[Avodah] mei marom

[Eli Turkel]

from
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HaRav Eliezer Shach, z"l asked: "Why did Rabbi Chanina cry? Shouldn't
he have rejoiced at the fate of the executioner, who merited to earn
his portion in the World to Come in only a moment? After all, Rabbi
Chanina did toil his entire life for Olam Haba. Why did it bother him
that the executioner earned his portion in Gan Eden in a moment?"

The executioner was ruthless and cruel. He had spent his life hanging
and burning people. But Rabbi Chaninah's behavior transformed him.
Suddenly, he sensed that the man he was killing was more angel than
human.

He saw the way the Tanna bore his suffering; he witnessed the exchange
between the tzaddik and his disciples. He heard him tell of the
letters of the Torah flying to the Heavens. It suddenly occurred to
the savage that Rabbi Chaninah was not an unfortunate victim; he was a
victor! Rabbi Chaninah, who displayed a profound attachment to his
Creator, was going to a World where holiness and purity reign.

At that moment, the executioner lost his interest in this world. He
was engulfed with a burning desire to take part in this holiness he
witnessed in Rabbi Chaninah ben Tradyon, the holiness of the World to
Come. This world and everything in it lost all of its appeal.

And so, when he had Rabbi Chaninah's promise that he would go to the
Next World, he plunged into the flames. His absolute desire for
holiness truly earned him his portion. When Rabbi Chanina cried, he
did not cry for the man who had literally leapt into Olam Haba.
Rather, he cried for himself. In his great humility, Rabbi Chanina
assumed that the Torah and mitzvos to which he had devoted his life
were performed out of habit rather that pure spirituality.

The executioner had perceived the ultimate truth- that this world and
all of its pleasure were worthless, and that only purity such as that
of Rabbi Chaninah ben Tradyon was worthy of pursuit. Rabbi Chanina
craved the purity of one who had experienced a pure, holy moment, a
moment of total negation of this world, in which he had leapt in Olam
Haba.

-- 
Eli Turkel