The Secret of the Resurrection of the Dead and Uprooting the Trait of Jealousy
Lesson No. 108 | Wednesday, Parashas Ki Tavo, 15 Elul 5757
According to the Midrash, the time of resurrection for each person depends on the degree of decay of his body in the dust, which stems directly from the degree of jealousy in his heart. Through hisbodedus (secluded prayer), humility, and being happy with one's lot, a person can uproot jealousy, be saved from chibut hakever (the beating of the grave), and merit immediate resurrection.
In Midrash Tanchuma (Parashas Eikev) and Tractate Sanhedrin (99a), a dispute is brought regarding the duration of the days of Mashiach. Rabbi Eliezer says forty years, Rabbi Dosa says four hundred years, and Rebbi says: three hundred and sixty-five years, corresponding to the days of the solar year. The Gemara derives this from the verse:
"For a day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redemption has come" (Isaiah 63:4).
Rashi explains that every day of those 365 years is considered like a day of Hashem, which is a thousand years, as it is stated: "For a thousand years in Your eyes are but as yesterday." It turns out that the days of Mashiach, until the Resurrection of the Dead, will last 365,000 years, and during this time souls will have to undergo reincarnations again and again.
In the Midrash HaNe'elam in the holy Zohar (Toldos, 140a), a deep resolution is brought for all these Midrashim. The Midrash asks: Who will merit to live in those days? And it answers that there will be many resurrections of the dead. Every person will have his own private resurrection. The tzaddikim (righteous ones) will rise first, before the rest of mankind. Rabbi Yehuda says they will precede by 210 years, Rabbi Yitzchak says by 214 years. But the Amora Rabbi Nachman gives us the hope and the true explanation: the time of resurrection depends "according to the measure that is swallowed in the dust." Meaning, every person will be resurrected according to the time it takes for his body to crumble and decay in the dust.
Jealousy - Rotting of the Bones
Why must a person's body crumble in the dust? The answer lies in the trait of jealousy. The Gemara tells of Rav Achai bar Yoshiya, whose body was not ruled by worms and maggots, and he testified about himself: "I had no jealousy." Whoever does not have a drop of jealousy does not need to crumble at all, because the entire measure of decay in the dust is exactly according to the percentage of jealousy a person has.
In the book Shaar HaGilgulim (Introduction 23), it is brought that there is no atonement for the trait of jealousy. "All sins and blemishes have a *tikkun* (rectification), except for jealousy. Jealousy is a complete *kelipah* (impure husk) that has no atonement whatsoever." Teshuvah (repentance) does not help for jealousy, and even Yom Kippur does not help. The only tikkun is chibut hakever (the beating of the grave), as it is stated: "The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh." Jealousy causes a person to eat himself, and therefore the soul beats the limbs in the grave in order to destroy this kelipah.
A person who has jealousy will always find excuses for it. He decides that he deserves a certain amount, that everyone is robbing him, that he is the only one being deprived. "Jealousy creates illusions for a person, builds palaces for him, and makes him feel that he is only being robbed and deprived." This is such a tough kelipah that nothing can convince the person that he is wrong, and therefore he needs to undergo many reincarnations and crumble again and again for 365,000 years.
The Judgment of David and the Advice of Avshalom
In order to understand how jealousy and resentment operate, let us observe what would happen in the court of King David. Avshalom would stand outside the courthouse, and to anyone who emerged liable in judgment, Avshalom would say: "If you had come to me, I would have acquitted you."
There was an incident with a poor man who owed a thousand dollars to a rich man and did not return it on time. When they came to judgment, the poor man argued: "I washed his floors a bit, I watched his child, I planted a rose in his yard - my calculation says this is worth a thousand dollars." King David, who saw the truth, immediately ruled: "You must pay him the thousand dollars. These small things are not worth this amount."
The poor man left the courthouse broken and depressed, fearing his wife's reaction. King David, in his mercy, immediately sent a swift horseman to the poor man's house with an envelope containing a thousand dollars. The money was already waiting for him at home, but the poor man did not know this. On the way, Avshalom met him and began to inflate his jealousy: "You are certainly innocent! You helped his child cross the road, you worked in the scorching heat and the snow - that is worth at least three thousand dollars!" The poor man returned home inflated with pride and jealousy, and when he saw the thousand dollars that David had sent, he still complained to his wife: "I deserve another two thousand!" This is how jealousy operates - it blinds a person from recognizing the good that is given to him.
The Secret of "Let a Little Water be Brought"
In order to emerge from the kelipah of jealousy, we must learn from Avraham Avinu. When the angels came to him, he said to them:
"Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and recline under the tree" (Genesis 18:4).
Avraham Avinu wanted to remove from them jealousy and the dust of idolatry. The word "avak" (dust) has the numerical value (gematria) of 103, which hints at "egel" (the Golden Calf, a sin that stemmed from jealousy of Moshe Rabbeinu), and this is the opposite of "emunah" (faith), which has the numerical value of 102.
Avraham drew supernal lights down upon them. The words "na me'at mayim" (let a little water) equal exactly 260 in gematria (na=51, me'at=119, mayim=90), which is ten times the name Havayah (Hashem's four-letter name, equaling 26). The words "veyukach na" (and let be brought) equal 378, which is exactly the gematria of "chashmal" (spiritual electricity/energy) and "malbush" (garment). Avraham enveloped them in a garment of spiritual chashmal in order to purify them.
But the question is asked: Why did Avraham say "a little water"? A person walking in the desert is thirsty for a lot of water! Rather, Avraham immediately saw that he was speaking with angels. His words were tailored to whoever stood before him. For pure and refined angels, "a little water" is enough.
The Wisdom of Our Mother Rivkah
We find a similar concept regarding our mother Rivkah. Eliezer, the servant of Avraham, sought a wife for Yitzchak who was not only kind and modest, but also intelligent and wise, for it is impossible to establish the Jewish people with a foolish woman.
Her modesty was evident when he said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink from your pitcher." She did not present the pitcher directly in front of his face; rather, "she lowered her pitcher upon her hand" — she offered it to him from the side. However, her wisdom and Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration) were revealed immediately afterward. She said: "I will also draw water for your camels until they have finished drinking." She did not say, "I will give them to drink," but rather, "I will draw water."
Rivkah, with her sharp eye, saw that the camels had just arrived from the Land of Israel via Kefitzas HaDerech (miraculous shortening of the way). A camel that walks for a month in the desert arrives exhausted and emaciated, but these camels were fresh and not sweating. She immediately understood that they had flown through the air and were not truly thirsty. Therefore, she said, "I will draw water" — I will merely draw the water, and they will drink the little they need on their own.
The Tikkun (Rectification): Hisbodedus and Rejoicing in One's Lot
In order to be saved from those 365,000 years of reincarnations and decaying in the dust, Rebbe Nachman comes and gives us the simplest and most profound advice: "Everyone has the choice to do an hour of Hisbodedus (secluded prayer) every day, and not to enter into doubts and questions, so that he will not have to return again in a reincarnation."
One who lives with doubts and questions will have complaints even when Mashiach comes. He will ask why Mashiach ruled this way, and why Mashiach's son did otherwise. The only way to pass through this world in peace and merit the Resurrection of the Dead immediately upon passing, without crumbling in the dust, is to uproot jealousy from its very source.
How do we accomplish this? Through an hour of Hisbodedus. To believe with complete emunah (faith) that I am the lowest person in the world, and to rejoice in my lot. To rejoice in the very fact that Hashem created me, that I merited to wake up in the morning, to put on tefillin, and to come to pray. One who lives with such joy, without jealousy and without doubts, merits the lights of holiness and the complete Resurrection of the Dead.
Part 2 of 2 — Lesson No. 108
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