Q:
You said here many times that we should look forward to sitting in Gan Eden with the crown of daas that we acquired in this world because that will be the ultimate happiness. But couldn’t it be that sitting with a crown on your head enjoying the radiance of Hashem for all eternity is dull compared to the cerebral and sensory experiences that we have in this world?
A:
Couldn’t it be that the sensation of happiness in the World To Come is inferior to the sensations that we have in this world, the physical and nervous sensations?
And the answer is as follows: Reb Yisroel Salanter once said like this: Why is it that when you bang your thumb with a hammer, it hurts – it hurts terribly! – but when you hear music, it makes you happy. Sometimes you even sing along with the music. Why shouldn’t it be that when you bang your hand with a hammer, it should cause a pleasurable sensation that causes you to sing with happiness?! And when you hear music, it should hurt so much, as if you’re banging your head with a hammer.
The answer is, says Rav Yisroel, is that the Borei made sensations for a purpose. There’s no such thing as sensations – all sensations are only artificial. They’re manufactured by the Borei. When you bang your hand with a hammer, He made it hurt. He made it hurt because sometimes you’re talking to your neighbor while you’re banging your hand and if it wouldn’t hurt, you wouldn’t notice it and when you get finished banging, you would see you have no thumb left. So therefore it hurts in order to warn you to stop banging your thumb. And it continues to hurt to remind you to go to the doctor or to put on the medicine. But all sensations are Hashem’s – they’re manufactured by Him.
So if Hakodosh Boruch Hu can make you happy on Purim; let’s say you have a band in your house and it’s Purim and you’re half drunk and the band is playing lively music and you with chaveirim are dancing – ah! A gantz yahr freilich! Purim! It gives you simcha for a whole year! But all that is just artificial simcha because the truth is, there’s an end to how much you can tolerate the music. There’s an end to how much whiskey you can take, an end to how much dancing you can dance. Hashem made limits in this world. But in the World To Come, He releases you from inhibitions.
כשם שהקדוש ברוך הוא נותן לרשעים כח לסבול – Just like Hashem will give the wicked the strength needed to suffer their punishment, כך נותן כח לצדיקים – He gives special strength to the righteous to enjoy the happiness. And he gives them endless sensations, new sensations of which we’re entirely unaware in this world. Hakodosh Boruch Hu invents new pathways of joy, new pathways of feeling and emotions, new senses. In this world we have only five senses but suppose you had a thousand senses and each one was capable of enjoyment – you can’t even begin to imagine how much Hakodosh Boruch Hu is capable of giving if He wants to give us a ta’anug that is the greatest of all ta’anugim that can be found.
And therefore, don’t worry. I guarantee you that when you come there, you’ll understand that it’s the greatest joy that can ever be found.
TAPE # 432
