On the Bring of death

On the brink of death

            On the brink of death my step grand-father, who was like a real grandfather to me, sits.  What awaits him? Well, this question is actually not unique to me, but was asked by the all the Jews a few thousand years ago.  For some reason, the idea of even the existence of an after life within Judaism is shrouded in mystery.  Yet, probably more than any other religion, the idea of an afterlife is the most directly understood and even experienced.  Let’s see what the sources say:

At the time of the giving of Torah G-d called to Israel and said to them:’ My child! A great gift I have in the world, and I will give it to you forever if you receive my Torah and guard its mitzvos’.

They answered and said before Him: ‘Master of the world! What great gift will you give to us if we guard your Torah?’

Answered G-d and He said: ‘This is the World to come’.

Answered Israel and they said: ‘Master of the world! Show us an example of what this world is like’

Answered G-d and He said to them: This is Shabbat, which is one sixtieth of the next world which is all Shabbat.’[1]

For certain religions, self-inflicted death, particularly at the expense of other people, is the best way to know the next world.  Jews have it a bit easier, and far less dramatic- Shabbat.   Do it properly, and the next world reveals itself even now.  No death required!

            So what is Shabbat that it is so other worldly?  The idea of Shabbat is that everything has been completed.  It is not that creative acts are not allowed on Shabbat; rather, they are entirely unnecessary!  The world is in a pseudo state of perfection and completion, physically that is.  We need to imagine that nothing is left to be finished.  That is the rest we get on Shabbat, and it is the rest from physical toil that allows the soul an expansive vision, literally, a doubling.  And that is why we have two challahs, two levels of punishment, two sacrifices to bring up, two words of reminder for Shabbat, and two souls.  We are dealing with two worlds simultaneously, this world and the next world.    

            Why is the revelation so clear on Shabbat?  Obviously, G-d did not really work on the first six days of creation, as our childish imagination would seem to have it, and then suddenly stop because he finished.  Rather, each day represents a layer of nature that G-d hides behind.  And on Shabbat, the hiding ends and we have time to look at the mask and take it for what it is, just a mask. 

            So as my step-grandfather teeters between worlds, there is a win-win situation.  Either he goes back to a family that would love to have him around longer or he goes to a world of completion, where the soul sits in what ever level of closeness it achieved with G-d and revels in the revelation.