Gate Two

Words of rebuke gleaned from the words of our sages, of blessed memory

Our sages, of blessed memory, stated³¹¹ that a person should always be in a state of fear of Heaven, privately as well as openly. Happy is he who sets all his words and all his ways for the sake of Heaven. Let your eyes and heart always be directed toward your Creator, so that you will be saved from every type of sin and transgression. Let the fear of He who formed you always be upon you, and let the awe of Him be constantly present in your heart and mind, and before your eyes, so that they are never removed from before your eyes for even a moment.

footnotes: ³¹¹ Tanna d’Vei Eliyahu Rabba, Ch. 21

Let the day of death never depart from before your eyes, and the day of your burial and the day of great judgment. It should be for you as if you actually see it, and as if it actually is upon you, as though you are about to enter into judgment, so that thoughts of sin do not even come upon your heart. For, all your limbs shall testify about you, and against your will you will be forced to give an accounting before the King, King of kings, the Holy One, blessed is He.³¹²

footnotes: ³¹² Mishnah Avot 4:22

Each and every day you should lament to yourself that you did not adequately give charity to Torah scholars or properly study Torah, for every day that has passed shall never be returned to you.

Our sages stated³¹³ that at the time of a person’s passing from this world, the angel of death asks him, “Did you engage in Torah study and acts of kindness? Did you crown your Maker over you every morning and evening? Did you crown your fellows over you as your superiors and with a pleasant spirit?” If he has these qualities, his soul will then depart from his body as with a kiss, but if not etc.

footnotes: ³¹³ Reishit Chochmah, Shaar HaYirah, Ch. 12

The second judgment is the judgment of the grave. The day of entering the grave is even more arduous than the judgments of purgatory.³¹⁴ Even the perfectly righteous Tzaddikim who have never sinned are judged by it. What then shall a person do to be saved from the torments of the grave (Chibut HaKever)? He should engage in Torah study, love charity, rebuke, and acts of kindness, and he should welcome Torah scholars and guests into his home, and provide them with delight in his belongings, and he also should pray with devotion. He will then be saved from the torments of the grave and even the judgments of purgatory will not be visited upon him.

footnotes: ³¹⁴ Mesechet Chibut HaKever 3; Reishit Chochmah ibid.

The third judgment is the judgment of purgatory. At the time of his judgment, the Holy One, blessed is He, asks him, “Did you engage in Torah study and acts of lovingkindness?” If he has these qualities, he then is exempted from the judgments of purgatory.³¹⁵ Happy is the man who subjugates himself like an ox to a yoke and like a donkey to a burden,³¹⁶ so that he sits and studies and reviews the words of Torah every day constantly, reading the words of the Torah, the Prophets and the Scriptures, and reviewing the laws and teachings. If he does so, increasing his engagement in Torah study and minimizing his engagement in the pursuit of wealth, the Holy Spirit (Ru’ach HaKodesh) will immediately rest upon him.³¹⁷

footnotes: ³¹⁵ Mesechet Chibut HaKever 4; Reishit Chochmah ibid. ³¹⁶ See Talmud Bavli, Avodah Zarah 5b; Tanna d’Bei Eliyahu Rabba, Ch. 2 ³¹⁷ Tanna d’Bei Eliyahu Rabba, Ch. 2 ibid.

Eliyahu, who is remembered for good, stated:³¹⁸ “As the heavens and earth are my witnesses, any man or woman, whether they are Gentile or Jew, even if they are a servant or a maid, the Holy Spirit (Ru’ach HaKodesh) will dwell upon each person according to his actions!”³¹⁹ Happy is he who places all these matters before his face at all times, meriting to perfect himself in these ways all the days of his life, and conducting himself according to these manners throughout his life and with all these deeds. If only he guards himself, keeping his limbs and body far from all sin and transgression, he will merit all the glory that is hidden for the righteous Tzaddikim, glory that is incalculable and beyond measure, such that no physical eye can behold it, and the physical ear is incapable of grasping the great glory that is apportioned to the righteous Tzaddikim and the pious Chassidim. It is about this that the verse states,³²⁰ “Such things have never been heard or noted, no eye has seen them God, but You, that which He will do for those who have awaited Him!”

footnotes: ³¹⁸ Tanna d’Bei Eliyahu Rabba, Ch. 9 ³¹⁹ Also see the very first Chassidic discourse (Maamar) of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, entitled “Bati LeGani – I have come to My garden,” translated in The Teachings of The Rebbe, 5711, Discourse 1. ³²⁰ Isaiah 64:3