[Avodah] Loving Israel while in Chutz

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, May 27, 2008 at 10:06:47PM +0300, Michael Makovi wrote:
: What is Olam haBa? Usually, we think of Olam haBa as Olam haNefashot
: (to borrow Derech haShem's terminology), but really, the term also
: encompasses the Messianic Era.

Olam haba is the place of the ultimate reward. Because of the machloqes
the Rambam and the Ikkarim vs the Ramban as to whether techiyas hameisim
is temporary, with a return to the ultimate reward in shamayim or whether
it is the eternal ultimate reward, they have different definitions of
Olam haBa.

So, I don't think it "also encompasses", as it's the point of a machloqes
whether it's shamayim or the post-techiyah universe.

Except according to R' Kook, in which Olam haBa is the future union of
the physical world and shamayim, and thus both simultaneously.

: For example, in Pirkei Avot's introduction, we prove that every Jew
: has Olam haBa because "amech kulam tzadikim, leolam yireshu aretz" -
: evidently, we're speaking of an eternal *physical* inheritance of the
: land after techiat hameitim in the eternal Messianic era, as some
: meforshim to Pirkei Avot indicate (I saw it in Kehati, b'shem
: haBartenura I think).

But how do you know "aretz" here is physical?

"Aretz" simply means (according to RSRH's shitah on alef-starting nouns)
"that which we must traverse", from "ratz". A fitting contrast to
"shamayim", from "sham" with the same suffix as "chayim", ie "there-ness;
that which we can't reach". To someone in olam haneshamos, z"l, it isn't
shamayim, it's aretz.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Today is the 39th day, which is
micha at aishdas.org        5 weeks and 4 days in/toward the omer.
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