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Quality
of Life
by Rabbi Yitzchak Hirshfeld
Print Version
"Three books are opened on Rosh Hashana, the absolutely
righteous are written and sealed immediately to
life; the absolutely wicked are written and sealed
immediately to death; those who fluctuate between
those two poles hang in the balance until Yom Kippur."
(Rosh Hashanah 16b). These words of Rav Kruspedai
apparently contradict both experience and common
sense. Some righteous don't live out the year, and
some evil doers enjoy comfort and prosperity for
years and years. (See Tosafot d.h."V'nechtamin")
What is "life"? We think we know what it is. It
can be measured physically, even halachically -
breathing, brain function, pulse.
From the words of Rav Kruspedai thunders forth a
fundamental truth. "The righteous in 'death' are
called 'living'; and the wicked in their 'life'
are called 'dead'." (Berachot 18)
Animals live in one dimension - their "liveness"
is truly a function of brain, breath, and pulse
alone. And, unfortunately, many people live in that
same one dimension. But when the Torah proclaims,
"And ye who cleave to Hashem, all of you are "alive"
today"; (Devarim 4:4) the Torah has another dimension
of life in mind.
To be alive in this new sense means for the soul
to be connected to the Divine source of eternal
life. One can be as alive and healthy as an Olympic
superstar, and be dead, dead, dead. And one can
be as physically weak as the Chazan Ish z"l who
could barely drag his exhausted body to bed after
a day of intense learning, and be bursting with
endless spiritual bounty.
But how are the intensity and quality of this connection
determined? Who decides? Can we just hook ourselves
up, plug ourselves in?
This is Rosh Hashana - The Day of Judgement, according
to Rav Kruspedai. Hashem maintains control. He decides
how much life of connectedness we will enjoy. For
the righteous - a full measure; the wicked are shut
out - and then.. there's the rest of us (hopefully).
How does He decide? What are His criteria?
Our Rabbis have taught (Siftei Chaim et al.) - The
decision rests on our commitment to furthering His
goals for creation. And desire. If the first, lower
type of life fades away into the background of our
consciousness as we crave a life of connection,
of dveikut, then Hashem responds in kind. We then
merit the gift of eternal life, as the boundaries
between this world and the world to come too fade
away - even to the background of our consciousness.
Remember us to Life, King Who desires life
And inscribe us in the book of life
For your sake, King of Life |
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