In the Merit of Mitzvot
“Better one hour of repentance and good deeds in this world than the entire life of the World to Come, and better one hour of spiritual bliss in the World to Come than the entire life of this world” (Avot 4).
Rabbi Dessler (Michtav Me’Eliyahu I, pg. 4, in the name of Rabbi Brody, zt”l) explains the Mishnah as follows: The entire life of this world means the following: If we were to encapsulate all of the hours and moments of pleasure which a person experienced throughout his life, and add to it all of the moments of pleasure that his friends experienced throughout their lives, and place this pleasure into one person, can we measure the level of joy he would have?
Moreover, if we were to include all of the pleasures of one’s townsmen throughout their lives, plus the pleasures of everyone who lived in the entire country, and the pleasures of every person in the entire world, how great would it be?
Now add all of the pleasures of an entire generation, all concentrated into one moment, and bestowed upon one person. How tremendous that would be.
But this is not the definition of the entire life of this world. This level can be attained only by combining all of the moments of bliss of all generations from the beginning of time until the End of Days. Every measure of happiness, without exception, granted to one person in one bursting moment is the epitome of ecstasy in this world. Nevertheless, one moment of pleasure in the World to Come is greater than all this.
Rabbi Chananya ben Akashia says, “Hakadosh Baruch Hu wished to confer merit upon Yisrael. Therefore, He gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundance, as it is said, ‘Hashem desired for the sake of its [Israel’s] righteousness, that the Torah be made great and glorious’” (Mishneh, Makkot 3).
The mitzvah that a person does illuminates his path like a light (Metzudat David, Mishlei 6:23).
Why is there no final ף' in the entire Grace after Meals? To teach that whoever blesses with concentration is sparedא*ף~ וקצ*ף~ (Hashem’s anger and wrath), and his food is readily available, in an honorable manner, all of his days (Be’er Heitev, Orach Chaim 185a).
