Life for Eternity
The Gemora says in Rosh Hashana 16: Three books are opened on Rosh HaShana before Hakadosh Baruch Hu: one of reshaim, completely wicked people, one of tzadikim, completely righteous people, and one of average people, beinonim, whose good and bad deeds are equally balanced. Those that are entirely righteous are immediately written and sealed for life; those that are entirely wicked are immediately written and sealed for death. And those who are called “beinonim” - who are equally righteous and wicked are left with their judgment suspended from Rosh Hashana until Yom Kippur, their fate remaining undecided. If they merit, through the good deeds and mitzvos that they perform during this period, they are written for life; if they do not so merit, they are written for death.
How are we to understand this gemora? The tanaim, amoraim, and rishonim were all tzadikim gemurim – completely righteous - and even so they are not with us anymore. They all passed away. And yet the gemora tells us that tzaddikim are immediately sealed for life, so why aren't they still alive? We also have a question regarding the reshaim, who are written and sealed for death. Aren't there plenty of reshaim who are alive and well? Why are they still living if they were immediately sealed for death?
This question is brought down in tosfos kiddushin 39 and the answer is based on an a gemora that “One who has more mitzvos than aveiros we punish him and we treat him as if he burned an entire Torah and not one letter is left over". How do we understand this? Furthermore, the gemora continues “and one who does more aveiros than mitzvos, we treat him as a good person and it's considered as if he kept the entire Torah and not one letter was missing". What's p'shat in this gemara?
The truth is that we see very often how good people suffer in this world and reshaim seem to be enjoying life. However, it says in tehilim 92:7 “Ish baar lo yeda uchisil lo yavin es zos, bifroach reshaim k'mo eisav, vayatzitzu kol poialei aven, l'heshamdam adei ad" - a foolish person can't understand this, that when the wicked flourish like grass, it's all for their destruction for eternity. Dovid Hamelech is teaching us here that reshaim bloom like grass only because Hashem wants to destroy them in the next world. So Hashem gives them all their reward in this world for any slight good deed that they have done. Their s'char is all used up in this world so that they won't have anything in the world to come. However, tzadikim get punished in this world for any slight aveira they did, and so they will enjoy a beautiful olam haba.
Now we can understand the gemora that one who has more mitzvos than aveiros is treated so harshly – because he's a tzaddik and he must suffer in this world in order to have complete pleasure in olam haba! On the other hand, the one who has more aveiros than mitzvos is treated well since he is a rasha and will be rewarded in this world so that he will have nothing in the world to come. Says Tosfos: the three seforim that are open on Rosh Hashana are not referring to life and death in olam hazeh; rather it's about olam haba.
We know from many Torah sources that the lashon of “amira” is a gentle language while the lashon of “dibur” is a harsh language. When Yitzchok was born from Sara, the Torah uses both forms of speech, as it says in Lech Lecha 16:4 “V’Hashem pakad es Sara kaʼasher amar, vayaas Hashem l'Sara kaʼasher diber”. Why does the pasuk use both forms of language? Says the Chasam Sofer, when Hagar became expecting from Avraham, she started embarrassing Sara. Hagar laughed at her that she was barren, saying "Your inside is not like your outside – you make believe that you are so righteous - and as a proof, look, you are married for seventy-five years and no children while I was only married five years to Avraham and I am already pregnant". Of course, we all know that Sara Imeinu was a tzadeikes. So why indeed was she barren for so many years while Hagar merited to become pregnant right away? Says the Chasam Sofer, look who was born from Hagar! Yes, Yishmael! The Torah testifies that Yishmael was a “pera adam" a wild man. And look at his grandchildren - Sadam Hussein, Osama Bin Ladin etc. Giving birth to a Yishmael doesn't require much work and it can happen quickly. But to give birth to a Yitzchok Avinu– “Pachad Yitzchok” who was the grandfather of the Shivtei Kah, Moshe Rabeinu and the Rambam – for that you need to wait many years. To get a Yitzchok Avinu you have to go through pain, thousands of tefilos and tears. And that is p'shat in the pasuk “v’Hashem pakad es Sara kaʼasher amar”, Hashem remembered Sara in a gentle language; this is a promise of salvation. But “vayaas Hashem l’Sara kaʼasher diber” – Hashem did to Sara as he spoke – in a harsh language, since in order for Sara Imeinu to give birth to a Yitzchok Avinu, Hashem decreed years of yesurim and waiting.
This mockery that Hagar laughed at Sara Imeinu is still going on today. There are "successful" reshaim out there who look at tzadikim struggling and laugh at them mockingly. "Look, this tzadik is learning, doing mitzvos, and suffering for it while I am partying all day! Who's enjoying life anyway?" But the rasha doesn't realize that all of his partying is taking him straight to gehinom and only the tzadik is going to enjoy a blissful existence in gan eden.
Rav shamshon Refoel Hirsch teaches the same lesson regarding the 2 goats of Yom Kippur. As we all know, one goes l'Hashem and one ends up l'azazel. Look at this scenario: these 2 goats were the same age, grew up in the same neighborhood, and one day the kohen goes and takes both of these goats and makes a gorel. The one that was chosen l'Hashem was shechted right away. The other one is still alive. Not only that, he sees that they are taking him on a trip on a mountain, enjoying the fresh air and beautiful views. He says to himself “oy, I wish I had a camera to capture these views”. He also says, “oy, it's a chaval that my friend who was killed cannot enjoy all this". He doesn't realize all this "fun" leads to be thrown off a cliff to go to l'azazel where his bones will be broken up and that will be the end of him forever. His friend, on the other hand, was zoche to be brought as a korban chatas and his blood was shpritzed onto the mizbaich. He atoned for Klal Yisroel with kedusha. So, which of the two had a better lot?
This is the difference between the tzadik and the rasha. They both grew up together, they both started out the same, and yet one chose to be a tzaadik and one chose to be a rasha. The rasha is sayng to himself “I feel so bad for my friend the tzadik. He is just suffering while I'm enjoying life!" But he doesn't realize that he will end up in a dark, frightening gehinom and his friend will end up in a beautiful, lichtige Gan Eden.
Yes, the three seforim that get opened up on on Rosh Hashana are about olam haba. We are being judged as to what kind of olam haba we will get. Tzadikim are immediately written and sealed for life. What kind of life? A life of olam haba. He will suffer in this world, but how he will rejoice when he receives his reward in olam haba! And that pleasure is forever and ever! A Rasha, on the other hand, gets written and sealed for death in olam haba. Therefore, he receives a lot of pleasure on this world in order there should be nothing left for him in the next world.
May we all be zoche to be written and sealed immediately in the sefer of Chayim, the book of life for eternity.
