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Automatic transcript; may contain mistakes, especially in Hebrew.
This week's question, why are we davening for a long life? Don't we want to accomplish our tafkit and leave? Wouldn't it be better to daven, to recognize what our tafkit is, so we can accomplish it and go? So, Chazal say that the soul, when it's in Shamayim, has no desire to come down into this world. And actually 40 days before conception, the soul is told that it's going to go down into the world. And the reason for that is because the soul needs an adjustment period, because it has no desire to go down into the world. So the soul can be compared to a diamond that's in a Tiffany's store in a beautiful, plush, velvet box. And at that point, the soul believes that the best place for it is under that beautiful spotlight. And when it looks at the world, the soul says, why would I want to go down into the world? That would be like putting a diamond into mud. And so the soul has no desire to do it. And the only reason that the soul does it is because the soul understands that this is what Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants. But in truth, the soul's desire is to return to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
However, Chazal also say that the soul dies against its will, which means that there's something that the soul recognizes while it's here in this world, something that the soul learns, that tells it that it wants to be here. And what is that? Well, before we compared the soul to a diamond in a Tiffany store in a plush velvet box. But the truth is that's not the very best place for a diamond. The best place for a diamond is on someone's finger, adorning them as jewelry does. And the reason why that's the best place is because that actually fulfills the mission for which it was created. And so too with the soul. The soul understands that it gets a tainug, a pleasure from being with Hakadosh Baruch Hu in Shamayim. But the soul comes down to this world and understands that it actually has a capacity to illuminate the world and to bring godliness, to reveal godliness in the world down below. And even though the soul always has a desire to return to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, ultimately the soul does recognize that this is the best place for it. The truth is that we often make a mistake and think about that the whole point of coming down into this world is to return to Shamayim.
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And that's not true. Because if that was the case, Hakadosh Baruch Hu could have just kept the soul in Shamayim to begin with. The purpose is actually to build the world into a godly place, and that's what Olam Haba is. Olam Haba is our world that's in a more godly place, that's in a more godly way. And so Hakadosh Baruch Hu will feel comfortable. And that's why Tchias HaMesim ultimately means that the soul returns to a rejuvenated body, a renewed body, the body of Adonai Rishon. Because ultimately, this is where the true reward is. And so even though there's a reward for the soul in Olam HaNeshamos, the ultimate reward is in Olam Haba after Tchias HaMesim, down here in this world, because the soul has learned that this is the very best place for it. So when we speak about fulfilling your Tafkid and leaving, that's a mistake. The purpose of coming down into this world is to make the world a godly place. Now, everybody has a Tafkid, but we don't know when that Tafkid is. And the truth of the matter is that we're not here for one minute longer than we should be, and we're not here for one minute shorter than we should be.
Hakadosh Baruch Hu has a perfect purpose. He has a perfect plan. Since we don't know what our tafgir is, it's sometimes a little ridiculous to talk about it. We should daven that we have the opportunity to serve Hakadosh Baruch Hu wherever we go. And if we do that, so then we instill value and meaning in our lives. And the point is not to do what you need me to do and then I'll get out of here. That's not a very good representation of a relationship. As long as you're in the relationship, the goal should be to participate in the relationship, to maximize your effectiveness in the relationship. And so too when it comes to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, if we're down here in this world, that must mean that Hakadosh Baruch Hu has a reason for us to be here, which means that our tafgir continues. It's not like a person necessarily has one tafgir and then he's out. Every moment that you're alive, there's a reason for you to be alive. That means that every moment is filled with infinite purpose and the soul recognizes that infinite purpose and the soul wants to stay. That's why the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu had to literally be pulled out of Moshe Rabbeinu's body, because it was so...
a comfortable place in Moshe Rabbeinu's body that it did not see the difference between the kisei ha-kavod and Moshe Rabbeinu's body. So the soul had no desire to leave because why would the soul want to leave once it's become accustomed to being an adornment on someone? The soul recognizes that going back to a Tiffany's box, as wonderful and as plush as that box may be, it does not fulfill its ultimate purpose.
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