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If you could see your olam haba now



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amother


 

Post Tue, Jul 15 2014, 8:29 pm
Totally theoretical & just for fun! Don't read too deeply into it just think about what your would do if this was you.
Picture this scenario:
By some miracle you are given the zechus to see what your olam haba looks like at this exact point in your life but what you see is totally not something you expected!
Your olam haba is spent in a tiny, dimly lit grey cast apartment which is sparsely furnished.
You are with your husband which is good but the two of you don't get a moments peace because you have to share this apartment with a really annoying roommate who never ever leaves.
Your olam Haba is really boring and depressing. You try to cry out to Hashem but you are told it's too late, because He only hears the cries of the living.
You can't escape or upgrade because you are told that this is the olam haba that YOU created.
You are also told that the olam Haba you create is based solely on your midot and your mitzvot Ben Adam lechavero.
You are seriously determined to create a better circumstance for yourself when the time comes.
You are not a bad person and you don't think you've done anything wrong to deserve such a lackluster ending, but you are also not a great person and you never really do anything outstanding. You are just kind of average.
What would you do differently after you were given this information? Do you even think it's possible to change your fate?
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amother


 

Post Tue, Jul 15 2014, 9:18 pm
I know u said not to think too deeply into your post, but I do want to address sth.

I don't believe in the whole "sparsely furnished" vs "beautifully furnished" room as a reward. R' akiva tatz likens our reward to a state of bliss experienced through intimate connection (our intimate life being a tiny preview of that state of ecstasy). In other words, the higher the neshama's level, the closer it will be to Hashem, and the greater its pleasure. A lower spiritual level is essentially farther away, and less pleasurable. Yeah, there may be gardens and other pretty things, but this in essence is what awaits us: a state of connection based on our spiritual level. If we aim to emulate Hashem's ways, we ultimately lead a G-dly life and merit coming closer to Him in the afterlife.

There's a longer and shorter version of a "harachaman hu" that is said on yom tov. The longer version ends with the words, "let us inherit the days... that tzaddikim sit with crowns on their heads basking in the rays of the shchinah."

Every moment of life is an opportunity to work on "v'halachta bidrachav" to merit a higher level of blissful eternity.
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gp2.0




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 15 2014, 9:22 pm
amother wrote:
You try to cry out to Hashem but you are told it's too late, because He only hears the cries of the living.


Huh????????? shock
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amother


 

Post Tue, Jul 15 2014, 9:23 pm
Op, you got me thinking in the right place. I wasn't focused on future lately. Life was just here and now for me for a while. You reminded me why I'm here. Thank you so much!
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amother


 

Post Wed, Jul 16 2014, 2:48 am
Gp- meaning that it's too late to change the situation.
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amother


 

Post Wed, Jul 16 2014, 2:49 am
Gp- meaning that it's too late to change the situation.
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FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 16 2014, 3:03 am
amother wrote:
Op, you got me thinking in the right place. I wasn't focused on future lately. Life was just here and now for me for a while. You reminded me why I'm here. Thank you so much!


I don't think about Olam Haba. I live right here and now, as that is when I am most capable of doing mitzvot. We're not here on earth just to kill time until we get to our "big reward", we're here to sanctify the name of G-d in every single thing we do and say. Somehow, NOT focusing on the future makes it easier for me to want to do the most good right NOW.
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Ruchel




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 16 2014, 6:57 am
It's not too late, we are not xtians. Read on gilgulim and neshama cleansing.
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gp2.0




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 16 2014, 10:32 am
amother wrote:
Totally theoretical & just for fun! Don't read too deeply into it just think about what your would do if this was you.
Picture this scenario:
By some miracle you are given the zechus to see what your olam haba looks like at this exact point in your life but what you see is totally not something you expected!
Your olam haba is spent in a tiny, dimly lit grey cast apartment which is sparsely furnished.
You are with your husband which is good but the two of you don't get a moments peace because you have to share this apartment with a really annoying roommate who never ever leaves.
Your olam Haba is really boring and depressing. You try to cry out to Hashem but you are told it's too late, because He only hears the cries of the living.
You can't escape or upgrade because you are told that this is the olam haba that YOU created.
You are also told that the olam Haba you create is based solely on your midot and your mitzvot Ben Adam lechavero.
You are seriously determined to create a better circumstance for yourself when the time comes.
You are not a bad person and you don't think you've done anything wrong to deserve such a lackluster ending, but you are also not a great person and you never really do anything outstanding. You are just kind of average.
What would you do differently after you were given this information? Do you even think it's possible to change your fate?


I reject everything about this theoretical olam haba:

*olam haba is not physical, it is spiritual. there will be no "apartments"
*in olam haba, pure souls have pure knowledge and pure intentions, a soul would not be annoying, or be annoyed, by another soul
*there is no such thing as a boring or depressing olam haba. there are only levels of holiness. the closer you are to Hashem, the greater peace and joy your soul feels. And I'm not even convinced that there are "tiers" because just as Hashem is everywhere at once, so too He can touch every soul everywhere at once.
*Hashem can ALWAYS hear and listen to his precious souls. Otherwise why on earth do we daven to our dearly departed and ask them to daven for us up above? Why would being in a body make Hashem more likely to listen? Do not understand at all. A soul never dies.
*OK, so in this theory gilgulim don't exist.
*OK so apparently ben adom lemakom counts for zero.
*But the part I most emphatically reject is being an average good person and not outstanding. What does that even mean?? It is average to try your best to be a good wife, mother, daughter, friend? Because you didn't form a massive organization or end world hunger Hashem doesn't love you as much? I mean really, what?
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heidi




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 16 2014, 11:15 am
[quote="amother"]I know u said not to think too deeply into your post, but I do want to address sth.
R' akiva tatz likens our reward to a state of bliss experienced through intimate connection (our intimate life being a tiny preview of that state of ecstasy). In other words, the higher the neshama's level, the closer it will be to Hashem, and the greater its pleasure.


Does this mean that real tzadikim are in a constant state of org**m in Olam Haba?
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amother


 

Post Wed, Jul 16 2014, 9:57 pm
In the Zohar and other sources it says that we will be together with the same neshomos that we were with while we were alive. Being our best every minute of every day makes us closer to Hashem both now and for all of eternity. We all know that we were placed on this earth to fulfill a tafkid, which we don't know what it is, but we do know that we are required to do mitzvos and maasim tovim, to emulate and be giving like the One above. The closer we get to G-dliness is the higher we end up being spiritually.

The golden leg that fell down from a table that was sent back up is also just a metaphor, I do not believe anyone needs gold in heaven, we will be uplifted from the atmosphere of kedusha.
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amother


 

Post Thu, Jul 17 2014, 11:07 am
heidi wrote:
Does this mean that real tzadikim are in a constant state of org**m in Olam Haba?


I'm the amother you quoted. I came across an article today on aish.com that includes a few paragraphs (see below) that reinforce the idea that the more G-dly we are, the closer our connection to Hashem, and therefore the greater our ultimate pleasure in the afterlife. I also believe, as stated here, that the Jewish version of hell is mostly about the pain of disconnection and regret.
(Here's the link to the full article: http://www.aish.com/sp/ph/5-Su......html )

The Afterlife is an expression of the relationship to God and spirituality that we have nurtured and developed in this world. The way one experiences the Afterlife is totally dependent upon his preparation beforehand. Each choice in this world shapes who we are and creates either connection or disconnection to the Next World.
Imagine two people listening to a concert. One of them studied music composition, read about the composer and is highly attuned to all the details involved in creating this symphony. For him the concert is a rich and deeply fulfilling experience. The other person was dragged along and hates classical music. For him the concert is boring, even painful.
One concert, two very different kinds of experiences.
Our essence does not undergo a major transformation when we leave this world. It’s just the opposite. Our essence is fully expressed in the Next World. The pain of disconnection and the acute awareness of what we could have been if we would have chosen differently is the Jewish view of Hell.
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