Musar על דברים 5:16

The eleventh—We find in the Scripture (Deuteronomy 30:19), “Therefore choose life that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed.” And it says (Ibid., 5:30), “That ye may live.” And it says (Ibid., 8:1), “We will live and multiply.” And it says (Ibid., 5:16), “That thy days may be long.” We see that the wicked seem to live like the righteous, and, in many cases, they enjoy the goodness of the world. Therefore, the life of which the Scripture speaks must be the life that comes after death.

The subject of the three gifts the Jewish people received must be understood on two levels. One level is the manifest one, i.e. נגלה, a gift which everyone can see as having been received. The other level is what we call the נסתר the hidden aspect of these gifts. We find that the word Tov is spelled with different vowels on different occasions. Most of the time it is spelled with the vowel חולם i.e. Tov, whereas sometimes it is spelled with the vowel שורוק i.e. Tuv.

Whenever it is spelled as Tov the reference is to the manifest good. When it is spelled Tuv the reference is to the hidden good. [The author discussed this in Parshat Ba'halotecha, in connection with Moses' offer to Yitro to join the Jewish people. Ed.] In connection with Torah we find the word spelled טוב with both the vowels חולם such as in Proverbs 4,2: כי לקח טוב נתתי לכם, as well as in Psalms 119,72: טוב לי תורת פיך. It is also spelled with a שורוק as in Psalms 119,66: טוב טעם ודעת למדני. In connection with ארץ ישראל we find ארץ טובה in Deut. 8,7 spelled with the vowel חולם, whereas in Isaiah 1,19 we are promised by the prophet "טוב הארץ תאכלו," spelled with the vowel שורוק. With respect to עולם הבא, we find in Deut. 5,16: למען ייטב לך, which our sages (Kidushin 39b) explain as a reference to a world which is totally good.

We also find in Psalms 31,20: מה רב טובך אשר צפנת ליריאך, "How abundant is the good that You have in store for those who fear You," where the word טוב is spelled with the vowel שורוק. The relationship between the words Tov and Tuv may be understood as similar to the difference between "good" and "best." What is manifest is termed "good" what is hidden is termed "best." That which is "hidden" from our eyes is what is visible in a domain where the original light which G–d withdrew from earth to the Celestial Regions after Adam's sin is active. Man can experience both levels of "good" also in this world. In the future, however, there will no longer be two kinds of "good," because the "hidden" light will have become manifest. All "good" will then be spelled with the vowel חולם. There will be no reason to hide the תוכיות, "the content of the innermost regions." It is this future our sages had in mind when they referred to part of the World to Come as עולם הנעלם or עולם שכולו טוב. They found the verse in Deut. 5,16 difficult because the word ייטב in that verse is derived from the word tov spelled with the vowel חולם. In view of this they could not understand why the Torah should refer to the World to Come by spelling the word tov with this vowel. They ultimately came to the conclusion that the reference must be to a world which had become "כולו טוב," had achieved its ultimate objective, a world which is totally good. Whereas the verse in Psalm 31,20 speaks of a time prior to this ultimately good world here on earth and therefore uses the word טוב spelled with the vowel שורוק referring to the hidden good, the word ייטב foresees an even higher level of עולם הבא.