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Positive Vision

testchart1 Tuesday, 16 October 2018
Part 4/111 (to see other parts of the article, click on the pages at the bottom)

Day 3

The Ultimate Pleasure

Attaching to Hashem

ואֲַניִ קִרְבתַ אֱלקִֹים ליִ טוֹב
As for me, it is closeness to Hashem that is good.

The ultimate pleasure, the most supreme goodness, is being close to Hashem. This concept, expressed by Dovid HaMelech, recurs over and over in Tanach and by the words of Chazal.

The Olam Haba experience, the ultimate reward, is in fact described by Chazal as a realization of this closeness, of this attachment to the Creator.

But trying to understand the enjoyment of Olam Haba in this world is like a fish trying to comprehend a fire. It cannot, because its environment is the very opposite of fire.

The Rambam assures us that our enjoyment in Olam Haba will be unending and infinite, and nothing in this world is even remotely comparable. He illustrates this with a mashal to which we can all relate.

This is like a powerful king who decides one day to abdicate the throne because he wants to return to playing ball in the streets. At one time, when he was a young immature boy, he really did enjoy ball-playing more ...

Can you imagine if the president suddenly announced his resignation because he wished to spend more time with his true passion, playing pickup basketball? You would question his sanity! “What is he thinking?! How can the fleeting diversion of playing ball in the park be compared with the thrill and ‘rush’ of wealth and power?!”

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