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And when God created Adam and Eve,
the truth is they were created to live
forever.
Death is an aftermarket addition to the
entire story of creation. Creation is
forever life.
Belief in Tchiat Hametim it seems to
concern an event that may not occur for
a very very long time. So, the question
now is why is belief in it so essential
to our faith as Jews? And what practical
relevance does it have for a Jew living
today? Wow, that was long. I got
distracted. I'm going to read it again.
Just kidding. We'll start with the basic
idea that first of all every every law
and every truth in the Torah that have
been given to us by God
is is essential and eternal. And we
don't have the right to dismiss any any
truth that that are God's and that he
chose to reveal to us. And so, since the
Torah itself when when learned correctly
uh testifies to the truth of of the
resurrection of the dead Tchiat Hametim,
so we are duty-bound to accept it. And
not accepting it would include us in in
in the groups of people that that that
um put aside the laws and and truths of
the Torah, heretics. We have no no we
don't have the freedom to negate and
reject a truth that Moshiach
told us about. And he is of course all
of the Torah comes through Moshiach. So,
that's the basic idea of why it's so
central and so important and why we must
be aware of it. I think just as a side
point, the fact that it's taking almost
6,000 years to see this happen,
after so much time people forget things.
Since it's been taking so long for this
to happen,
so that's why it's so important to be
emphasized and stressed. Because had we
have given up hope on Tchiat Hametzvah,
so we would be giving not only hope up
hope on on an important mitzvah, but the
central idea that is the the ultimate
purpose.
Now, I want to address a a point a point
and then from here I think we could
appreciate and understand really really
how important
more, especially leading closer and
closer to it happening God willing.
What is what is more difficult for God
to do so to speak? Nothing is really
difficult, but from our perspective what
can we say is more difficult for God? To
create a life from from a nonexistence
or to recreate something that was alive
and to bring it back to life? So, the
truth is it's a lot easier to bring back
someone that was alive to life than to
create a life from nothing. So,
that's that's the bigger the bigger
challenge is to create. Now, we believe
that God created us from nothing.
For some reason we're so attached to
this physical world and the idea of
death being so permanent that it's hard
for us to truly embrace and face the
fact that we will all be resurrected
body and soul and that that is a such an
intense idea for us that looks at death
as so permanent that it's it's a big
test of our faith.
The harder it is to believe in something
the bigger the reward is for believing
in it. Add to the fact how long we've
been living with this faith and not
giving up on it makes this a
tremendously meritorious mitzvah of ours
that we hold on to believing in God no
matter what that we will be resurrected
and those that have passed will be
resurrected and in fact that is the
ultimate purpose.
Let let's let's go back to the beginning
of the story of creation when God
created Adam and Eve.
The truth is they were created to live
forever.
Death is an aftermarket addition to the
entire story of creation. Creation is
forever life. And it suits a God that's
infinite and perfect to create something
that is forever and perfect. And the
ultimate life is a forever perfect life.
It's only after the sin of Adam and Eve
that death became a part of the story of
life. Now, what would it mean if that
death was a permanent death because God
got so upset and say angry
that he decided that I no longer want
you to live forever, Adam and Eve.
It would make no sense because God is
perfect and the foundation of creation
is is a forever unconditional perfect
love.
And since Adam and Eve were brought into
existence and us together with all of
humanity in this entire world, we're
brought into existence solely because
God decided that he wanted to love. That
love is infinite, forever, perfect, and
unconditional in its in its highest
level.
It is channeled through this concept of
reward and punishment, but it's in its
source, in its origin, it is an absolute
100% infinite unbound love.
And that is what Adam and Eve were
created with, that love. And the entire
world, the foundation of this entire
world is that love every moment.
And so death is only a part of a process
of rectification. Death is a way for us
to fix the damage and blemish in the
world. And so And death is a temporary
thing. What do you say about T'chiyas
HaMeisim?
So, we know that the Rambam has 13
principles of faith, and the 13th, last
one, is the belief in T'chiyas HaMeisim,
the resurrection of the dead.
And the question is, again, very short,
what is so important about T'chiyas
HaMeisim?
Especially in light of the fact that
it's not going to occur for many, many
years. Let's say I don't believe in it.
Why is that so important and so relevant
and so fundamental to me living as a
day-to-day Jew?
So, of course, we know the res-
resurrection of the dead is the ideal
that righteous Jewish souls will come
back in the end of time
and live in a perfect existence.
But really, that's not the full story.
Because T'chiyas HaMeisim
is a central ideal and a central
principle, a central concept in the real
in creation of the world.
Hashem created an entire world, an
entire existence.
Many, many things over many, many years.
People, animals, time, rocks and trees.
And the mission in the end of others
says that everything in this world was
created
for the glory of God.
And God created everything
to glorify him
with a potential.
Every human being has its potential.
Every moment has its full potential. And
God created that potential into
existence.
Now, what does it mean
when a person doesn't live to his
potential?
What does it mean when a moment of time
is not being lived to its potential?
What does that mean? Does that mean that
God wasted it?
Does that mean that God created
something that was wasted?
Does that mean that God put a reality in
the world that really didn't come to its
fullest?
How could that be?
How is that possible?
Especially that he created it really to
honor him and for his glory.
So, what happens to that?
So, we are told by the cabalists and the
great rabbis over many years
that really in the end of the day
every existence
will
reach potential.
Everything in this world that God
created
will in the end come to its fullest
potential that God created it, its full
capacity that God
had in mind for it to do.
All of energy, all of matter,
everything, every human being.
But really all of creation will
ultimately come to its full potential.
We in our lives are just living in the
beginning of a story.
Part one.
Now, we look at it
and we're very focused and hyper-focused
on this act in this scene because we're
alive now. And then we see, sadly,
people die and it's as if it's over.
But we know that there's a world after
this.
Where there's going to be
the world of
of of of justice, the world where you
get you get reward for your good deeds
and you get punished for your bad deeds.
But apparently, that's not the end.
Because there's Olam Haba. There's Yom
Shekulo Shabbat.
There are many worlds and many
existences that are going to happen
after this world.
And somehow in that process,
everything is going to come to its full
potential.
And this is really the idea of Techiyas
HaMeisim.
That any moment in life,
any person who we deem is dead, Meisim,
dead,
he killed the time.
He killed his ability. He killed his
potential.
He killed what what could have been.
That's not exactly true. It's true for
our life.
And it's true for the existence we're in
right now. And we have to live every
moment to its fullest.
I'll explain why in a minute. But in the
end of the day, there will be a
Techiyah.
There will be a resurrection. There will
come a time and place in this world that
everything will come to its full
potential.
And that will happen through the grace
of God.
And through the purpose. That is the
entire purpose of this world. Otherwise,
why did he create it?
Now, why do we have to live in this
world in the in the best way possible?
Because it's best to do the best you can
in the beginning. Because who knows what
the Who knows what other processes have
to happen if you mess up in this world?
Who knows what's going to be in the end?
God created us and he wants us to do our
best.
And he gave us mitzvahs and he gave us
commandments. And he expects us to do
what we're meant to do.
And we try our best. And it'll be good
for us to do the best can. And God
doesn't waste our time and doesn't
direct us in the wrong way. All the
mitzvahs will lead us to good. And
staying away from sin will lead us
to even better.
But we should know, and we have to live
with this fundamental truth, that in the
end of the day, it's not all lost. In
the end of the day, we do the best we
can.
But in the end of the day, everything
will come to its purpose. And there will
be a resurrection of every single dead
moment, dead potential,
dead ideal that will all come to its
full glory. And that is in the end of
the day to glorify Hashem's name
in the way that he intended.
>> Let's look at another aspect of this and
then it will all I think really will
look so much appreciate this even more.
Body and soul seemingly are two separate
creations. A soul is spiritual and a
body is physical. So we have two
opposite types of beings that God
decides to put together
in a as like I call it a couple
into a body and soul that function
together in this world. A soul comes
from the the heavenly world and the body
comes from earth.
The truth is according to Pirkei De
Rabbi Eliezer, a great great great deep
book from one of the greatest sages,
according to more mystical and spiritual
ideas, both body and soul both have
their origin in the higher spiritual
realms.
It's just that body was sent to earth
and after the sin became blemished and
the soul remains more spiritual and more
pure, but the the odd couple combination
of body and soul
is in order to bring back body and soul
together in a love and unity that was
what it was meant to be from the
beginning. And so look at what happens
after a person lives their life. After
after 70, 80, 100 years person dies and
the body is buried in the earth. And the
soul goes to Gan Eden ultimately. And so
the soul is in this wonderful place,
we'll call it a a world of pleasure and
bliss and and and it's unbelievable. The
soul is in a great place and it's having
a great time, but it's not a perfect
experience. Why? Imagine two partners in
life, husband and wife that spent their
entire lives together
becoming
such
developing a oneness to such a degree
that that separating would be like
tearing one thing apart. Imagine tearing
a one thing into two.
Body and soul after 70, 80 years in this
world form an unbelievable oneness
connection through the way the Torah and
the mitzvahs, serving Hashem, the bond
is is infinite. It's It's It's a
oneness. They literally become one. And
then at the end of this entire wonderful
life, BODY AND SOUL ARE TORN APART.
Body is buried in the earth and the soul
is in the wonderful five-star resort in
heaven.
That cannot be the end of the story.
What kind of loyalty is that? What kind
of payback is that for a loyal body that
was the house and the
vessel and vehicle that the soul did
everything it could do?
Without a body, a soul can't do
anything. Without a soul, a body can't
do anything. The ultimate partnership of
body and soul is also meant to represent
this beautiful love relationship between
a husband and wife and it should be a
forever love.
And therefore, it has to be that
ultimately the end of this is body and
soul coming back together to live
together in the perfect state that we
were meant to attain after 6,000 years
of the hard work that we've been
through, the Jewish nation as a as a
whole and each individual. There's not a
day that goes by that I don't suffer,
that you don't suffer, that we all don't
suffer. And all the people alive today
and all the people alive from day one,
the amount of hard work and suffering
that we've invested into our world to
come
is is
is just an indication of how
unbelievable it's going to be because
love is greater than God's punishment.
God's love is infinite and and God's
punishment is only a means to an end.
And so, everything we've been working
for and working towards is this
unbelievable amazing unity and oneness,
us body and soul and and and body and
soul together with God in a perfect,
infinite, eternal world.
And so, not knowing what we're here for
and why we're suffering and why we're
working so hard and why we They given up
would be just like a blind person being
strolled through the streets not even
understanding where he is and what he's
doing and why he's doing it.
And so of course we have to believe and
live with this and hold on to it because
this is what we're living for. This is
what we're serving Hashem for. To
fulfill his ultimate ratzon and will to
to give us and bring us to this perfect
world.