Avot 4:16-17
Rabbi Jacob said: This world is like a vestibule before the World to Come; prepare yourself in the vestibule, so that you may enter the banquet hall.
He used to say: More precious is one hour in repentance and good deeds in this world than all the life of the World to Come. And more precious is one hour of the tranquility of the World to Come than all the life of this world.
What is the proper outlook and attitude toward the relationship between this world and the next? In a series of two mishnayot, Rabbi Jacob manages to make an otherwise abstract concept relatable, as well as provide inspiration for spiritual accomplishment and enhance aspiration for transcendence.
In his first statement, Rabbi Jacob provides relatable imagery as to the relationship between this world and the next. Using Greek terminology that would have vividly resonated with the experiences of the listener during his time, he says that this world is the vestibule and the next is a banquet hall. The progression from the entrance into the hall itself requires preparation. Certain behaviors would ensure admission and better enjoyment at the feast. Everything we do in this world should be informed by the objective of experiencing the next one. This mindset will increase our motivation and ensure that we make decisions that align with our ultimate goals and values.
The strategic use of imagery is essential. Rabbi Yosef Yavetz writes that people generally struggle to value concepts that are not tangible or related to sense experiences. Future, unexperienced goods are too abstract to inform behavior. Using metaphors and visualizations to make abstract concepts concrete is an essential pedagogic strategy.
People also have a hard time identifying with their future selves. This can lead to making bad decisions in the present that will negatively impact future well-being. Hal Hershfield, a professor of psychology at New York University, writes that “The more continuity a person shares with his future self – that is, the more that future self feels like a direct extension of who he is now – the more motivated he will be to act in ways that will benefit himself in the future. Conversely, the more the future self feels like a stranger – that is, the more disconnected a person is from his future self – the less motivated he will be to plan for the future.” To the extent that we can create a sense of self-continuity – i.e., to realize that our future selves are ourselves as well, the more we can make decisions that help our future selves and not just our present selves.
When people use visualization to think about their future selves, they are able to make better long-term choices in the present. The results are stronger when the conjured image is related to a specific goal and the image is vivid and realistic. This may shed light on Rabbi Jacob’s imagery, which creates a direct connection between the self as experienced in this world, and the future self of the World to Come.
Rabbi Jacob’s second statement is seemingly paradoxical, yet is offered without any tension or conflict. The second half, “And more precious is one hour of the tranquility of the World to Come than all the life of this world” highlights the blissful experience of the next world. This may allude to the resolution of the pain, suffering, and challenges of this world, as well as to pure spiritual happiness and connection to G-d as experienced in the next.
It is also true that “More precious is one hour in repentance and good deeds in this world than all the life of the World to Come,” as emphasized in the first half of the mishna. Judaism is not a religion that denounces this world at the expense of the next. Professor Moshe Halbertal notes regarding the Mishna in general, “The mishnaic positing of the law as the central realm of encounter with the Divine thus binds humans to the world with all its concreteness, directing them to reshape and sanctify the world.” This is in contrast to other worldly religions, which are “an expression of the denial of the here and now, viewing the temporal and transient as an empty shell that must be overcome.” As Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch notes on our mishna, “you cannot make up for any of the moral and spiritual refinement that you have not attained in this world.” While our eyes may be on the spiritual bliss of the World to Come, that is only to inform our mission to effect change in this world.
The Hebrew word for “one hour” is “sha’ah achat,” which can also be translated as one moment, or even as “one turn.” One simple decision to repent or do a good deed can be transformative. In their bestselling book The Power of Moments, Chip and Dan Heath provide a framework for generating impactful experiences. They encourage us to think intentionally and strategically about how to create moments for ourselves, our students, and our children. Rabbi Moshe Almosnino explains that the spiritual moments in this world are a microcosm, providing a glimpse of the transcendent bliss of the next world. Thus, Rabbi Jacob simultaneously emphasizes the beauty that accompanies the process of religious strivings in this world, along with the satisfaction in the next world which directly emerges from achieving these goals.
This world is about the dynamic happiness of process; the next is about the static happiness of contentment. By crafting powerful spiritual experiences in this world, we get a taste for the otherwise abstract and unknowable pleasure that we will merit in the World to Come.
