The "Afterlife Loop: Reincarnation, Divine Judgement & The Messianic Era | Kabbalah Q&A R' Botton

Now, that the afterlife is very mysterious, we don't have a lot of details about it, but does Judaism say anything about whether we're going to be with our families or with our loved ones in the world to come? It depends. [clears throat] If you're talking about going to hell, certainly they'll be with you. There is a connection with family, parents, brothers. There's a strong connection between people that are close to each other, but there's also the concept of reincarnation and a bigger connection, soul connection that we have in a broader sense to souls. And past again, the the story's much more layered. There's you've been here maybe 20 times or maybe we've been here so many times. So, it's a multiply layered type of story when we get there. We're not just It's not like me and my brothers. It's It's It's brothers that you you had in many lifetimes, brothers and sisters and relatives and you accomplished things and part of you accomplished this, another part of you accomplished that. It's a very very fascinating as we learn more and more Kabbalah and the writings of the Arizal, we're becoming more and more aware of this. And when Messiah comes, we'll be even more aware of it. Well, I mean, there's not much more to add to that. There are there are different worlds. There's Olam Haba. There's There's the days of Messiah. There's, you know, the all these like, you know, five or six different worlds that we're going to be coming to. So, what's going to happen when Messiah comes in the different levels of the days of Messiah. And of course, all the famous questions, which body are you going to stand up with from different reincarnations? And you know, how is it going to look? And are you going to be your soul back in your body? Is it going to be a total soul world at the end of days or are we going to go back in our body? Which body are we going to go back into? All these questions will as the sham be found out soon enough when Messiah comes. Now, it's a really fitting for this occasion, which is the the passing of my brother in a car accident at 21 years old. We do know that on the day that a person died, he's judged every year that same day. And it's not a judgment because God forgot something the first year. It's a fascinating deep idea. I'll share it now because it fits for the occasion that we're here. There's many levels of truth and if they're all true. It's It's really depends on how how much you want to focus on and how how macro or micro you want to look at things. A general judgment that will you'll get when you when a person dies is going to going to decide whether he's how what was considered bad on that first look and deal with it. But, it doesn't it doesn't go to the essence of everything they did bad. They would destroy the soul if he was judged for everything he did bad in one shot. So, every year he's rejudged with a bit more scrutiny. Let's use a lens as an example. You can have a wide lens and you can have that lens but whatever one focal point narrow it until you get to the very very narrow lens. Every year you're you're you're judged with more scrutiny. And ultimately, what's the point of this multiple judgments that the person's going to be judged and punished and passed to fix for every single year forever. So, the Arizal mentions a person that was being judged for something he did going back maybe a thousand years. This is a of judgment. Because we go little by little. And it's ultimately in order to bring the soul to the most perfect, truest sense of completion and purity and holiness that it can be as close as possible to the purest of good God himself and and and in the highest level of spiritual bliss. And so, the the work and the judgment and the and the rectification that we have to go through over and over again is almost like a I don't want to listen to a joke, but a Groundhog's Day of of judgment. You're judged every single year again and again and again. But, we want to be judged every year again and again and again because that that the the where we where we wind up after the judgment is in a better place. And so, God is just constantly bringing us closer and closer, higher and higher to a better and better place until ultimately Mashiach when we will all return to the most perfect place we could ever imagine is is is Mashiach. When a person wants to take steps towards controlling their eyes, like a lot of times that people are faced with is you know, once they go 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks and they're really working on this, they've consumed so much impurity, they fill their mind with so much nonsense that they have images, flashbacks, they have these kind of these kind of things that plague their minds, it circulate around, which can cause temptation, it can lead the person back to sin, but it also can lead a person to think, you know, am I a lost cause here? Like am I ever like it like my mom like how how are these thoughts ever supposed to leave my mind? And I think that concept applies to a lot of things. The person wants to start keeping kosher and they already they've been eating non-kosher their whole lives. We say that you know, the concept is like kosher food like it like destroys the soul in some eternal way. Like how would you encourage someone to say that they can get past that, they can become better, they become something like in a what what what what encouragement would you give to that concern? So, I want to just make two points. Uh a person could be lost, but there's never a there doesn't exist a they live a lost cause. Every person is redeemable. You're lost in order to to find your way back. Another thing, anything that's broken is actually broken in order to be fixed. The concept of broken is God instilled in the in the fabric of creation. It's because through falling and rising, we reach a true level of where we stand. Without falling and rising, we don't even have that level that we're standing. We think we've accomplished something. A self-made millionaire is a millionaire. Someone who inherited money is just a guy with a lot of money. And so, we fall to rise even stronger to a higher place. What's broken not only can be fixed, it must be fixed. And when you fix it, it reaches its perfection. And so, lost and found is what life is all about. We're sitting here in our simcha and everyone here is coming to do teshuvah. How does one not be fooled into his past? How does one not fall into despair of what he's done? This is the question that we're dealing with on a daily basis over here. Hashem made one of the most beautiful things, if not the most beautiful thing that Hashem made in this world before the world was even created, was the idea of teshuvah. Teshuvah is not that Hashem says, "If you say I'm sorry, I'll forgive you." Whatever. It's really rectifying your past. It's really truly not only in a way destroying what you've done in your past and destroying it in a good way, but rectifying it, though bringing it up. So, this is what it says, the makam shiva t'shuva omedin, in the place where a baal t'shuva stands, a feel tzadikim gamurim, even real tzadikim, in ya chalamer, are able to stand there. Why? Because they never had that temptation. Exactly because of this question. Exactly because someone who's never had a challenge in a specific area doesn't really know what he's missing out on. Doesn't really It doesn't really a challenge for him to grow from that place. He never was there. But a person who was there always naturally will have in the back of his mind that's a possibility. That world of eating cheeseburgers, that world of not being careful with my eyes, that world, that place exists and it's real. And I know that it's real because I've been there. And it's because of that challenge that we're constantly faced that we have to believe in ourselves. You have to believe that when you come closer to Hashem and you're trying to do t'shuva, Hashem is going to help you. And you have to believe that the t'shuva is real. And you have to believe that when I do t'shuva and I go through the steps of doing t'shuva, that place has become rectified. And part of the challenge is by believing that. Part of the challenge is truly believing in ourselves. And of course in that way we will no longer have the temptation or we will help ourselves not have the temptation to fall back there because we know that is not us. We don't identify with that anymore. Just as Hashem doesn't identify us with that past, we don't identify with that past. And that's the challenge of the baal t'shuva, to truly believe that where he stands now is no longer where he was. To truly believe that where he is right now and the place where he was no longer exists. And he's a new entity, he's a new briah. And this is the beautiful thing of t'shuva. I want to I want to take a different direction and approach to what we've been speaking about. It is an important idea, very famous idea and it's one that most people don't want to appreciate is that someone who was a sinner and you know, changes his ways and stops sinning, so we don't look at him as the as this Jewish hero. We have stories of Sadiq and that never sinned that do the entire Torah backwards and forwards before they even bar mitzvah. And so how do we compete? How do we compare? It's it's almost like a non-starter. I mean, I I lost before I even started. So why am I here? Why am I even in this world to begin with? If I can never come close to the the the likes of Moses, Moshe Rabbeinu. It's it's it's it's just a non-starter. So why why start? Why why did God create me? In the big picture with all these great great world figures, Jewish figures that were such Sadiqim, it makes me feel like a real big loser. I'll be honest with you. Nothing to do with my weight. Just a real big loser. So, I think it's important to share an idea from my brother in short and you know, it should be a school for the my brother that passed away also. My older brother passed away young, but my my twin brother, he has a beautiful insight. I think one of a kind gen, a gift from heaven, insight. He's aware of a teaching that God couldn't have only made the world with the strict attribute of justice and judgment, punishment. Gevurah. So he he he had to partner up with this measure of judgment and punishment with mercy. And my brother asks I think a question of one of these great Sadiqim. In this moment he was a Sadiq. Right now he's not even that religious, unfortunately struggling, but he's a great has a great soul and he's he's fighting. He's fighting as he's falling, he's fighting. That's the real power within a Jew that he never gives up on himself, on Hashem ever. But he said it's not true. God could have made a world with only the strict attribute of judgment because we know that the tsaddiqim can live up to that level of judgment. And when when Messiah comes, we will all reach the level of tsaddiqim and we'll all live on this level of the pure judgment. We won't need favors from God. We won't need mercy. We won't need freebies. So, he says, "You know, the answer is because the tsaddiqim, only the tsaddiqim, only the the purely holy and righteous can live up to that level of judgment. But the wicked [clears throat] can't." So, a very simple solution is offered God. Just get rid of the resha'im. Just get rid of the wicked people and you have a world uh that's built only on pure judgment and justice. But you see, God did not want a world of perfect people because that kind of world he could have had. Just get rid of the favors. Get rid of the freebies. So, he made a world with mercy and freebies because he wants those that are going to need that. And and so, we matter. We matter. The The not-so-perfect people, the not-so-perfect heroes matter as much, maybe more, if not more than than the perfect people. And I want to tell you the story of the baal teshuvah, the one who changes his ways. The reason why he stands in a place where the perfectly righteous can't is because getting up from a fall is much harder than just, you know, staying standing. And what a baal teshuvah accomplishes is infinitely greater than what a righteous person can ever accomplish. If you've never tasted sin, then you know what You don't know really know what it's like to beat sin. You've avoided this sin, but you didn't beat it. And so, the baal teshuvah is is a is a giant. It's what it's really all about. But it's not a pretty story. I'll tell you, I'm 53 years old and I feel that I started my path of teshuvah at the age of 20. Maybe 18. Now, I You want to know who what a person really is? Everyone knows himself. It's one thing to correct behavior and that's that's important and that's everything. In law and in practicality, changing your behavior your is is amazing and it's what it's all about. you can face the test of the things that are forbidden eating on kosher maybe behaving with women in a way that's not a proper the proper. If you can separate yourself from sin and no longer act in the way you acted before You you you you you you're a hero. But that's only a one level to control one's emotions and thoughts and dreams. You know dreams we have to deal with. It's not easy and that's another dimension and perspective I want to bring out in the bal teshuvah. The bal teshuvah suffers and fights on so many levels but let's understand what it means to be strong what it means to conquer. There's a conquering that you can do by being perfect your whole life and never even tasting sin but then there's a conquering that you can accomplish within a spiritual conquering in defeat. If someone is losing a battle and he gives up that's giving up but there's a fight within the defeat within the the drawn back when an army draws back but they continue to fight that's a very interesting kind of energy. You're losing and you're giving up and you're pulling away but you're still fighting. And this is what we call a reversed type of light that we can tap into in in the defeat but we don't let go. Even this even feeling bad that you had a bad thought that came from nowhere that is giving something to Hashem that is precious. And so we have to embrace who and what we are and realize it's just all for the sake of being real as real as we can ever possibly be and being really with Hashem. And we come in all shapes and sizes and we have millions of stories and they're not pretty stories they're real stories and they're valuable and precious to Hashem. The Zohar says that one who crushes his desires for for evil for bad creates a a greater than any light that's ever been seen. And that's what we're here to do. Do the Do the rain have any advice on how what a person need to do to help make a canyon on Torah learning tell to really acquire it? Well, I thought it was a very basic idea that I said everyone knows this is that learning without review is is not called learning. It's like planting seeds and not coming back to get the fruit that grow. So, we have to always train ourselves. It's not as fun as learning something new. It's going back to what you've learned. It's it's a discipline. Review is what all real learning is built off of. Okay? Number one. Number two, I think choose what you like, what you're excited about. The more you interested you are in what you're learning, the more you'll be happy about it and more you'll be excited about it and the more you'll retain it. Also, you know, when you repeat in words, when you speak out what you've learned by teaching, really talking out and teaching, explaining, sharing what you've learned with others also helps it become more internalized and will help you to certainly remember it. Writing out your thoughts will help you to remember it and and and and internalize it more. When you come to the Yeshiva, we have a great desire to learn, a great desire to grow. So, I'm not accusing you of this, but I am going to say that it's natural for a person to think that no matter what he did, it's not enough. No matter what he's done, he hasn't be hit the market he that he thinks he should hit. And it coming from a good place in here because a person's also has a drive. Without a drive, you won't push himself. But there has to be a balance. There has to be a balance at the end of the day in this world that yes, you push yourself. Yes, you could There are ways to retain information and there are different methods and different like I said, there's books that you could that you could read to how to study effectively. But at the end of the day, the main thing that a person has in this world that can make him connect to learning and that will help him learn and it will help him retain this information, it will make him proud of who he is for learning is learning with simcha, with joy, and being proud of what you've done. But, if your whole thing in life is, "I'm not doing it well enough. I'm not doing it good enough. I need to figure it out more. I forgot. I don't remember this. I can't believe I just learned this. I'm upset." What I see over here is that it's not the guys forgetting this that's the problem. It's that the guys are forgetting and then they feel bad about it, and they put themselves down, and they are not happy or prideful with with where they have come from. And I think that is much more important than I would have put than retaining the information. That should be a focus. And with that simcha, with that joy, your heart will open and your mind will open, and that you will have the ability to retain much more than if you're coming from a place of pressure and intensity and putting yourself down. I'd like to conclude with this verse. Hasidic interpretation of of the verse that the Torah of kindness is on your tongue. Torat chesed al lishona. And what they interpret it as this. God was kind to share his wisdom, his divine wisdom in Torah, with us. It's a kindness. The way water falls from a high place to a low place, God gives us his his supernal divine wisdom. He gives it to us. It was kindness that he did for us to give it to us. We have to be kind and share it with others. Torat chesed, the Torah of God's kindness should be on your tongue to tell over to others. You learned, now teach others. The the Lubavitcher Rebbe says famously, "If you know aleph, then go teach aleph. If you know bet, go teach bet. Because there's someone out there that doesn't even have that." Rebbe Yochanan ben Zakkai says a beautiful idea. He says, "If you've learned a lot of Torah, if you've been able to learn a lot of of godly wisdom, don't think that you're a good It's just such a great person. Al tigzi tovah l'atzmecha. Don't consider yourself so great. But, the drash, the words can be read, "Don't keep the good to yourself." Well, don't tigzi, don't hold on to the good for yourself. Ki lekachta Torah, because why did God give you the ability to learn his Torah? It was to share that good, cuz Torah is called good. Share that good Torah with others. Again, Torah the Torah of God should be on your tongue to teach it to others the way he allowed you to learn it from him.