Parashat Emor: A Better Life

In the beginning of this week's Parasha, Emor, the Torah speaks about some of the laws that have to do with mourning the loss of a relative. It says, " לא יקרחו קרחה בראשם... ובבשרם לא ישרטו שרטת – The mourner should not make a bald spot on his head or cut into his flesh." These were practices that people who were in extreme anguish would do and Hashem wants His People to be more elevated than that, to understand that the death of a loved one is not a reason to harm himself. When someone passes away, he's not gone. He begins a new existence far superior to the one experienced in this world. It says in Sefer HaYashar, Shaar 12, this world is like an underground cave in comparison to the Next. If someone would be born and live his entire life in a cave, he would think there is nothing else beyond it. If he would be able to walk outside, he would see a beautiful world, larger than he could have ever imagined. That's what our world is like in comparison to the Next. There, it is far bigger and better in every way. A full lifetime here of 120 years is like five minutes in comparison to Olam HaBa. On the day of death, the neshama, which is the essence of a person, is freed from being trapped in the body. A person sees with his neshama, a person thinks with his neshama, a person hears with his neshama. The body is just a casing. The real person never ceases living even for a moment. The Gemara says in Masechet Nidda, on the day of death, every person will be humbled in front of Hashem. While in a body, people might feel proud of accomplishments or proud of their stature in the world, but on that day, everyone realizes that Hashem gave them everything they had, including the simple abilities to breath and walk. They will see how meaningless worldly possessions really were. So one of the reasons the Torah does not want a person to over-mourn is because we are to understand that the loved one is not really gone, he has just relocated. A great Admor wrote a letter to his children that was meant to be given to them only after he passed away. He began it by saying, My precious beloved children, I'm writing this to you today hoping you will not see it for many more years . He told them, the key to getting through their mourning period with the proper attitude is dependent on their emunah in Hashem and the belief of what is beyond what meets the eye. He said, it appears that he is gone, but in actuality, he is even closer to them after death because his body, which was covering him before, has been removed and now there's no separation between them. He said further, a person feels more of a pull to become closer to Hashem after the death of a parent. The reason for that is, Chazal tell us there are three partners in a person - his father, his mother and Hashem. A child is only physically able to see his father and mother, but when they leave him, his heart tells him to rely on the third partner – Hashem . He added, what we call a father is just a messenger of our real Father. When the messenger's job has been completed here, the One who sent that messenger takes over Himself and He becomes closer. He then implored his children to strengthen their emunah and to look for and feel the presence of Hashem throughout their days. He said, He has been the one who has provided for you all these years and He's going to continue doing that job. And he concluded, although death appears to us like the greatest tragedy, for a person who kept Torah and mitzvot, it's a day of celebration. His preparation for his real life has been completed and he is ready to enjoy the most sublime existence . Our job here is to understand our purpose and use every minute that we have in the service of Hashem. The better we perform here, the better our lives will be forever. And if we could understand that those who left the world are truly enjoying a much better place, the experience will be easier to deal with. Shabbat Shalom