Ahavah Rabah 12: Proud in the World to Come
ולא נבוש לעולם ועד…
…and may we not feel inner shame for all eternity.
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The Chofetz Chaim explains that this phrase refers back to the three previous requests: that Hashem enlighten our eyes in Torah, attach our hearts to His mitzvos, and unify our hearts (with one unified purpose) to love and fear Him.
In this world, when we are embarrassed, the embarrassment reduces with the healing of time, and eventually can dissipate completely. However, in the eternal world, the embarrassment remains eternally as it was initially. If we have not done what we were capable of in learning Torah, performing mitzvos with enthusiasm and love, and unifying our hearts to love and fear Hashem, then that embarrassment will remain with us eternally. This does not mean that in the Olam HaEmes people will make fun of us. It is, rather, a self-contained embarrassment, a frustration, that we did not reach our full potential in this world, for which we would have reaped eternal reward in our eternal life.
If we perform our mitzvos without heart, we will create mal’achim without heart, and those mal’achim will have much less benefit for us when we arrive, after 120 years, in the eternal world. We will be embarrassed to have created mal’achim without a heart. We therefore ask Hashem to help us in all three of these crucial areas.
Integrating Mitzvos into Our Daily Lives
The mitzvah of Ahavas Hashem includes unifying our hearts for the purpose of loving Hashem. The Sefer HaChinuch and the Chovos HaL’vavos both state that interest in seeking pleasure and focus on materialism is in direct opposition to loving Hashem. This does not mean that we cannot go on vacation and enjoy the beautiful world that Hashem created for us. It does not mean that we cannot enjoy delicious food that Hashem created for us to enjoy. What it means is that everything we do must be within the framework of our love for and service to Hashem.
The critical question is one of focus. Are we focused on seeking out pleasures for the sake of our personal enjoyment or are we focused on Hashem, recognizing that we need this vacation to nurture our relationships, which Hashem wants us to have, and for our emotional and mental health. Anything we do within Torah guidelines in order to better serve Hashem is all part of avodas Hashem.
Are we thinking constantly about what we will have for dinner, or do we sit down when it’s time to eat and connect the food we eat to Hashem, thanking Him through a thoughtful brachah for the delicious food He sent to us. If someone in our lives prepared it for us, we take the opportunity to thank him or her, and we thank Hashem for the gift of that person in our lives.
“Focusing on spirituality – while realizing that Hashem has created everything in the world for us to enjoy and to grow from – will infuse us with the excitement and love for life that is ahavas Hashem.” [The 6 Constant Mitzvos, Based on a Series of Lectures by Rabbi Yitzchok Berkowitz, ArtScroll]