means that you’re included in the eternity of our nation; you’re included in the great promise of ָאָּל יִשְׂ רָ אֵל יֵשׁ לָהֶם חֵ לֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבּכ. You have to know that the Avos and all the kadmonim before Matan Torah when they got Olam Haba, it wasn’t because of Yisroel; they earned it with a very great merit of their own. Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehudah, they earned it. They were very great people who achieved it by means of their greatness. But after Matan Torah even though you're not great, it’s yours. A plain Jew, an am haaretz, as long as he doesn’t rebel against the Torah, he goes along with the derech haTorah, he is included in the promise ָ ל יִ שְׂ רָ אֵ לּ כָ אּיֵ שׁ לָ הֶ ם חֵ לֶ ק לָ עוֹ לָ ם הַ ב. Because we stood at Har Sinai he’s included in eternity.
Theological Questions
That's why we say in birchas haTorah ֵי עוֹלָםּ חַ יְּ תוֹ כֵ נ וּנָ טַ ע ב – We thank You for planting everlasting life among us. Where does that come into Torah? Isn't it true that every mitzvah means reward in Olam Haba, not only learning Torah?
The answer is it’s not talking only about learning Torah; it means the Torah itself. It was at Har Sinai, when the Torah was given, that’s when ‘everlasting life was given to us’. Every one of us was given a ticket: ‘You Chaim and you Berel and you Sarah and you Yenta, and you and you, each one of you is entitled to Olam Haba. All the great happiness with all the pleasures, unlimited and forever and ever and ever is yours because you received the Torah.’
And Olam Haba, that’s the greatest gift the Torah gives us because Olam Haba is the greatest happiness that even Hakadosh Baruch Hu could invent. Now some say it’s a kasha, how could I say that? “Hashem can't make a greater happiness than Olam Haba?! He can do anything!”
And the answer is He can not make anything greater than Himself. And Olam Haba is ִ יוּ נֶהֱ נֶה מִ זׁ ְ כִ ינָ הּהַ ש, to enjoy looking at the splendor of the Shechinah. That's the greatest splendor, the greatest joy, there is.
Guard Your Ticket
Right now generations of tzaddikim are sitting and looking at the Shechinah, and they're so full of joy. If we had the ability to see it for one minute we would be so excited that we would fall apart. Our nerves would collapse; our blood vessels would burst with excitement. That's why א יִרְ אַנִי הָאָדָ ם וָחָ יֹל – you can’t see Hashem while you’re alive. You’ll burst. It’s a tremendous excitement that you’re not capable of withstanding.
Now this may seem like an exaggeration but we're not even beginning to tell the story. It's like a drop out of the ocean. The happiness of Olam Haba that we will enjoy is infinitely unimaginable. And it’s ours only because of Har Sinai!
Of course, it's a responsibility. If you have a precious ticket, you have to guard it. You have to hold onto it. You can't take your eyes off of it. Never to be meisiach da’as from this great privilege that you now possess forever and ever. And that’s the foundation of being a Jew, to believe implicitly in that gift and to rejoice in it. The first obligation of a Jew is to be full of joy at all times that he has been included in the Klal Yisroel. That the Torah should be valuable in our eyes means the happiness of knowing that you're included in the Klal Yisroel.
The Fortunate People
Men and women, everyone, boys and girls, everyone should be happy at all times. All the frum Jews in Williamsburg, in Boro Park, in Flatbush, in Eretz Yisroel, everywhere, wherever you have frum Jews, we tell them ַהִּ יקִ ים בּ צַדּשִׂ מְ חו'. A Jew who believes in Har Sinai could never be sad. Of course sometimes he's sad because he wants to be a better Jew, that's all right. But never be sad because other people have more money or other people have more pleasures in the world. It's all nothing because you have with you the greatest gift in the world. You have the Torah and Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, “By means of the Torah I am giving you not only this world but you’ll be with Me for eternity.’
And that only adds to the happiness of a Torah Jew in this world. Because not only does the Torah teach to live successfully and happily in this world, at the same time his eyes are also on the future. He knows that there’s another world, an even better world, waiting for him. That’s the ultimate happiness – to live for a purpose in the Next World. Because no matter how successful you’re going to be, no matter how much money you’re going to acquire and how much fame you’re going to get, if it’s only this world there is an undercurrent of sadness – the knowledge that it’ll end in the grave is the antidote to all forms of happiness. For the hedonist, the one who only thinks about Olam Hazeh, all the joys of life are sapped by the prospect of the end of this world; old age, weakness, sickness and eventually death.
The Unfortunate Mayor
Let’s say, here's Mayor Koch. He’s sitting in City Hall surrounded by flatterers. He has a lot of power. He has millions of city money at his disposal. He doesn’t have to listen to the people. He does whatever he wishes. He marches with the gays and gives them rights.
But someday he’ll have a stroke. He’ll be in an expensive nursing home, but nobody will come to visit. He had no children. He had no family. When he loses his power, who cares for him? He’ll be just an old faggot lying there in a wheelchair, ignored by the world. Reporters won’t come to him anymore. Maybe once in a few years, somebody for curiosity's sake, will come to visit him. But it’s finished!
But when people live with an ideal of Torah living so it’s always happy. He has plenty of fun. Whatever anybody else has, he has too! Don’t deceive yourself. The frum Jew enjoys this world no less than anybody else does! And much more, like we said before. But in addition, his entire life is flavored with the zest of the knowledge that this is just the beginning of what is yet to come. That’s one of the most important ingredients in happiness, to know that there’s a life after this one. It doesn’t end.
And therefore when people live with the Torah, they know that they are living chayei oilam. And that makes a tremendous difference just in the fun of life! And therefore he laughs in this world too. Anybody who knows that he’s headed for Olam Haba has a different attitude on Olam Hazeh. And that’s enough to make us extremely happy at all times.
The Wildest Celebration
You know in the yeshivos in Europe up till not long ago Shavuos was celebrated as the happiest day of the year, even more than Simchas Torah. It became wild on Shavuos in the yeshivos. Because they understood ּוֹב חֶלְקֵנוּ מַה טּאַשְׁרֵינו – how fortunate we are to be able to enjoy that special privilege. Not only to be from the fortunate ones who sit and learn the Torah but because the Torah means that together with the Klal Yisroel we were chosen for chayei Olam Haba, the special privilege of being forever and ever.
Now I know it’s very far away from our ideals today; we live in a very gashmiyusdige world today and we’re far from emes. But at least when Shavuos is approaching, when the fragrance of Har Sinai is already in the air, that’s the best time to think about that; more than other days. Although every day you make birchas haTorah and you should say the words with some idea of what it implies, these days are a special occasion.
And so all of us together, men and women, boys and girls, should utilize the opportunity of Zman Matan Toraseinu to review once more the great ideals of the happiness that Shavuos means for us, the gift that Torah bestows upon us in this world and the next!
Have A Wonderful Shabbos
Let’s Get Practical
Appreciating the Great Gift
In our sedrah, the Torah warns us that if we fail to appreciate the great gift of Torah, we will be punished severely. The Torah is is the greatest gift we could ever receive with tangible reward in this world and the next. This week I will bli neder spend more time than usual on Birchas Hatorah, reflecting on these lessons.
This week’s booklet is based on tapes:
474 -Thanking for Torah | E-19 - Why Did the Land Go Lost
E-138 - Jewels For the Beautiful Nation | E-141 - The Most Happy Day
Listen: 718.289.0899
Press 1 for English and 2 for Thursday Night Lectures
Rav Miller’s tapes are the property of Yeshivah Gedolah Beis Yisroel and are available through its publishing arm, the Simchas Hachaim Foundation.
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