시편 144:4의 무사르

All of those benefits are trivial compared to the good for the soul, which is truly a great benefit, without measure. Therefore, let Israel rejoice in its Maker (Psalms 149:2), who chose us out of all the nations, and gave us a Torah of truth, and implanted within us eternal life, and sanctified us with His commandments, and chose us to serve Him and to bless in His name (Deuteronomy 10:8), that through these things, we will merit to live and inherit goodness and blessing for the life of the world to come, which is a great good, so much so that it was said: "A single hour of tranquility in the world to come is preferable to all of life in this world" (Pirkei Avot 4:17). And this is what one should think when one labors for the sake of reward. But when one reaches the level of being like slaves who serve the master not for the sake of reward (see Pirkei Avot 1:3), then one should rejoice more and more at the privilege of being a slave to a Sovereign lofty and exalted, majestic and awesome, whose grandeur is beyond understanding, and who selected us out of all of the nations and out of all of the heavenly hosts, who desires us and who loves us. And God wanted to credit Israel, therefore He proliferated Torah and commandments for them, and He is eager in His love, despite our being mortals like vain vapors (Psalms 144:4). This is a great and peerless good, to those who contemplate the grandeur of the Creator and contrast it with the lowliness of man. And through this, one will recognize and know, that it is a great benefit that He chose us and drew us to His service, so that they said in truth: "A single hour of Torah [sic] and good deeds in this world is preferable to all of the world to come" (Pirkei Avot 4:17). And one should consider what has been honor and greatness (Esther 6:3) for the lowliest of people?—That the king was eager for his honor (Esther 6:6-11), and chose him to stand before him and to serve him, even though he is flesh and blood, a fetid droplet, just like him—how much more so the degree of separation of the Omnipresent above us, up to a place that the power of our minds cannot divine, so great is the good that our Creator, our Deviser, our Maker, has granted us.

Behold it has been explained from the two verses that we mentioned - [as well as] from the words of the Sages, may their memory be blessed - that the soul of the evildoers goes down to the pit. And it has also been stated (Proverbs 15:24), "For an intelligent man the path of life leads upward, in order to avoid the pit below." And it has also been stated (Ecclesiastes 3:21), "Who knows if the spirit of men does rise upward and if a beast’s spirit does sink down into the earth?" The explanation [of this] is who can recognize the righteous ones and the evildoers in this world? For there are are evildoers whose actions are in the dark, and people will not know it about them; and there are righteous ones that fear the Heavens in private, like the matter that is stated (Micah 6:8), "and walk humbly." And he called the soul of an evildoer, the soul of a beast, because it follows its physical desire like a beast. And [this is] like the matter that is stated (Jonah 4:11), "who do not yet know their right hand from their left, and many beasts as well!" But he called the righteous ones, "the spirit of men" - like the matter that is stated (Ezekiel 34:31), "you are men." And the explanation of the wording of the verse is like this: Who knows the spirit of men - which are the righteous ones - which goes above; for there are many righteous people that a person cannot determine in this world that they are truly righteous, and that their souls will arise above, like the matter that is stated (I Samuel 16:7), "man sees only what is visible, but the Lord sees into the heart." And also since there are many righteous ones whose fear of the Heavens is secret, and their righteousness is not known, and like the matter that is stated, (Micah 6:8), "and walk humbly with your God." "And the beast's spirit, etc." is that there also many evildoers that a man would not recognize from their actions, like the matter that is stated (Isaiah 29:15), "who do their work in dark places and say, 'Who sees us, who takes note of us?'" And they, may their memory be blessed, likewise explained in Midrash Kohelet (Kohelet Rabbah 3:21) that the "spirit of men" is the righteous ones, "and the beast's spirit" is the evildoers. But a person cannot say that he is in doubt whether the soul of a man rise up; for behold it is written (Ecclesiastes 12:7), "and the spirit returns to God who bestowed it." And also how can he doubt whether the spirit of a beast descends below? Is the spirit of a beast not from the earth? So how could it rise? And it is explained in the Torah that the soul of man is supernal. As it is written about the spirit of an animal that it is from the ground, as it is stated (Genesis 1:24), "Let the earth bring forth living spirits according to their specie." But about the spirit of man, it is written (Genesis 2:7), "and He blew into his nostrils a living soul." Therefore the soul of man rises above with the death of the body; since all things return to their source, like the matter that is stated (Ecclesiastes 12:7), "And the dust returns to the ground as it was, and the spirit returns to God who bestowed it." And it is stated about the soul of the righteous one (Zechariah 3:7), "and I will permit you to move about among these ones standing." Its explanation is among the angels that are standing and enduring - as it is stated (Psalms 148:6), "And He made them stand forever." And it is [also] stated (Daniel 7:16), "approached one of the standing." And they, may their memory be blessed, said (Shabbat 152b), "The souls of the righteous are hidden under the Throne of Glory, as it is stated (I Samuel 25:29), "the life of my lord will be bound up in the bundle of life." And all men of heart will consider this world like a temporary dwelling; so they will only use it for the service of the Creator, may He be blessed, and prepare provisions for their souls. For if a man lives many years - even if he lived twice a thousand years - since there is a number to his years, the number will end, and his end will be as if they had not been. But the world of repayment has no end, like the matter that is stated (Job 16:22), "For a few more years will pass, and I shall go the way of no return." Even more so, since the days of man are like a passing shadow, like the matter that is stated (Psalms 90:10), "The span of our life is seventy years, etc." And it is [also] stated (Psalms 144:4), "his days are like a passing shadow." And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Kohelet Rabbah 1:3), "Not like the shadow of a tree or the shadow of a wall, but rather like the shadow of a flying and passing bird." It means to say a person is obligated to compare in his heart, this world to the shadow of a bird that if flying and passes over in a small instant - especially since a man does not know whether he is here today but in the grave tomorrow. And it would come out in his efforts today for tomorrow, that he has taken pains for a world that is not his. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Sanhedrin 100b), "Grieve not about tomorrow’s trouble, because you know not what a day may bring."