Tell me more ×
Mi Yodeya is a question and answer site for those who base their lives on Jewish law and tradition and anyone interested in learning more. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite

According to the beginning of the Mesilas Yesharim, the entire purpose of creation is for man to merit Olam Haba (the bliss of the next world).

If so, why is there no mention nor description of Olam Haba in the Torah, except in vague shrouded terms?

(excerpt from Mesilas Yesharim chapter 1: Our Sages of blessed memory have taught us that man was created for the sole purpose of rejoicing in God and deriving pleasure from the splendor of His Presence; for this is true joy and the greatest pleasure that can be found. The place where this joy may truly be derived is the World to Come, which was expressly created to provide for it; but the path to the object of our desires is this world, as our Sages of blessed memory have said (Avorh 4:21), "This world is like a corridor to the World to Come." )

Furthermore, the Mesilas Yesharim starts off saying the foundation of religious service is to clarify for oneself what is his duty in this world and to what one should put his aspirations toward. This aspiration he says is to merit closeness to God in the Olam Haba. So it seems knowledge of Olam Haba is the foundation of the entire religious service in this world.

share|improve this question
2  
You could improve this question by including a quotation backing up the first sentence. I would appreciate it if you'd take a little more care to use standard English capitalization and punctuation lechatchila. – Isaac Moses Mar 12 at 15:23

2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

Since Olam Habah is beyond the Torah, as there are no Mitzvos or Aveiros there, and the Torah is only for those that are living on this world therefore there is no mention of Olam Habah in the Torah.

http://www.hidabroot.org/CommunityDetail.asp?FaqID=9822

עולם הבא הוא בעצם עולם שמעבר לתורה. שמה לא מקיימים מצוות ואין אפשרות לחטוא בעברות, כמו שחכמים אומרים לא ניתנה תורה למלאכי השרת. והתורה בעצמה מתייחסת לכך שהתורה מיועדת לעולם הזה בפסוק השמים לה` והארץ נתן לבני אדם. ולכן כשהייתה מחלוקת בין החכמים בגמרא ויצא קול מהשמיים כפי דעה אחת החכמים לא ייחסו לזה משקל כי התורה נקבעת ליפי מי שקיים בארץ, כלומר שיש לו קשר לחומר ולא לפי מי שהוא נטו רוחניות. לכן עולם הבא לא נכתב בתנ``ך

share|improve this answer
Who is the author/owner of that website? – Double AA♦ Mar 12 at 16:30
1  
הרב זמיר כהן - יו"ר הידברות Rabbi Zamir Cohen - Chairman כתובת משרד: אריה שנקר 20 קרית אריה פתח-תקווה טל: 03-6166614 פקס: 03-6166615 – Gershon Gold Mar 12 at 16:33
fine but since the entire purpose of the torah and mitzvos is for olam haba dont you think there should have been mention of it? otherwise we dont even know the purpose of the mitzvos we are meant to be doing in this world! – good_ole_ray Mar 12 at 18:09
up vote 1 down vote

The premise of your question is that the Torah should explicitly tell us the purpose of our existence, and since it does not explicitly describe Olam Haba, this raises a difficulty with the claim that Olam Haba is the purpose of our existence.

I don't know what basis there is for your assumption that the Torah should explicitly state the purpose of our existence. Moreover, I am not aware of any place in the Torah where the Torah ever explains God's reason for creation.

The Torah is fundamentally a book of practical teachings, explaining to us what we must do and how we must live in this world. Strictly speaking, we do not need to know God's reasons for anything, including Creation.

share|improve this answer
see my addition to the question. on the contrary according to the MY knowledge of Olam Haba is the foundation of foundations of service here – good_ole_ray Mar 13 at 10:57
@R.Sebag I think you are confusing God's reason for our creation with our purpose of existence. The two are deeply connected, of course, but not identical. The Ramchal begins his discussion by explaining why God created us (to bestow goodness upon us in Olam Haba), and concludes that therefore we know that our purpose in this world is to obey the mitzvos and serve God, and ultimately, to achieve closeness (deveikus) with God: נמצינו למדים כי עיקר מציאות האדם בעולם הזה הוא רק לקים מצות ולעבד ולעמוד בנסיון וכו' שביאתו לעולם אינה אלא לתכלית הזה, דהינו להשיג את הקרבה הזאת וכו – LazerA Mar 13 at 12:17
לשבת יצרה is the closest I can think of. – Double AA♦ Mar 13 at 16:23
@lazera "THE FOUNDATION OF SAINTLINESS and the root of perfection in the service of God lies in a man's coming to see clearly and to recognize as a truth the nature of his duty in the world and the end towards which he should direct his vision and his aspiration in all of his labors all the days of his life. " - the aspiration he is refering to is olam haba. he repeats this in zehirus – good_ole_ray Mar 13 at 21:50
@R.Sebag Yes, that is the first sentence of the first chapter of Mesillas Yesharim (though the translation of מגמתו as "aspiration" is misleading). However, I believe you are incorrect in understanding this sentence as referring to olam haba. As stated in this sentence, and the title of the chapter, the entire chapter is discussing the nature of man's obligation in this world. This obligation is the observation of the mitzvos and coming close to God, as he concludes later in the perek. He discusses olam haba only to explain why this is our obligation. – LazerA Mar 13 at 22:44
show 2 more comments

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.