Opinion & Comment
Shabbos -- Like Olom Haboh
by HaRav Aharon Westheim

The Maharsha interprets this obscure gemora on the basis of another gemora in Sanhedrin (58b) that rules if a non-Jew rests on Shabbos he is punished by Heaven with death. First, explains the Maharsha, our gemora asks why a non-Jew should be punished for resting on Shabbos. After all, he was not aware of there being something called Shabbos. He did not even mean to observe the Shabbos. Actually, answers the gemora, Shabbos was told publicly (and therefore a non-Jew should be careful not to observe it) but its reward was not publicly divulged.

Why indeed was the reward for Shabbos not disclosed? What is the difference between it and all other mitzvos? Furthermore, it is apparent from the above that non-Jews have absolutely no connection with Shabbos. Why is that so?

The Maharal of Prague (Chidushei Agodos, Shabbos 10b) explains the gemora's statement (Kiddushin 39b) that, "there is no mitzvah in the Torah upon which techiyas hameisim is not dependent." This, he says, refers to all mitzvos except for Shabbos. The mitzvah of Shabbos is distinct in that it is in itself a techiyas hameisim. Other mitzvos merely result in techiyas hameisim but Shabbos is Olom Haboh itself, although in Olom Hazeh we do not understand this to be so. Since Shabbos is Olom Haboh itself, Moshe had to disclose this fact to bnei Yisroel, since "when you give a present to someone you must tell him what he is receiving" (Shabbos 10b).

2) "The reward for a mitzvah is a mitzvah" (Ovos 4:2). Maran HaRav Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler zt'l (Michtav MeEliahu) writes that this Mishnah teaches that the reward of a mitzvah is the mitzvah itself. The radiance and kedusha that intensifies in a person's nefesh through doing the mitzvos is the substance of his Olom Haboh. When he leaves Olom Hazeh he will be privileged at last to feel this pleasure, a pleasure he himself justly earned.

What HaRav Dessler wrote about all mitzvos apparently differs from what the Maharal wrote, that Olom Haboh is a result of doing mitzvos and but only Shabbos is a mitzvah consisting of Olom Haboh itself.

3) In Chazal we see contradictions concerning the essence of Olom Haboh. The gemora (Brochos 17a) tells us that in Olom Haboh, tzaddikim will sit and enjoy the Divine Presence, a rest that Heaven will reward them with. Nevertheless, at the end of Brochos (64a) Chazal inform us that tzaddikim rest neither in Olom Hazeh nor in Olom Haboh, as is written, "They go from strength to strength" (Tehillim 84:8). The commentaries explain the posuk, "I will then give you paths to stride along, among these who stand here" (Zecharia 3:7, see also the Targum) to mean that Hashem grants tzaddikim striding paths in the world of the neshomos among the mal'ochim, who are called "those who stand." It seems that in Olom Haboh too man walks; he is not stationary, but continuously advances.

4) We can understand this according to what Mori VeRabi zt'l taught us. There are two types of Olom Haboh: a world of reward and punishment where each person receives what he deserves, and also a general world. This second world is hinted at in the name Yovel (see the Ramban's commentary on Vayikro 25:2) and in it all mankind is united to praise Hashem's honor. "Every neshomoh shall praise Hashem" (Tehillim 150:6) -- all personal interests and egotism will in that world be completely nullified. That world's whole essence and aim is the honoring of HaKodosh Boruch Hu.

In the world of reward and punishment a person still senses "himself." He feels that what he previously did in Olom Hazeh has produced this reward. He takes pride in what he has done and realizes that it has caused his present prominence. In the world of reward and punishment a sharp contrast exists between one tzaddik and another, as Chazal write (Bovo Basra 75a), "each tzaddik is scalded by the spiritual status of his neighbor," and, "each tzaddik is given a dwelling fitting his reverence" (Shabbos 152a).

Limitations remain in the world of reward and punishment. This is actually termed as a matter of din. The reward a person receives corresponds to his yiras Shomayim and success in overcoming the yetzer hora -- "Everything is in Heaven's hands except for yiras Shomayim" (Brochos 33b). Ahavas Hashem is in essence a gift awarded to someone who has successfully reached the summit of yirah (later I will explain how a person ascends from the level of yirah to that of ahavoh).

The general world of Olom Haboh is one of ahavoh. In that world recognition of Hashem's goodness to us causes a person to entirely forget "himself" and engage entirely in praising HaKodosh Boruch Hu -- the exact way that a person who truly and strongly loves another acts. A lover occupied in pleasing his beloved, forgets about himself altogether.

5) A person who is on the level of yirah in the world of reward and punishment longs to cling completely to Hashem the way he can only in the general world of Olom Haboh. To accomplish this he must continue progressing towards this sort of deveikus.

"I will then give you paths of striding among these who stand there." The mal'ochim -- "those who stand there" -- are the essence of din, as we learn from the commentaries on the posuk "Take heed of Him and obey His voice, provoke Him not" (Shemos 23:21) and "As for their rims, they were so high that they were dreadful" (Yechezkel 1:18). In the world of reward and punishment it is possible to advance higher -- "I will then give you paths of striding" -- and this is the explanation of the above- mentioned gemora to the effect that "tzaddikim rest neither in Olom Hazeh nor in Olom Haboh."

When tzaddikim ascend to the general Olom Haboh all personal feelings and acts become void. Since a person's feeling of self-satisfaction is his stimulus for progress, this makes any personal advancement in the general Olom Haboh impossible. These feelings are altogether dormant there and man is nourished solely by the Creator's radiance. About this world the Yerushalmi (Shabbos, end of chap. 10) writes that in the future HaKodosh Boruch Hu will make the realm of the tzaddikim closer to the Shechina than that of the mal'achei hashoreis.

This is what the gemora (Brochos 10a) means by saying that tzaddikim sit and take pleasure in the Divine Presence. When the tzaddikim sit with crowns on their heads, that means they are achieving the highest level. About that world the gemora (at the end of Taanis) writes, "In the World-to-Come HaKodosh Boruch Hu will make a dance for the tzaddikim in Gan Eden and He will sit among them. Each [tzaddik] will point with his finger, as is written (Yeshaya 25:9) `On that day he will say "This is our Elokim."'" All the tzaddikim will surround the Shechina and point with their finger and say "this" -- the clearest possible exhibition of Divine honor. In that world there are no restrictions or limitations, similar to the rest during Shabbos, which is a sort of Olom Haboh. This is what Chazal (Shabbos 118) meant when they wrote "whoever celebrates the Shabbos by indulging in pleasures is awarded a limitless inheritance."

6) Now we understand what the Maharal of Prague wrote, that if other mitzvos result in Olom Haboh but are not Olom Haboh themselves, this refers to their not being the general Olom Haboh -- the world of tikun. The only way that mitzvos can themselves be Olom Haboh [as Maran HaRav E. E. Dessler zt'l wrote] is in the world of reward and punishment. The world of tikun is an outcome of that world, as explained above.

Shabbos's main essence is rest, and that is the general Olom Haboh itself. A person's job in life is to prepare himself for the Divine hashpo'oh -- the additional nefesh -- that comes on Shabbos. (We can understand from this the importance of preparing for Shabbos. Chazal have written much about this preparation, have repeatedly warned us to be mindful to do it, and have cautioned us not to mar the kedusha of Shabbos. Through his menuchah a Jew is able to receive this hashpo'oh. "Bnei Yisroel shall keep the Shabbos, to do the Shabbos throughout their generations for a perpetual covenant" (Shemos 31:16) -- through their preparation and being heedful not to profane it they are "doing the Shabbos" -- i.e., they are grasping its true character. This partially explains (and we will later on explain further) why non-Jews are altogether excluded from reward for observing Shabbos.)

7) As explained, the world of reward and punishment is a keli (a vessel) and preparation for the world of tikun. In this way it is somewhat similar to Olom Hazeh, since it too is a preparation -- a vestibule -- to Olom Haboh (in the world of reward and punishment too there are limitations, as in Olom Hazeh). Through nevu'ah a person can perceive the world of reward and punishment. R' Chiya bar Abba's statement in the name of R' Yochonon (Sanhedrin 99a), that, "all of the nevi'im prophesied only about the time of Moshiach but no one has seen Olom Haboh except for Hashem" pertains to the world of tikun.

The general Olom Haboh is limitless and is a gift from Hashem to His beloved ones. It cannot be grasped at all in Olom Hazeh, even through nevu'ah. Similarly, R' Chiya bar Abba's statement (ibid.) that all the nevi'im prophesied only about marrying one's daughter to a talmid chochom, doing business with a talmid chochom, and letting a talmid chochom benefit from his property, "but about [the reward of] talmidei chachomim themselves no eye has ever seen . . .." means that the Olom Haboh for someone who has become a keli for avodas Hashem is that world of reward and punishment which serves as a keli for the complete revelation. Non-Jews, who are considered keilim for Yisroel, can only understand the world of reward and punishment. Even chassidei umos ho'olam who have a part in Olom Haboh, can only comprehend what their intellect dictates to them, what is true and virtuous, what is proper and fitting according to their concepts. This understanding is an illustration of yirah that is caused by their self-interest. Without it they would stray from realizing what is virtuous and what is reality.

Non-Jews cannot grasp what is above the competence of human intellect, since they have no Torah to connect them to Hashem. Only of bnei Yisroel, who have been given the Torah, does the Torah say "You who cling to Hashem" (Devorim 4:4). HaKodosh Boruch Hu and Yisroel are one, since Yisroel can cling to Hashem through the Torah.

This is similar to what HaRav Moshe Chaim Luzzatto zt'l (the Ramchal) writes in Derech Hashem (2:4), that Olom Haboh for the chassidei umos ho'olom is only an additional and inferior one, ancillary to that of Yisroel. They are only secondary to Yisroel, like a man's clothing compared to himself -- serving as a keli for Yisroel.

For this reason non-Jews have no connection with Shabbos, and a non-Jew who rests on Shabbos, since he has departed from his own world and his own nature, loses his right to existence and is punished by death. This is not the duty of the beis din to administer, as the Rambam in Hilchos Melochim points out, but it is a din Shomayim that is suitable to the person's spiritual reality.

8) According to what R' Yochonon taught us, that the nevi'im prophesied about the world of reward and punishment, and that is the Olom Haboh referred to many times by Chazal, we can reconcile a contradiction about the sacrificing of korbonos in the World-to-Come.

Chazal write that in the World-to-Come, when the Beis Hamikdash is rebuilt, we will offer korbonos. Nonetheless, the Midrash (Vayikro Rabbah, Parshas Tzav) states that in the World-to-Come there will be no korbonos at all except for the korbon todah.

As a person progresses in his clinging to Hashem, he needs means to help him perfect himself and ascend from his spiritual level to a higher one. He does this through offering korbonos that help his soul cling to the Creator. When, however, he has already reached the peak of clinging tightly to HaKodosh Boruch Hu, he does not need that means any longer. At that stage, in the world of tikun, only the korbon todah -- an expression of gratitude stemming from ahavas Hashem -- is relevant.

We can now better understand the pesukim in the brochos of Parshas Bechukosai. "I will place My sanctuary in your midst" (Vayikro 26:11) is explained by Rashi according to Chazal (see Yalkut Shimoni) as alluding to the Beis Hamikdash where korbonos were offered to Hashem. By offering those korbonos, a person clung closer to Hashem.

In the following posuk, "I will walk in your midst," Rashi explains that "walking" means that "I will stroll together with you in Gan Eden." This is the level of the general Olom Haboh reached through ahavoh. The proof that Rashi means the general Olom Haboh, the world of tikun, we find in his further comment: "I might think that you will not fear Me, therefore the posuk adds, `I will be an Elokim to you.'" Such a supposition would be impossible in the Olom Haboh of reward and punishment since that world's entire essence is yirah.

9) The two sorts of Olom Haboh are similar to our avoda in this world: one avoda of ahavoh and another of yirah.

We must guarantee that our practical avoda is motivated by yiras Shomayim. The higher level of ahavas Hashem is, however, not dependent upon our desire; it is a gift from Hashem after our avoda of yiras Shomayim. But how can we ascend to ahavoh from yirah?

In many aspects they appear to be two opposites. In the case of yirah a person is stimulated by the fear of being punished, but in the case of ahavoh a person is interested in doing anything possible purely for Hashem's sake. Yirah is logically grasped, even while one lives in Olom Hazeh. On the other hand, ahavoh is above the grasp of one's intelligence and it is not understood in Olom Hazeh.

When one reaches the highest plane of yiras Hashem, which is yiras horomemus -- fearing Hashem by contemplating His greatness -- the humility gained by this reflection causes one to annul himself altogether before HaKodosh Boruch Hu's greatness and truth. This is so although we do not understand Hashem's way of conducting the world, and although His conduct is even contradictory to our understanding. This we call emunah.

Avrohom Ovinu in particular earned the right to be called the leader of all believers through his withstanding the test of the akeida -- through proceeding to carry out Hashem's Will although it was entirely against logic. Through emunah, a person clings to the "supreme hidden facet" as the Maharal of Prague writes, and this is the hidden ahavoh of Olom Hazeh -- the special level that distinguishes Yisroel.

Our fathers were redeemed from Egypt because of their emunah. "And the nation believed" (Shemos 4:31, and see Yalkut Shimoni 240). The Yalkut writes about the posuk, "They believed in Hashem and His servant Moshe" (Shemos 14:31) that because of their emunah, bnei Yisroel were rewarded with the indwelling of ruach hakodesh among them, upon which they burst out in shirah. This shirah was sung after they overflowed with enthusiasm and simcha -- elements conducive to ahavas Hashem.

They said "This is my Keil and I will praise Him" (Shemos 15:2) -- Rashi explains that bnei Yisroel were able to point with their finger to Hashem, as it were, and adds that a maidservant at the Yam Suf saw what Yechezkel the novi did not see.

This is similar to what Chazal write at the end of Taanis, that in the World-to-Come HaKodosh Boruch Hu will stand among the tzaddikim and they will point towards Him with their finger -- the ultimate level of clinging to Hashem. Their being able to see more than Yechezkel also shows their being on a supreme level of clinging to Hashem, since all of the nevi'im were only able to grasp the Olom Haboh of reward and punishment. Bnei Yisroel in the Sinai Desert saw the Shechina face to face, and this was through the zechus of their emunah (Shabbos 89).

This is the difference between Yisroel and the other nations at the time of Matan Torah, as the gemora remarks. As we have previously explained, non-Jews have no connection with this level of annulling oneself in order to do something above logic, through emunah. In Olom Haboh the goluyos will therefore be gathered together only as the reward for emunah, as is written, "Come look from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Chermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards" (Shir HaShirim 4:8, explained in Yalkut, ibid., 240).

10) Chazal (Makkos 24a) write that emunah is the only internal principle that has remained with us. In fact, all of the exacting Divine tests during the ikvesa demeshicha are in matters of emunah. During the time of Moshiach's advent we will feel that "there is no one besides You" (Shacharis Shabbos). At that time it will be obvious that we are totally unable to hold together the breaches in Torah observance or to rectify our deteriorating economic condition. There is a danger that it will appear as if we are helpless -- "When he sees their power is gone" (Devorim 35:36). We are liable to give up altogether and think that all of Judaism and ruchniyus are, chas vesholom, crumbling and there is no hope to rectify what has been perverted.

But actually, that is our Divine test! We must thoroughly believe that Hashem can correct everything although we cannot understand how it is possible, since as we see things at the moment, everything is lost. Chazal allude to this period in the Beraissa at the end of Sotah (49): "We have nothing to rely on except on our father in Heaven."

This is a warning from HaKodosh Boruch Hu not to despair, chas vesholom, after seeing the enormity of the damage continuously increasing during the ikvesa demeshicha. Someone who is strong in his emunah believes that Hashem will bring the salvation even though logically all is lost and his belief in this is the opposite of present reality. The posuk, "Come look from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Chermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards" teaches us this. A person who has emunah -- "from the top of Amana" -- will "come look" and clearly see our salvation, even though at the time it would appear unrealistic and even illogical.

HaRav Aharon Westheim zt'l, whose fifth yahrtzeit falls on 25 Elul, was the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Rabbenu Yechiel of Paris.