Chapter I
יפה שעה אחת בתשובה ומעשים טובים
בעולם הזה מכל חיי העולם הבא
"One hour of repentance and good deeds in this world is better than all the life in the World to Come."1
Life exists for the soul on two distinct levels. One level is that of the soul as it lives in Gan Eden prior to its descent into this world, and again after its departure from the body and this world. Though these two sojourns in Gan Eden are different, they are both wholly spiritual modes of existence.
The second level of the soul's existence occurs while it vivifies a body. Concerning this level, we are told that "One hour of repentance and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come."
This statement must be understood. After all, life in this world is corporeal. Yet even the heavenly hosts are not wholly spiritual, as the verse testifies:2 "He makes His angels of spirit, His servants of a flaming fire." Angels, then, are created from air and fire. This is one of the cardinal differences between heavenly and earthly creatures. Earthly creatures are composed of the four foundations:3 fire, air, water and earth.4 Thus earthly creatures are composed of diverse materials which, beginning with fire, are of ever-increasing density.
Air, the second of the foundations, is denser than fire, which is the most ethereal of all. As the second element, air too is insubstantial, though it is not as ethereal as fire.
Since these two elements are the most ethereal, G‑d imbued them both with the characteristic of rising upwards.
Though they each display it differently, fire and air share the quality of being mighty and powerful. The might of fire lies in its ability to destroy (burn) things, while air shatters and breaks objects.
Water is denser than air, and G‑d imbued it with a different nature than that of the two ethereal elements. Water descends from above to below. This is quite the opposite of fire and air which, being of a more ethereal nature, possess more spiritual characteristics and are therefore drawn upwards. Water, being more physical, is drawn downwards.5
The same holds true with regard to people. One who is of a refined nature not only likes and desires refinement, but is also drawn to refined matters and to a more spiritual mode of living. Someone with a coarser nature enjoys coarse matters and is drawn to coarseness. Herein lies one of the primary distinctions between the spiritual and material; the spiritual is refined and the material is coarse. That which is refined is drawn upwards, while that which is coarse is drawn downwards.
[With regard to the two lower elements of water and earth,] water is also mighty, while earth is the heaviest of all.
G‑d created physical creatures as a composite of all four elements, while heavenly creatures are composed of only fire and/or air, i.e. the spiritual elements. This then is the meaning of the verse: "He makes His angels of spirit; His servants of blazing fire." Some angels are created as composites of fire and air, while others are created from only one of these elements.
All heavenly creatures live a spiritual life. However, all physical creatures (man included) who are a composite of fire, air, water and earth live a corporeal existence, for life in this physical world, even though it may include "repentance and good deeds," is necessarily of a physical nature. How then is it possible for life in this world to be higher ["better"] than the life of the World to Come, which is on a spiritual plane?
In summary: The life of the soul in Gan Eden both prior to its descent into this world, as well as after its departure from this world is wholly spiritual. The soul's life within the body is corporeal. Of the four foundations, fire is the most refined; air is coarser; water is physical, and earth is the coarsest. That which is refined is drawn upwards, while the physical and coarse is drawn downwards.
Chapter II
Among the seven items which the Talmud6 lists as having being created prior to the creation of the world are Torah, repentance and Gan Eden.
This must be understood. Gan Eden serves as a reward [for the soul] for its performance of Torah and mitzvos in this world. A deed is rewarded only after it has been done. It is similar to a laborer hired to perform a specific task. His reward comes due only after the task has been completed.
Also, the reward for one's effort has to be greater than the effort itself [for otherwise the reward would not be worth the effort]. This being so, how is it possible for a task to be greater than its reward? And yet the Mishnah states that repentance and good deeds are better than life in Gan Eden. How then is Gan Eden a proper reward for the service of Torah and mitzvos ? We must also understand how repentance was possible prior to the world's creation, [since repentance presupposes a negative act on the part of a created being].
Indeed, the statement: "One hour of repentance and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come," requires clarification. This statement follows the previous statement [of the Mishnah]:7 "This world is like an antechamber before the World to Come; prepare yourself in the antechamber so that you may enter the banquet hall." Our physical world then is but a preparation for the spiritual World to Come, and our actions here must be such that we enter the next world in a state of purity.
Since this world is but an antechamber to the next, how can a preparatory hour of repentance and good deeds here be superior to the World to Come? [The matter becomes even more puzzling when one realizes that] life in the World to Come is completely spiritual. Moreover, the physical and the spiritual are complete opposites, the spiritual being drawn upwards and the physical downwards.
How then is it possible that a totally physical life lived in a material world serves as a preparation for the wholly spiritual life of the World to Come?
[The matter is as follows:] When our sages of blessed memory said that repentance and Gan Eden were created prior to the creation of the world, they did not mean that it preceded it in time. Rather, they meant that repentance and Gan Eden are spiritually superior to this world.8
This world is termed "olam,"9 which means "concealment," since matters here are not perceived in their true light. Everything created by G‑d is comprised of body and soul; the created being as well as its soul or spirit. Most essential, of course, is the soul which gives life to the body. Yet only the body is readily perceived, while the soul is concealed.
We find in our [sacred] literature that man is called a "miniature world,"10 a microcosm, and that the world is referred to as "a huge body," for all that is found in it is also found in man. The Midrash states:11 "Just as the soul enlivens the body, so does G‑d enliven the world." Concerning this [simile] we find written:12 "From my flesh I perceive G‑dliness."
Man knows full well that there is a soul within him that is the source of all his powers and abilities. A body bereft of its soul can do nothing, though it may possess all its physical organs. Only when the soul is clothed in the body is a person alive, and only then do the bodily organs each fulfill their functions the mind comprehends, the eye sees, the ear hears. This is why a person is called a "small world" and the world "a huge body." Life in the "small world" teaches man to understand the life of the "huge body," the world.
In summary: Repentance and Gan Eden were created at a higher level than this world. This world is characterized by concealment, with its life-source hidden, just as created beings' bodies conceal their souls. Man is a microcosm, and the world is a "huge body."
Chapter III
Though man knows that there is a soul within him that animates his body, and can feel its life-force, he remains ignorant of the soul's essence. Consequently, though a person can feel the presence of his life-force, his knowledge of it is one of "yedias hametzius," a mere awareness of its existence.
Were a person able to picture the soul in his mind's eye, he would be able to describe it verbally, just as a person can envision physical objects he has never beheld and convey the image verbally. The soul, however, transcends a person's imagination. Inasmuch as he is incapable of even imagining what the soul is, he cannot describe it verbally. Thus, all that man knows about the soul that animates him is the fact that he possesses such an entity.
[The same holds true] regarding the soul's powers and abilities; a person is aware of them only through their actions. When a person perceives that he understands an intellectual matter, he deduces that he possesses the power of intellect. Indeed, he has clear proof, for previously he did not know the subject matter and now he does. A person's ability to see, hear, etc., proves to him that lodged within him are other soul powers, each functioning in its designated bodily vessel. The power of intellect is lodged in the mind, sight in the eye, hearing in the ear, and the ability to walk is lodged in the feet. The same holds true for the rest of the bodily organs [and their corresponding soul powers].
Thus, the actions of the limbs imply the existence of soul powers that make such actions possible. So it is that through the particular actions of the soul we become aware of its existence and function. Yet the essential nature of the soul's powers remains unknown.
There is, however, a major difference between a person's knowledge of his soul's powers and his knowledge of the soul itself. The soul's powers are specific entities, limited in their function. For instance, the power of intellect is incapable of seeing, hearing or walking. The power of sight is limited to vision and neither understands nor hears, while the power of hearing is limited to the apprehension of sound. The same is true concerning the rest of the powers; they each carry out a specific function. Our knowledge of the individual powers is gleaned by observing their functioning, and this provides a knowledge of the essence of their functional being "yedias mehus hametzius. "13
The soul's effect on a person is all-encompassing. Therefore, a person's understanding of his soul extends only to the knowledge of its existence [and its ability to enliven], but not in any way to its essential nature [and its ability to provide life]. Thus, by considering the soul's powers, one can deduce the essence of its functional being, [but regarding the soul itself, one knows only of its existence and its ability to enliven].
In summary: A person's understanding of his own soul is limited to a general knowledge of its existence. Even this is known only by observing the effects of the particular soul powers; the essence of the soul remains totally unknown. While its powers are particular, the soul itself is all-encompassing.
This is the meaning of the saying that this world is considered an antechamber to the World to Come. Although a person's knowledge of spiritual matters such as the soul and the like is extremely vague, at least it is some measure of knowledge [and serves as a first step to higher rungs]. It is therefore necessary to "prepare yourself in the antechamber," for this limited level of knowledge enables a person to achieve a higher degree, for intellect is so structured that a lower level of understanding leads to a higher. Ultimately, it enables a human being to apprehend the G‑dly mind within the garment of human intellect. This in turn leads to a longing for G‑dliness, and makes the study of Torah and the performance of mitzvos very pleasurable.
When this state is achieved, the present world truly becomes an antechamber to the "banquet hall."
