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<DIV>I would think that the pashtus hagemara in San. 91a (the discussion of
Antignus and Rebbi) is most simply understood per my last posting in this
thread. I think that RZS might be able to explain the gemara but it won’t be as
glat – he will have to qvetch a bit.</DIV>
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<DIV>Furthermore. the drasha of “hayoim la’asoson” isn’t quite right either if
you hold that bechira is possible after misa and there is sechar veonesh for
those choices. So even if you say this is not common, nevertheless “lemachor”
la’asosn remains a possiblity.</DIV>
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<DIV>The gemara that RZS refers to about Navos does really not explicitly prove
his point. It is the way RZS chooses to interpret this gemara. I imagine there
are two points to be made here. 1) the possibility of “choice” by the neshama,
2) the existence of onesh for that choice – Tsai mimechitsasi. I would concede
that at first sight this would be the straight forward explanation of this
gemara – but I think not the only or even necessarily the “better” peshat. I
would suggest that there is a difference between “choice” and bechira. Not every
choice constitutes the exercise of bechira. The consequence of becira is sechar
ve’onesh, whereas mere “choice” has no such consequences (eg choices made after
death or with the haskama of Hashem). Finally, the “punishment” here – “tsei
mimechitsasi” – can be understood not as a punishment but as a natural
consequence of the events – much like if the temperature of a block of ice is
raised above zero centigrade it melts – the loss of its solidity is not a
“punishment” but just a natural consequence of the new circumstance.</DIV>
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<DIV>RZS assertion that it is just that there is no (little) opportunity to do
mitzvos after death doesn’t really make sense. While that would be true for most
mitzvos, it is certainly not the case for learning Torah. So it would seem that
there would be ample opportunity to do many mitzvos all the time!</DIV>
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<DIV>Finally you very commonly see in various meforshim the assumption that this
is the olam ha’asiah and the next is not – it is for the gemul. The terms of
omeid and holeich are applied in this sense – after death you become an omeid
during life you are a holeich. According to RZS in theory you remain a holeich
after misa.</DIV>
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<DIV>Kol tuv</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Chaim Manaster</DIV>
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