In the Future, No Trace of This World Will Remain | Parshat Shemot from the Teachings of Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a
"And he led the flock behind the wilderness" (Exodus 3:1)
At first glance, this appears to be a simple description of a faithful shepherd seeking pasture for his flock. However, our Sages see in this a profound spiritual journey: Why behind the wilderness? Because Moshe Rabbeinu was not content with the ordinary wilderness; he sought the most remote and distant place, where no human foot treads and no voice disturbs. Precisely there, in solitude and detachment from this world, a person can truly draw close to his Creator, free himself from the illusions of materialism, and understand that physical reality is a fleeting illusion.
The message is clear – if one wants to discover the "diamond within," one must stop polishing the box and start refining the neshamah (soul).
These are the holy words of our teacher Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a:
What is behind the wilderness? What does "and he went behind the wilderness" mean? Did Moshe go to seek better pasture? A more excellent pasture? Rabbi Avraham ben HaRambam says – Moshe went to seek a wilderness beyond a wilderness, he was not satisfied with just any wilderness, he sought a wilderness that was far from all other wildernesses, a wilderness where no one passes, no foot treads, where only there he could reach his perfection, truly cleave to Hashem, know that there is none besides Him, know that he has no connection to this world, no connection to anything, and reach the ultimate nullification.
A person must be stripped of all materialism, to know that there is no materialism, there is no world at all, this world is a dream, an illusion, says the holy Zohar (Shelach Lecha) – In the future, no trace of this world will remain, not even a hair's breadth, nothing! No houses, no possessions, no problems, no troubles, nothing will remain of this world, as long as a person still has any memory of this world, he cannot come to his rectification, only if he is afflicted and purified from the desires, from the illusions of this world, until he forgets everything, that he has no memory of this world! A person cannot enter the World to Come if he has anything from the body, anything from this world. Because in the World to Come there are no houses, no food, nothing, everything is completely different, the body becomes a neshamah, no point will remain from this world.
It is told about R' Shimshon from "the forest" – who was a Breslov chassid who served Hashem day and night with great strength and enthusiasm, who suddenly passed away and came in a dream to R' Avraham Berenyu, the grandson of our Rebbe, and told him the entire order of his departure "R' Natan came to me and took me to our holy Rebbe, the Rebbe said to me – who says you are a Breslov chassid? You were in Uman, you ascended to the tomb, you had self-sacrifice? That's all true, but being a Breslov chassid is not so simple, it doesn't come easily, I have a notebook, let's check the records, the Rebbe took the notebook and said... it's okay, you are listed in my notebook, you are a Breslov chassid, but you still have a scent of this world!" As long as a person has any point from this world, any attachment to this world, any scent of materialism, of worldly desire, he cannot reach his place in heaven "Two angels came and took me to the river of fire – a river of fire, and immersed me... what can I say about the magnitude of the suffering and pain that were in this immersion, they were beyond measure, there are no such sufferings in the entire world, yet also the magnitude of the pleasure that comes after the immersion is beyond measure – after the immersion R' Natan returned with me to our Rebbe zt"l, our Rebbe responded to me and said, you still feel the world in you, go immerse again" There must be no emunah (faith) in this world, no connection to the world, no attachment to the world, until a person is completely free of all the scent of the world, all the impurity of this world, he cannot enter the World to Come "and R' Natan returned with me to immerse again, when I returned to our Rebbe, our Rebbe said to me: indeed, you have been purified."
We want eternal life, the body is just a box, the body is just a box for the neshamah, why did Hashem create us with a body? It's only so that the neshamah doesn't ascend above before its time, the neshamah has nothing to do here in this world, it always wants to return above to its root, it has no connection to this world – eating again, drinking again, it's already tiresome! A person must eat because otherwise the neshamah will escape, the moment he doesn't eat the neshamah will depart and return to its root. The neshamah doesn't want to be here! 120 years is already the maximum for it, it has no more strength, it already wants to leave here, it already wants to leave here, up to 120 years it still holds on, but it only holds on by eating, therefore one must always care for the needs of the body. But truly the body is just a box for the neshamah, like there is a diamond inside a box and there is someone who all day cares for the box, refurbishes the box –
You polish the box all day, care for it, there is a diamond inside, the main thing is the diamond! The main thing is the neshamah! Refurbish the diamond! Polish the diamond!, you are a divine thing, why are you polishing the box?! For it to have shine? You polish it all day, in the end, it won't even have shine from all the polishing, because nothing will remain of this body, of this box. This box covers something, there is a diamond inside! Look for the diamond. Every person has two paths as it is written – "See, I have set before you life and good, and death and evil"..."and you shall choose life" Do we need to tell a person not to choose death?
It is written "life...and good...death and evil" who is foolish and chooses evil? Who chooses death? But it is a sign that here in this world everything is confused, everything is upside down death seems like life, materialism and desires seem to a person like good life, and life – Torah and kedushah (holiness) seem like death, therefore the Torah says be careful! It could be that what you think is life – is actually death, be careful! You could die "and you shall choose life" choose Torah, kedushah, purity.
Everyone has long, long battles, there were so many who entered kedushah and the service of Hashem, and there were many who could not withstand the trials, could not hold on. The moment bad thoughts come, desires, a simple person breaks, he says maybe this battle is not for me, do you have another way?! "and you shall choose life" there is good and there is evil... there is no middle, there is no such thing as this is not for me, if you do not choose life you choose death! You could deteriorate, you could leave the Torah, fail in forbidden sights, etc., therefore you must choose life.
Because truly if a person wants to draw close to Hashem if he only wants, then nothing stands in the way of will, nothing will stand in the way of divine will, what a person wants he will achieve as R' Natan brings in Likutei Halachot – that people who wanted to become wealthy would travel to diamond mines, travel to distant places within jungles, among Indians, within deserts, and most people would be killed on the way, they traveled with self-sacrifice to earn a kilo of gold, a kilo of diamonds. So for Hashem, for kedushah, a person will not make self-sacrifice? Let him learn from the sitra achra how people strive in the sitra achra, people in universities sit at night, study all night, do not sleep for a few things of vanity, of a fleeting world, so we, for kedushah, will not study Torah? Will not strive?