Rav Yitzchak Meir Rotenberg, also known as the Alter, was the first Rebbe of the Ger Chassidic sect of Judaism. The following details a powerful story that happened to the rav with a message ever so present for today’s world.
The saintly rabbi once travelled with a gentleman on his carriage that was drawn by two horses. On this trip, the temperature outside was frigid, nearly unbearable to withstand. After a few miles of travel one of the horses succumbed to the intense cold. The sudden death of the mammal caused great distress to its owner, the Chiddushei Harim’s companion. The rav, in his pious manner, delivered words of chizuk to his cohort, encouraging him to stay positive noting that they had quite a journey ahead.
A few miles later, to their utter dismay the other horse also expired. The owner was overcome with grief having just lost both his horses. These animals were very dear to him and their loss sent him spiraling downwards in complete anguish until he himself passed on.
As the night grew, the Chiddushei Harim fell into deep sleep where he had the most riveting dream. The rav’s partner from the voyage appeared, leaving the sage to ask of his wellbeing. “How do you fair?” questioned the revered rabbi. The wagon driver replied ever so expressively, “I was a good guy, so I was granted a place in Olam Habah (the world to come). The rabbi then asked, “How is it going in Olam Habah?” only to hear his former companion reply, “Terrible! It is filled with wagons and an endless line of horses!”
The Chiddushei Harim was baffled and in a state of utter shock responds, “Olam Habah is the world of truth, how can it be that you are surrounded by horses?!” The gentleman then recounted, “In Olam Hazeh (our world), being surrounded by horses made me happy and this remained my focus.”
This narrative teaches an important lesson. Olam Habah is created by what we value most in Olam Hazeh. This wagon driver most valued his his horses and carriage, therefore, when he entered the World to Come, he was in turn granted an eternity with what he most cherished – horses!
One may ponder, what is so bad for a person to receive in Olam Habah that which he treasures in Olam Hazeh; it does not seem so damaging after all. This life altering difficulty is best answered with another short mashal (parable).
A youth once desired a slingshot to enjoy as a toy, but his parents unashamedly refused to buy their son such a device. Now, let us take a moment to imagine that this young child grows up into a man and he is standing under the chuppah on his wedding day. His parents have just walked him proudly down the aisle and suddenly say, “My dear son here is the slingshot that you always sought!” Of course the chattan would not understand his parents’ action and he would be left quite confused.
As a child, the slingshot was of value, but now as he has evolved into a man, the toy has little worth as their son has grown out of his childhood wishes. So too, we may strive to acquire various pleasures in Olam Hazeh, such as money or honor, believing that they will provide us with contentment. But when we arrive in Olam Habah, we will see a wildly different truth.
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto in Path of the Just wrote, “Everything else apart from closeness to God, that people believe are good, is nothing but emptiness.” In the next world, we will see with perfect clarity that the things that we put so much energy into acquiring in this world are inevitably meaningless. Honor, power, money, food and various other pleasures are all illusionary sources of meaning. When we appoint God as our king, this means that we have concluded that He is the only source of true happiness.
What Will Your Olam Habah Be?
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