Before Descending to This World The Neshamah Accepts All the Yissurim

Rabbeinu Bachya (Parashas Ki Seitzei) teaches us that every neshamah, before descending to This World, is asked whether it accepts the pain and the suffering that she will endure here, and it fully agrees to it.

We generally understand this teaching to mean that the neshamah understands that it’s worthwhile to endure the yissurim for the rectification of the neshamah. But there’s a much simpler understanding: The neshamah agrees to endure all the suffering because in the World of Truth, it knows the extent of the reward for a mitzvah—and so it agrees to endure everything, all for the opportunity to fulfill mitzvos and earn an eternal reward.