba.” [13]
Shaah Achat
Rebbe Yaakov’s words teach two additional important lessons. We learn the first lesson from his use of the term “shaah achat—one moment.” Each and every moment of life has significance and needs to be taken advantage of. Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi famously quipped, “Some acquire their share in the World to Come through one moment (as opposed to others, who need many years).” [14] Each moment can and should be of great significance and impact. [15]
Action And Reflection
A second lesson is regarding the primary importance of good deeds and self-reflection. Instead of Torah and chochmah, Rebbe Yaakov focuses on teshuvah (repentance) and maasim tovim (good deeds) as our world’s meaningful content.
Though Judaism attributes great value to Torah learning and accumulating wisdom (Talmud Torah k’neged kulam), actions are more important. As Rebbe Shimon the son of Rabban Gamliel taught in the first perek of Pirkei Avot: “Lo hamidrash hu ha’ikar, ella hamaaseh.” [16]
In fact, maasim are the ultimate aim of learning. Later in Avot, [17] Rabbi Yishmael ben Berokah defines ideal learning as that which is done in order to facilitate action. Ultimately, it is the maasim our learning inspires that make our learning of supreme importance. In the Gemara’s words, “Learning is great(est) because it facilitates maaseh.” [18]
Rava emphasized the importance of both teshuvah and maasim in asserting that “teshuvah and maasim tovim are the tachlis (goal) of chochmah.” [19] Torah study and the pursuit of chochmah are a central focus of our time and energy because they help us build our identity and live our lives properly. [20]
Today And Tomorrow
We can summarize Rebbe Yaakov’s teachings using the Gemara that explains the Torah’s emphasis on the need to do mitzvot today [21] with five words: “Hayom la’asosam; machar l’kabel secharam.” [22] Today (this world) is when we work; tomorrow (the next world) is when we receive the reward.
May we maximize every day of our lives in this world by realizing that we are here to prepare for the next world through reflection and growth! n
Rav Reuven Taragin is the Dean of Overseas Students at Yeshivat Hakotel and the Educational Director of World Mizrachi.
Notes:
- Avot 4:16.
- Mesilas Yesharim
- Kiddushin
- Avot 4:17.
- See Chovot Halevavot (Shaar Avodat Elokim, Perek 9), who compares life in this world to one given access to riches for only a year. If he is wise, the person will seek to move the riches to the place he will be after the year.
- The Radvaz (She’eilot u’Teshuvot Radvaz, 3:555) talks about someone who didn’t cry when he lost a relative because he said “he was now in a better place.” He mentioned to him that this isn’t the Jewish approach, and that this is the approach of philosophers who see no value in this world. Judaism sees every moment in this world as valuable and as a way to prepare oneself for the next world, so we definitely do and should cry over a person who can no longer work to prepare and improve himself.
- See also the commentary of the Medrash Shmuel to the Mishnah, which explains the phrase “mikol Olam Hazeh” as implying that the nachas ruach of the next world comes from the effort in this one.
- Kohelet Rabbah 4:5. Note that the Midrash reverses the order of Rebbe Yaakov’s two statements and puts the one about teshuvah and maasim tovim This reversal puts the two ideas in chronological order. First, he speaks about the work we need to perform in this world, and then the nachas ruach we receive from it in the next. The order also strengthens the explanation of the Medrash Shmuel (quoted above).
- See Avodah Zarah 3a, which tells us that Hashem explains at the time of yemot haMashiach that it is too late to earn reward for mitzvah performance: “only those who toiled on Erev Shabbos have what to eat on Shabbos.” This analogy can be understood through the teaching of Rav Chaim Volozhin (Nefesh HaChaim 1:12), who explains that the intensity of the spiritual atmosphere and pleasure that a person experiences in Olam Haba is literally created by the person’s actions in this world. Our portion in the next world is not an external reward for our actions. It is a natural outgrowth. (See also how Rav Chaim uses this idea to explain the formulation of the Mishnah (l’olam versus ba’olam) we use to introduce our learning of Pirkei Avot [Ruach Chaim 1:1].)
- Avot 4:16.
- See Halakhic Man, pg. 30.
- See the words of Rabbeinu Yonah (Talmidei Rabbeinu Yonah on the Rif, Berachot 19b) who explains the words of Rebbe Nechunyah Ben Hakana’s tefillah (Berachot 28b)—“Anu ratzim l’chayei Olam Haba”—to mean that we should be cognizant of and preparing for our inevitable death by making sure to take the most we can (of Torah and mitzvot) with us.
- Emunos V’Deios, Maamar
- Avodah Zarah
- The Gemara in Kiddushin 49a teaches that if a man is mekadesh a woman on the condition that he is a tzaddik, we need to consider the possibility that they are married even if we know the man to be a rasha, because he may have had teshuvah on his mind. Even a moment of mere intention can change a person’s nature and identity.
- Avot 1:17.
- Avot 4:5.
- KiddushinSee also Sefat Emet (Emor 5643), who learns from our Mishnah that a life lived with commitment to Hashem is greater than a moment of willingness to give up one’s life for these values.
- Talmud Bavli, Masechet Berachot
- See Ramban (Shichichas Asa’ein 15, based on Berachos 21a) who explains that the mitzvah (mi’d’Oraysa) to recite birkot haTorah is (only) because of the fact that the Torah includes the actions that earn us a place in the next world.
- Devarim 6:6 and many other places.
- Eruvin
