Musar su II Samuele 23:20

I have found among the various booklets of the Arizal that he defines the differences in these levels of the Hereafter as follows: "Know that the righteous enters into a marriage (union) both in this world and after his death. Every צדיק does so in accordance with his individual spiritual powers. There are also צדיקים who enter into a union (embracing the Hereafter) in this world such as בניהו בן יהוידע. (the exploits of this warrior who was among David's body-guards are listed in Samuel II chapter 23). Some enter into an union with the Celestial partner, i.e. אבא ואמא, already while in this world, since in those regions unions can be consecrated only through what we know as קדוש השם, martyrdom by glorifying the name of G–d. An example of this kind of זווג, union with one's partner in the Hereafter, were the Ten Martyrs tortured to death by the Romans including Rabbi Akiva. The same rule applies during any period Jews suffer religious persecution and defiantly go to their death as Jews." When we recite the קריאת שמע we experience a faint echo of such an affinity to the Hereafter. The name of בניהו בן יהוידע also alludes to the emanation בינה יה-ו י-ה למעלה. This is the deeper meaning of בניהו being described in Samuel II 23,20 as בן איש חי, someone who had established his claim to life in the Hereafter. When said בניהו is reported as having killed a lion, הארי, the numerical value of the word הארי=216 is equal to three times the fully spelled Ineffable Name 72. The prophet describes this encounter with the lion as having occurred on יום השלג, which has its own mystical dimension. When our sages say in Sanhedrin 90a: כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא, they mean that the soul of every Jew has access to the Hereafter. When the sages use the expression that someone is מזומן, "invited," they refer to the future when the light of the moon has become as brilliant as the light of the sun. This is the future we have in mind when we add to the words of the שמע ישראל the 24 letters of the formula ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד, "May the Majesty of His glorious kingdom be blessed forever." Nowadays when we are in exile the twenty-four letters in that formula are reversed i.e. have become ד"ך. This is the mystical dimension of Psalms 74,21: אל ישוב דך נכלם, "Let not the downtrodden turn away disappointed." When the Holy Temple was standing, G–d's Majesty consisted of 24 letters; when it will be rebuilt it will again consist of 24 letters. This is meant in Isaiah 54,12: ושמתי כד-כד שמשותך, "I shall make your suns twice 24." [The standard rendition of this verse is: "I shall make your battlements of rubies." Ed.] During Solomon's reign the moon was considered as having reached its zenith, i.e. in the history of the Jewish people whose fate is compared to the fate of the moon. This is what is alluded to by the 24 letters in the formula we recite when saying the קריאת שמע, when we express our absolute faith in this future display of G–d's Majesty. This number 24 equals one third of the possible amount of light. In the messianic future the full extent of the light, i.e. the other two thirds i.e. the ones alluded to in Isaiah 54,12 as כדכד,=48 will be revealed. When combining the three times 24 we have the number 72, i.e. the Ineffable Name spelled fully as words. In other words, G–d's name will be whole when this light will be displayed in all its power. The mystical dimension of the destruction of the Temple is alluded to in its name. It is called בית, house. The numerical value of בית is 412. By adding the number 2 for the two kinds of light it represents we get 414. This is the numerical value of אור, light, multiplied by two, i.e. 207 x2. The removal (destruction) of the בית, robbed us of two thirds of the light in store for us. The root of this light remains in the domain of אצילות. In those regions the only ones who can derive pleasure from it are those who unite in a זיווג, marital "union," the creatures we know as אבא ואמא. Anyone who will be privileged to do so in the seventh millennium (the millennium during which according to Talmudic sources this world will undergo destruction prior to its re-emergence, totally renewed) are the people our sages have referred to as having been invited to the World to Come. This is the secret meaning of the voice from the Celestial Regions which called out to Rabbi Akiva: "hail to you for you have been invited to life in the World to Come" (Berachot 61b). When the sages speak of someone being assured of the World to Come, i.e. מובטח לו שהוא בן עולם הבא, this is the highest level of life in the World to Come. People of the caliber of בניהו בן יהוידע are slated for such a level of experience in the עולם הבא. People of this caliber experienced death on earth only because mankind as such was sentenced to such a fate, not because they individually became guilty of death. On the contrary, these people used their stay on earth in order to totally perfect their personalities.