Securing Eternity

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

MISHNA: Anyone who performs 1 mitzva has goodness bestowed upon him, his life is lengthened, and he inherits the World-to-Come. And anyone who does not perform 1 mitzva does not have goodness bestowed upon him, his life is not lengthened, and he does not inherit the World-to-Come.

GEMARA: There’s a contradiction from another mishna (Pe’a 1:1): “These are the [5] matters that a person engages in and enjoys their fruits in this world, but the principle reward remains for him for the World-to-Come, and they are: Honoring one’s father and mother, acts of loving kindness, hospitality toward guests, bringing peace between one person and another, and Torah study is equal to all of them.”

This mishna stating 5 matters, conflicts with the mishna which said there’s only 1 mitzvah that entitles one to the World to Come. 

Rav Yehuda said, “This is the meaning: Anyone who performs 1 mitzva in addition to his other merits (51 mitzvas and 50 sins) and thereby tips the scale of all his deeds to the side of righteousness, has goodness bestowed upon him, and is compared to one who fulfills the entire Torah.” But does this truly mean with regard to those 5 mitzvas listed in the mishna in Pe’a, that one is rewarded even for 1 of them, even if his sins are more numerous?  Rav Shemaya answered, “No, if one had only 1 mitzvah even of these 5, it does not tilt the scales when his sins were more abundant. The first mishna means if one’s sins were 50, and his merits were 50, but one of his merits was 1 of these 5 mitzvas in Pe’a, that mitzvah tilts the scale in his favor” [due to its superior goodness].

In short, the 5 mitzvas in Pe’a are greater than all other mitzvas; they tip the scale even when the number of mitzvas and sins are equal. So we must understand what is their greatness.

Honoring parents is found on the first of the 2 Tablets, those 5 laws addressing man ’s relationship with God. The second Tablet addresses man’s relationship with other people. We would think honoring parents belongs on the second Tablet. However, honoring parents targets our acceptance of authority in human terms, ultimately to be transferred to God: “Parents bring us to this world, but God brings us to eternal life,” as we are taught. Parents serve as a model for our acceptance of the Ultimate Authority. God could have made all mankind as He made Adam and Eve, created from the dust. But God created the institution of parents for this great purpose. Prior to our arrival at Mount Sinai at Marah, the Jewish nation received three laws: honoring parents, courts and law, and Sabbath. These laws present a progression. As children we recognize parents as our first authorities. As we develop, we recognize governmental authority, and finally recognize God through Sabbath. These laws helped prime the nation for accepting Torah at Sinai from the Ultimate Authority.

Furthermore, honoring parents perfects our souls (reward in World-to-Come) because we receive the least amount of recognition. This is due to the parents’ obvious expectation of their children’s unwavering and unquestioned attentiveness, often not met with a parent’s “Thank you.” As our parents’ health declines, greater and more frequent selfless effort is required of us. The greatness of honoring parents is in one’s selflessness. The other mitzvas also share this selflessness: loving kindness, hospitality toward guests, bringing peace between others. 

How is selflessness in these 4 mitzvas such a perfection, that our souls reap the true reward in the World-to-Come? 

The lesson is that acting in line with reality—God’s will—is the height of human perfection, earning us God’s promise of eternal life. This means we abandon our egos and view all mankind as God’s will: that all others attain all their material and spiritual needs, and we help others attain these. Recognizing others have needs likes our own, we don’t place ourselves first. There’s no reason to, we are no more special than the next person. A rabbi once said that the happiest day of his life was when he was on a ship sitting among the luggage, and a brazen base fellow urinated on him. The Rabbi sensed no aggression, and because of that, he was happy that he finally conquered his ego. 

This is a great level where one has conquered his most powerful emotion of self-aggrandizement and treats others as equals and has no ego: “And the man Moses was exceedingly more humble than any man on the face of the Earth” (Num. 12:3).  Abraham displayed this when serving 3 strangers humbly, with exceeding energy and generosity. Rivka did so too, as well as all other matriarchs and patriarchs. We treat others as God treats them: they all have existence as is God’s will in creating them, and we endorse God’s will by treating all others with kindness. Thereby, we attain the height of human perfection by embodying God’s will. Therefore, as we value God’s will, God grants us eternal life to learn even more of God’s will for eternity. 

But there is one level greater than moral perfection as the mishna concludes, “and Torah study is equal to all of them.” This is because moral perfection is not an end in itself. It is only preparatory for one to have complete freedom from his emotions so his intelligence is free to pursue greater wisdom, untapped by emotions, where one can grow in knowledge and love of God with the “greatest intensity,” “Bichol M’Odecha” (Deut. 6:5). Knowledge of God’s wisdom is our objective, not simply moral perfection.