“ויגרש את האדם וישכן מקדם לגן עדן את הכרבים ואת להט החרב המתהפכת לשמר את דרך עץ החיים” (כד ג)
Chazal promise (Shabbos 119b) a wondrous reward for one who is strict to answer amen properly: “Anyone who answers amen with all his strength – has the gates of Gan Eden open for him.”
What is the nature of this reward for someone who answers amen with all his might?
Rav Yosef Steinhart, the Rav of Furth, offers a beautiful reason based on the words of Rashi that the “כרבים” mentioned in the passuk here are the hostile angels that HaKadosh Baruch Hu stationed “mikedem leGan Eden.”
In Maseches Brachos (53b), Rav Nehorai compared the mevarech to a simple soldier [גולייר], while the oneh amen is like the heroic soldier that triumphs in the war. Rav Nehorai’s words are not merely a mashal, but that is the truth: The angel that is formed from reciting the brachah is compared to a simple solider that does not have the power to overcome the kitrug of the hostile angels that are created by our sins. That is in contrast to the angel created by answering amen, who is the heroic angel who has the power to prevail over those hostile forces. In light of this, the words of Chazal are very clear: Because by answering amen, a person causes that the hostile angels around Gan Eden should be subdued, therefore, when the time comes, the gates of Gan Eden are opened for him, without the hostile angels having the power to prevent him from entering!
The Maggid of Wilkomir explained the reason why specifically the mitzvah of answering amen has the power to open the gates of Gan Eden:
Chazal say (Koheles Rabbah 7:31) that Gan Eden and Gehinnom are separated by a wall. And the Middas Harachamim hovers over Gan Eden, and Middas Hadin hovers over Gehinnom, and over the wall that separates them is a combination of both. For this reason, only the power of answering amen – which includes the numerical value of both the Shem Hav-yah that symbolizes Middas Harachamim, and Adnus, which symbolizes Din (Baal Haturim Devarim 27:26) – to open the “gates of Gan Eden” that are in this wall. Therefore, even a person who has many merits and has acquired a share in Gan Eden, will not have the gates opened for him and won’t be able to enter easily, if he is not strict about answering amen.
Shu”t Zichron Yosef [Furth 5533] p. 102a; Einei Yitzchak Shabbos 119b
