English translation — מאמר כל ישראל תשל"ג

*

All Israel have a portion in the World to Come,

for the explanation

of "the World to Come" in this Mishnah is the World of Resurrection,

as is evident from the continuation of the Mishnah: "And these have no portion in the World to Come: he who says the resurrection of the dead is not from the Torah,"

for the reason for this is, as stated in the Gemara,

"He denied the resurrection of the dead, therefore he will not have a portion in the resurrection of the dead... measure for measure."

And all Israel have a portion in the World to Come,

for regarding Gan Eden it is written,

"Who may ascend the mountain of Hashem... one with clean hands and a pure heart...,"

indicating that there are several conditions required to ascend to Gan Eden,

even to the lower Gan Eden,

but not so regarding the World of Resurrection: all Israel have a portion in the World to Come.

And it must be understood:

Behold, the revelation that will be in the World of Resurrection is vastly superior to the revelation of Gan Eden,

even to the revelation of the upper Gan Eden,

even to the highest level of Gan Eden

[and obviously also to the matter of the resurrection itself,

for all Israel will rise to life,

even the souls that have been in Gan Eden for several thousand years,

and three times each day they ascend to a higher level,

yet in the future they will be clothed in bodies,

because the revelation of the World of Resurrection is vastly superior to the revelation of Gan Eden,

even to the highest level of Gan Eden],

and nevertheless, to merit the revelation of Gan Eden, several conditions are necessary,

yet the revelation of the World of Resurrection will be for all Israel.

B)

And this will be understood by prefacing the explanation of this matter: that the revelation of the World of Resurrection is vastly superior to the revelation of Gan Eden.

For at first glance,

since Gan Eden is the world of souls

(souls without bodies),

and in the World of Resurrection there will be souls in bodies,

what is the explanation of this: that in the World of Resurrection,

when the soul will be clothed in a physical body,

there will be a revelation superior to that in Gan Eden?

And although in the future the body will be in ultimate refinement,

like the body of Adam HaRishon

(the handiwork

of the Holy One, Blessed be He),

which outshone the orb of the sun,

and moreover,

that in the future the body will be in ultimate perfection even more than that of Adam HaRishon,

this is seemingly only an explanation for the fact that in the future the souls clothed in bodies will be vessels to receive a revelation superior to the revelation that is now revealed to souls without bodies.

But this does not explain why the revelation of the future will be specifically for souls in bodies.

For although in the future as well,

when the body will be in ultimate perfection,

it will still be a physical body,

and the limitations of a physical thing are greater than the limitations of a spiritual thing,

like the limitation of time and place, which is

(primarily)

in physical things,

nevertheless,

in order for the soul to receive the revelation of the future,

it is specifically through being clothed in a physical body.

That is to say,

that among the differences between the revelation of Gan Eden and the revelation of the future is that to receive the revelation of Gan Eden is through abstraction from physical things.

For before the soul ascends to Gan Eden, it must first immerse in the River of Fire to forget the vision of this world.

[And similarly regarding the ascents within Gan Eden itself,

that at every ascent one must first forget the comprehension and delight of the lower level.]

And to receive the revelation of the future is through being clothed in a physical body.

3)

And it is written,

"This is the Torah, a man,"

that the Torah is in the likeness of a man.

For just as a man is composed of a body and a soul,

so too is it in the Torah, which has a body and a soul.

And in general, this is the distinction between Torah and commandments.

For the 248 positive commandments are the 248 limbs of the King,

analogous to the limbs of the body,

and the Torah is the blood, which is the soul,

that draws vitality into the limbs of the commandments.

And this is that the commandments are in time and place, while the Torah is above time and place

[therefore, anyone who engages in the study of the burnt-offering is as if he offered a burnt-offering,

even when it is not the time or place of the offering],

for the body, which is physical, is bounded by time and place,

while the soul, which is spiritual, is above time and place.

And just as it is in the Torah and commandments themselves,

so too is it regarding the connection of the Torah and commandments to the person who studies and fulfills the commandments.

For the study of Torah relates primarily to the soul, and the fulfillment of commandments to the body.

And it is known

that this—that the Torah is above the commandments—is as the Torah and commandments are drawn down in revelation,

but in their root,

the commandments are more elevated.

For the Torah is His wisdom, and the commandments are His will,

will which is above wisdom.

And moreover,

even after the Torah and commandments come into the chain of descent, the superiority of the commandments is evident,

for the Torah is the explanation and elucidation of the commandments.

From this it is understood,

that so too is it with the soul and body in man

[which are analogous to Torah and commandments],

that although the vitality of the body comes from the soul,

the root of the body is higher than the root of the soul

[and as explained elsewhere,

that the love and connection of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel by virtue of their soul,

"You are children to the L-rd your G-d,"

is like a natural love, so to speak,

analogous to the love of a father for his son.

That is,

the root of this love is from a level where there is a place for the beloved,

and it is not from His very Essence.

However, the love and connection of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel by virtue of their body,

is

(not due to the virtue of the body,

nor even the virtue of a son,

an intrinsic virtue,

but rather)

from the fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, chose the body of Israel,

with free choice,

and this choice is from His very Essence].

And this itself—that the soul is drawn to enliven the body—is because of the superiority of the body by virtue of its root

(in analogy to this, that the Torah explains and elucidates the commandments,

because the commandments are higher than the Torah).

4)

And it is known,

that in the obligation of fulfilling the mitzvos, all Jews are equal, but in the obligation of studying Torah there are various levels,

for regarding those who dwell in tents [of Torah] who have leisure time, the obligation of "and you shall meditate"

in it day and night is literal,

while businessmen fulfill their obligation with one chapter in the morning and one chapter in the evening,

This is,

because the mitzvos are the supernal will

(as above),

and will is above division,

while the Torah is His wisdom,

and in wisdom there is division.

And it may be said,

that the same applies regarding Torah study and the actual fulfillment of mitzvos,

that the fulfillment of mitzvos is found in all Jews,

for even the sinners of Israel are full of mitzvos like a pomegranate,

but this is not so regarding Torah study,

This is,

because a deficiency in Israel can only exist in the revelations,

and since the mitzvos are the supernal will and relate to the body in which is the choice of the Awtsmoos,

therefore this matter

(of fulfilling mitzvos)

is found in all Jews.

5)

And this is [the meaning of] "All Israel have a share in the World to Come,"

for although the revelation of the World to Come

(the world of Resurrection)

is more elevated than the revelation of the Garden of Eden, nevertheless this revelation will be for all Israel,

because in the Garden of Eden is the revelation of the Torah that one studies in this world,

while in the future, in the era of Resurrection, will be the revelation of the mitzvos that one fulfills now.

And since the fulfillment of mitzvos is found in all Israel, as above,

therefore,

all Israel have a share in the World to Come.

And this is why the revelation of the era of Resurrection will be specifically to souls in bodies,

because the fulfillment of mitzvos relates primarily to the body,

as above.

And it may be said,

that this—that the revelation of the era of Resurrection will also be for the souls

(which will then be clothed in the body)—

is analogous to the statement of our sages, of blessed memory,

"Great is study that brings to action,"

for through the fact that study brings to action, greatness is achieved in the study.

[And analogous to what is explained in the continuation of 5666,

that when the study pertains to an actual practical ruling,

then one exerts oneself more and arrives at greater depth in the matter.]

And based on this, it can be said,

that regarding the superiority of the Torah of the future,

the Torah of Moshiach,

there are two matters.

One is that then there will be the revelation of the perfection of the Torah from its own essence,

and the elevation that will then be in the Torah through the elevation of the mitzvos.

And similarly, regarding the soul,

in addition to the fact that then the root of the souls themselves will be revealed,

the soul will also receive the revelation of the superiority of the body

(the choice of Atzmus in the body).

And may it be His will,

that through our deeds and our service,

and particularly through the service of "spreading your wellsprings outward,"

we will merit to study the Torah of Moshiach,

from the mouth of Moshiach,

very soon.