Why isn't Olam Habah which is the purpose of our existence, spoken about more openly and in more detail in the Torah?
ANSWER:
I'll tell you what the Kuzari says about that, why the Torah doesn't speak about Olam Habah at length. It speaks plenty; the trouble is you're not listening.
I'll say what the Torah says: it says Avrohom passed away and he lay down with his forefathers. Now where was Avrohom buried? In the Meoras Hamachpelah. Were his forefathers there? No. What does it mean that he lay down with his forefathers? What does it mean when it says Yaakov Aveinu passed away and he lay down with his forefathers, then it says months later, he was taken to Eretz Canaan? What does it mean, Moshe Rabbeinu lay down with his forefathers? He's buried in Har Nevo, not with the forefathers. Aaron Hakohen he passed away and was buried with his forefathers, he laid down with his forefathers. Where are the forefathers at? He's not buried with anybody else!
The answer is, the Torah is reiterating again and again, the Torah is telling us there are forefathers, when a man dies immediately he goes to his forefathers, the great pleasure of joining your family; that's what everyone is waiting for. V'neman ata l'hachayos meisim, we'd like to rejoin our father and mother again, once more you'll be reunited, that's the great happiness! That's what happens when a man passes away from this world, if he's deserving.
Therefore, the Torah speaks constantly about that, many times in the Chumash. Besides the fact that Bilaam who was saying the word of Hashem, says openly - Bilaam says, tomus nafshi mos yeshorim us'he acharisi kamohu, let my soul die the death of these righteous people - which means the Jewish people, he's pointing to Yisroel - and let my end be like his...What did Bilaam want, to be buried in Old Montefiore cemetery? Let my end be like his? He was talking about what happens after death, open pesukim.
The question is, why doesn't the Torah describe the mansions, like the new testament, l'havdil? The new testament speaks about the mansions that you are going to get.
The Kuzari says, once the Torah is going to go into detail, then it's open to competition. Along will come some faker and say, I'm going to offer you better things than are written in the Torah. Once it's specified what you are going to get, then some competitor will come along; Mohammad.
Mohammad offers his people a lot of beautiful women in a garden. He says there will be a garden with fruit trees and streams flowing, and women all you want: that's what it says in the Koran. So let's say the Torah will promise him a thousand women, Mohammad will raise the price to two thousand women.
So the Torah doesn't want to say anything, so nobody should be able to compete.
Good Shabbos To All
This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures. To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210
Important Numbers
