Secret of Giants

Olam Haba

וארא אל אברהם אל יצחק ואל יעקב בא-ל שד-י ושמי ה' לא נודעתי להם (And I appeared to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov with the name Kel Shakai but with the name Hashem (Y and H and V and H) I did not become known to them.)

What is the significance of these names of Hashem?

The miracles Hashem performed for Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, while certainly miraculous, were hidden in that they did not themselves contravene the laws of nature. For example: Hashem saved Avraham from hunger in the midst of a famine, and protected him in war even against foes mightier than he. This is the mode of Hashem’s intervention alluded to by the name Kel Shakai.

On the other hand, the name Hashem indicates a mode that completely overrides the laws of the natural world in an open and salient manner. This is the name that had not become known to the forefathers but was later shown to their children by the Ten Plagues and the Splitting of the Sea.

This explains why the reward in Olam Haba is never mentioned in the Torah, as opposed to the reward of Olam Hazeh, which is spoken of frequently, such as in Shma. The reward for any mitzvah is at its core a miracle. After all, try convincing a scientist that there is a connection between wearing tefilin and sufficient rain! However, these miracles are hidden miracles that would not be readily recognizable as miraculous. They are also miracles that are not direct outgrowths of the mitzvah performed. For these reasons, it is necessary for the Torah to point out this connection.

Olam Haba, on the other hand, is essentially a reconnection between our soul and Hashem. The soul began with such a connection and now, through the avodah in this world, that connection becomes reinforced. It is therefore a reward which we can logically infer exists, so it is unnecessary for the Torah to spell it out.

Physical pleasure we can understand, but how do we relate to a spiritual pleasure such as our soul becoming connected to Hashem? It sounds very nice but can we find an analogy to such a purely spiritual pleasure within this world?

Consider for a moment the delight of a delicious steak to that of holding one’s newborn baby. No matter how delicious the steak may be, the moment will pass and recede into the depths of our memory, almost never to be recalled. Contrast that to holding a newborn child. Here the pleasure is not of the five senses but rather in the spiritual connection one feels towards one’s child - the anticipation of and potential for growth latent in a tiny baby who one day will grow to be a man. Even hardened soldiers, who have trained to resist all sorts of physical torture, will crack when faced with the terrifying prospect of some evil being perpetrated to their children. Although certainly far short of the mark, such spiritual pleasure can nevertheless give us some picture of the pleasure of Dveikus (connection to Hashem).

When Adam and Chava partook of the Etz Hadaas, the Torah relates how they came to the awareness that ערומים הם (they were naked). Does this mean that beforehand they didn’t realize they were unclothed???

Prior to their sin, the Yetzer Hora was outside of them (R’ Chaim Volozhin). Hence, they saw themselves primarily as a soul enclosed by a body. Thus, in a sense they were clothed – by their body! Now however, the Yetzer Hora had become a part of them, and they began to view their body as being their primary being. Since the body was unclothed, their perspective of themselves was likewise that they were unclothed.

As we consider the goal of connection of our soul to Hashem in Olam Haba, we strengthen our awareness of our soul as our primary being. Slowly, this draws our focus away from the temporal bodily pleasures of this world to be become more and more directed towards the Torah and Mitzvohs that benefit our soul and prepare us for Olam Haba. This is the secret of the giants of our nation, but, with the right perspective, it could be our secret too.