Ma‘avar Yabbok (Crossing the Jabbok)

And the sages have stated, in regard to the reward of those who serve the Almighty and carry out His will in this world, in Song of Songs Rabbah 6:8: Anyone who occupies himself with the Torah in this world is not permitted to sleep even in the world to come. Rather, they lead him to the House of Study of Shem and Eber; of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and of Moses and Aaron. And up to what point does his study continue? Unto the point where it may be said of him: And I shall make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones who are in the earth (2 Samuel 7:9).

And they have said in the chapter entitled Ḥelek: “Sing each day; sing each day” [b. Sanhedrin 99b]. For R. Akiva used to say, “Organize your study of Torah, even though it is properly arranged inside your mouth like a song, and that will cause you to be in a state of joyfulness and song in the world to come.” Later in that tractate [Song of Songs Rabbah 6:9] it states on the verse (Song of Songs 6:8): There are sixty queens, which is referring to the sixty groups of the righteous seated in the Garden of Eden under the Tree of Life and occupying themselves with study of the Torah. And eighty concubines, which are the eighty groups of lesser righteous ones, sitting further out from the former group under the Tree of Life and occupying themselves with the study of the Torah. And countless numbers of young maidens—there is no end to the number of students there; and all of them are expounding one reason [for a particular commandment], one law, one case involving a similarity of scriptural phrases or expressions, and one a fortiori argument. And happy is one who is vouchsafed the merit to spread Torah in public for its own sake and to raise up many disciples in this world.

They further stated [Ecclesiastes Rabbah 2:1] that all the Torah a man learns in this world is as nothing in comparison to the Torah in the world to come; and this is because we have only occupied ourselves with the desirable instrument [i.e., the revealed Torah, see m. Avot 3:14] and the mere gleanings of the heavenly wisdom, whereas there the righteous will occupy themselves with the hidden delights and with the heavenly wisdom, not with gleanings. Nonetheless, this present Torah represents the gateway to the Almighty and from it the righteous shall merit hidden wisdom, in accordance with the midrashic parable [Leviticus Rabbah 7:2] of one who honored a king who was journeying through the desert with a basket of dried figs and a barrel of wine. The king said: “Is this the great honor [due to a king]?” etc.

And in the chapter entitled Ḥelek [b. Sanhedrin 100a], the sages stated: Anyone who blackens his face in this world over the words of Torah, the Holy One will cause his face to shine in the world to come, and likewise, anyone who starves himself for their sake in this world, the Holy One will cause him to be sated in the world to come, as it is said: May they be sated from the abundance of Your house, and may You give them to drink from the stream of Your delights (Psalms 36:9). Further, it is stated [Ecclesiastes Rabbah 2:10]: “R. Ḥiyya said, in connection with the verse: I made for myself pools of water (Ecclesiastes 2:6), that expositions are described [as pools], since they draw together many sources of learning and various different kinds of ideas.” Whenever a man studies them in public, he becomes like a gushing fountain, each individual to a degree commensurate with his mental grasp. And the sages have stated in the Midrash to Proverbs [8:35]: “Anyone who proclaims the words of the Torah and teaches them in public, I, too, [says God], at a time of favor, shall bestow favor upon him.”

And most certainly, every single member of the societies dedicated to the performance of acts of lovingkindness will obtain favor from the Almighty in Heaven, and likewise the rest of the community who assemble together at a sick person’s home for the purpose of welcoming the divine presence that precedes them, whose intention is similarly to have lovingkindness from the heavenly treasure house bestowed upon those confined to their sickbed [see Psalms 41:4], and to arouse abundant mercy from the divine will for the soul that is in pain, and whose journey is through whirlwind and storm (Nahum 1:3); and who are conjoined and bonded with unity and beauty to bring it under the wings of the divine presence, and thereby to cause it to recline beneath the shade of the Tree of Life. In respect to each of them, after enjoying a long life and many years, thousands upon thousands of myriads of holy [angels] shall take up their abode within their souls; and at the moment of their departure from this world they shall sparkle like a flash of lightning [see Ezekiel 1:14]; and He shall settle them for eternity and they shall be elevated. For their righteousness shall stand to their eternal credit, and from the outpouring of the waters of the stream of supernal delight, a table shall be laid for them [see Psalms 23:5], and the showbread which is perpetually before the Almighty shall satiate them, and they shall eat their fill, just as they themselves, on many an occasion, satisfied the longing soul and filled the hungry soul with goodness [see Psalms 107:9]. And there is no goodness besides the Torah. So the Almighty will lay His spirit upon them, for He never deprives any creature of its due reward, and the divine attribute of “measure for measure” is never rendered null and void. Sorrow and sighing shall flee away from them [see Isaiah 35:10], nor shall they fear on account of the day of trouble and rebuke [see 2 Kings 19:3], for entreaty shall be made for them and He shall save them.

Moreover, their focus upon the needs of the deceased shall be considered on high as sacred incense and as a sweet savor, as appears in these writings, with every single detail established and perfected. And this, truth to tell, was one of my original objectives, as one may plainly see with one’s eyes and discern with one’s heart [see Isaiah 6:10], by virtue of the explanatory prefaces that are to appear in this regard, containing far more than what is written within the primary text.

And this shall be the fruit for their holy deed, that the principal stock shall be preserved and remain hidden away for them for the world to come. And each of them shall merit that one of those angels, who is called Ḥarkhim [the stamper], who is in the third “palace,” on the southern side, who is appointed over those who perform deeds of lovingkindness toward the dead, shall stamp his image in heaven, for his credit in the world to come, as R. Simeon bar Yoḥai has assured us [in the Zohar] in his explanation of Pekude [250b]: “And when they lie down [for their eternal rest] they shall merit that those souls whom they accompanied [to the grave] with sacred words shall come forth to greet them,” just as R. Yoḥanan [sic; Rava] stated in Tractate Ta’anit [sic; Bava Kamma 111b]: “When I die, the soul of R. Hoshayah will come forth to greet me, since I would interpret the Mishnah in accordance with his views”; and R. Moses ben Naḥman stated likewise in the final chapter of [b.] Bava Kamma [43a], that he is certain that the soul of the Rif [Isaac Alfasi (1013–1103)] would come forth to greet him upon his death; and similarly it was said [by way of heavenly message] to our teacher, the master R. Joseph Karo [in Magid mesharim on the portion Vayakhel] that Maimonides would come forth to greet him together with the other righteous scholars, as he [Karo] gave them pleasure in this world; and anyone observing this precept faithfully to the letter shall receive no evil tidings.

And the sages have stated in Ruth Rabbah [2:15] on the verse: “As you have done with the dead (Ruth 1:8)—in that you concerned yourselves with their shrouds.” Now, in accordance with our exposition it is plain that those who stand by the departed in sacred conversation at the moment when his spirit and his soul are gathered unto the Almighty, they assuredly, in the merit of their pleasant words, spread a garment of royal purple over him and envelop his soul [within its folds], so as to prevent it panicking in confusion and being driven away by the sinister external forces that join there together with the Angel of Death, some of whom come to lay hold on his body, which is a vessel of holiness.

It is further stated there [in Ruth Rabbah 2:15] in the name of R. Zera: “This book contains neither laws of impurity or purity, neither laws of prohibited or permitted things. For what purpose, then, was it composed? To teach us how great a reward it is to those who perform acts of lovingkindness!”

And in the Ecclesiastes Rabbah [7:4]: “Said R. Judah: ‘Anyone who denies deeds of lovingkindness, it is as though he had denied the Torah.’” And on the verse And the living shall lay it to heart (Ecclesiastes 7:2) [the Midrash remarks]: “This is a reference to the Life of all worlds the Almighty who bestows reward upon an individual for each and every step he takes in the performance of deeds of lovingkindness.”

Similarly, in Psalms Rabbah [Shoḥer tov to Psalm 103], it is stated: “Said R. Joshua: ‘The merit of lovingkindness is for eternity, while charity endures for three generations’”; and Midrash Shoḥer Tov to Psalm 118, on the verse: Open unto me the gates of righteousness (Psalms 118:19): “In the world to come, they say to a man: ‘What was your job down on earth?’ and if he replies ‘I used to feed the hungry,’ then they say to him: ‘This is the heavenly gate for those who feed the hungry—enter into it!’ And likewise, in regard to those who rear orphans and to those who perform deeds of lovingkindness, and similarly in regard to all the other precepts.”

Thus we have seen the great crown of gold that the King, the supreme ruler of the universe, has assigned to those who perform acts of lovingkindness in this world with the living and the dead. We find [in Yalkut Shimoni to Hosea §622], on the verse: For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6) the following: “Said R. Yoḥanan to R. Joshua, who had said to him, ‘Woe unto us, on account of the Temple that has been destroyed, the place where our ancestors obtained atonement for their sins!’ And he responded, ‘My son, let it not be grievous to you, for we have another manner of atonement equivalent to it—and what is that? Acts of lovingkindness!’”

Rejoice, my innards, rejoice! Having been but for a short while in the esteemed city of Mantua, in the midst of the holy congregation which is the foremost city among the Italian communities, besides the fact that the entire community is holy, and within it are the perfection of virtues, the crown of nobility, the glory of the faith; and the land shines forth with light (Ezekiel 43:2) on account of its sages who sit in judgment! May the Almighty protect them, and may He elevate them too! There I have seen, in particular, how well ordered are their deeds and how upright are their paths, in their construction of cemeteries for their departed ones; and the members of those groups who perform deeds of lovingkindness [toward the dead], despite there being many among them who have not studied Mishnah, Gemara, and halakhah—(for not everyone is learned in the laws!), participate nonetheless with yearning hearts in this great commandment.

And incidentally while I was there, I heard directly from them that for some time now, they have earnestly desired that one member of the community should set about organizing proper training sessions for them to cry properly and raise their voices in prayer at the time of the soul’s departure. And since the Almighty, the God of the spirits of all flesh (Numbers 27:16), will not withhold goodness from those who walk in upright simplicity, and will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him (Psalms 145:19), He has so arranged affairs that this matter was initiated by their greater individuals, and completed by their lesser lights—(that is to say) both lesser in quantity and in quality—myself, the most impoverished of my clan, Aaron Berekhiah of Modena.

Other work by Berekhiah: Me’il tsedakah (1785).