The Endless Shabbat

This past Shabbat, as I lay half-passed out on the couch, I was attempting to read Rav Dessler’s famed Michtav Mi’Eliyahu, a beautiful work of mussar (moral instruction) that has played a vital role in shaping modern Jewry. During the 20-minute war with my eyelids, I managed to read a part that explained why the wicked get their reward in this world, while the righteous get their reward in the world-to-come. Eventually, my eyelids won and I fell asleep with the book opened on my face, hoping that maybe I would absorb its information via osmosis or a psychic experience.

Rav Dessler explains it like this: a materialistic person shapes his entire life and value system around physical attainments. According to such a person, more material possessions = more happiness. I don’t understand these people. Forget about the fact that I was actually one of them. According to my selective memory and my mother, I was always perfect.

Now, let’s leave mistaken memories and terribly biased mothers aside for a moment and just focus on common sense. If a person were to simply look around, he would see that happiness eludes even the richest people. In fact, it is proven over and over again that the more one amasses, the more insatiable he becomes. This is actually a spiritual law. Furthermore, if a person would just look at himself with a semblance of honesty, he would see that no matter how much he has, if he’s not living with a higher purpose to his life, he is already not happy.

Yet, the evil inclination does an awesome job convincing us that if we have just a few million in the bank, life will be one endless vacation. Now, this may be true for the ultra-wealthy, who can afford to sail on those awesome ’round the world cruise ships. However, a never-ending vacation doesn’t include never-ending happiness. It’s in the fine print of those cruise brochures, right before the sentence that doesn’t guarantee immunity from the dreaded Norwalk virus or protection from angry spouses that might try to throw you off the ship in a fit of rage or drunkenness.

So, we all know that more money doesn’t bring more happiness. How does this relate to the wicked getting their reward in this world? Savlanut, (patience) my dears! I’m getting to that.

Now, if you look at a Torah-observant Jew who is living the life God intended for him because he genuinely desires a closer connection with his Creator, you will find that there are many more happy people per capita in this type of society than in the society devoid of God-consciousness.

A spiritually-minded person understands that the acquisition of materialism and physical pleasures are not an end in themselves. They are a means to connect with God. By using his body, his money, his food, his car, his clothes, and every other physical gift God gives him every day to further his spirituality, he turns these physical items into a means to an end.

Let me clarify something: there is no problem with having nice things. Judaism is not Buddhism, and having a nice house, money in the bank, nice clothes, etc., is not only acceptable; it’s preferable. Hashem wants us to be happy. Believe it or not, He doesn’t want us to suffer. Here’s the thing: we can and should have nice things- we just have to use them as a means to a spiritual end.

What does this mean, exactly? First, we must thank Hashem for everything He gives us. Every single second of every single hour of every single day is a collection of millions of events that must happen in perfect synchrony in order for us to continue living. Just for this alone we should thank Him all day long.

Second, we should sharpen our perspective. If Hashem gave us a car, we use that car to take our children to Jewish day school; to go food shopping; to give another person a lift (here in Israel); to drive to shul for prayers. You can and should apply this to every physical area that you can.

Third, if we use the gifts that Hashem gives us for holy purposes, those very same items become spiritual vessels for an abundance of future gifts and blessings! If a person eats food with the intention that it give his body the energy he needs to do mitzvot and learn Torah, it is very likely that Hashem will continue giving him good health and vitality so he can earn more “mitzvah points” and increase his reward in the world-to-come!

Okay, so we’ve got that covered. Now, what about those wicked ones?

It goes like this: let’s say you’re a baal teshuva and your parents come to visit you over Shabbat. I know this is a very infrequent and unlikely scenario, but just play along, okay? So, your parents or in-laws decide to bite the bullet and come over for Shabbat, because they haven’t seen the grandkids in over a year, and they’re willing to put up with a little (or a lot) of noise for 25 hours. If they’re smart, they’ll bring earplugs.

The kids are super excited, and are nearly jumping out of their skin by the time Friday afternoon rolls around. Before you know it, your parents are at the door, ready to begin a fun-filled electricity-free marathon. They’ve probably got their iPad snuck away in their luggage, but the kids don’t need to know that. Let’s assume, in this scenario, that you decide to act “in their best interests” and confiscate the iPad without your folks realizing it. Oh, what a fun Shabbat this is going to be!

Friday night begins, and the kids are nearly tripping over Saba (grandfather) in their excitement on the way to shul. Savta (grandmother) is helping Imma in the kitchen and setting the table. Everything seems great. Over an hour later, the guys arrive home to the heavenly smell of matzah ball soup and challah. Dinner passes with much happiness and excitement, and S&S are exhausted and black and blue from the wild monkeys jumping all over them during the meal.

The next morning dawns, and without much time to rest, Saba is being dragged to shul for a three hour service. Here’s where the fun really starts. Saba, who is used to relaxing by the pool on Shabbat mornings, now has to sit through a service that he can’t understand a word of, in a room that is a bit too stuffy and filled with people who desperately need to use deodorant. Savta is hanging back with the ladies of the house, and she thought she would just relax in bed and watch a few minutes of whatever show is popular on Saturday mornings.

You know that sound in the movies when things suddenly screech to a stop? Just imagine that sound as Savta frantically searches through her suitcase and comes to the horrific realization that her iPad has been secretly confiscated. Is her daughter an undercover TSA agent? Party’s over, lady. Now, she actually has to pass the time making human-to-human contact instead of hiding behind a screen, anonymously sharing deep thoughts and life advice with friends she’s never met on Facebook. Oh, whatever will she do??

Saba returns home with the rest of the gang from shul, tired, annoyed, and hungry for food and internet. He nearly blows his toupee right off when he finds out that his connection with the outside world has been cut off for the rest of the day. How will S&S get through the entire day without internet, without electricity, without driving, and without their beloved pool? They can’t even play hangman, for God’s sake!

While Abba is singing Shabbat songs with the kids and delighting in a day filled with holiness and family, the grandparents are suffering from what they perceive to be the day that will never end. If you’ve ever watched a clock for a few minutes, you know how slow time can go. That’s what this day turned into for S&S. How could people live like this? You can’t do this, you can’t do that… it’s pure torture!

Now, we can begin to understand the original insight. The materialistic-oriented people get their reward in this world because the world-to-come is a world filled with pure spirituality and nothing else! If a person doesn’t already live a spiritually-oriented life in this world, then what good is the world-to-come for him? He won’t appreciate it, says Rav Dessler. Therefore, he gets his reward here, in this world, because that is what he appreciates.

We can clearly see how the reverse applies as well. If a person lives with the understanding that material things have no intrinsic value, then Hashem will not give such a person reward which is just physical. That would be equivalent to short-changing the guy. Therefore, He withholds the reward for a time when this person can experience it to its maximum benefit.

There is a saying that Shabbat is a taste of the world-to-come. If that is the case, it is a good indicator of where we stand spiritually, now. Where are we holding on the materialism/spirituality continuum? Now is the time to take an honest look.

Instead of spending time online killing your brain cells, read books that will push the boundaries of your thinking, such as the aforementioned tremendous book. And, while you’re enhancing your mental capabilities, why don’t you also work on enhancing your spiritual capabilities? Think of it as a two for one deal. If you haven’t yet answered the basic question, “What is life all about?”, then what are you waiting for? Read The Garden of Emuna and The Garden of Gratitude, like, yesterday!