He Used To Say: "Those Who Are Born Are Destined To Die; Those Who Are Dead Are Destined To Live Again; And Those Who Live [Again] Are Destined To Be Judged. [Therefore, Let Man] Know, Make Known, And Become Aware That He Is G-D, He Is The Fashioner, He Is The Creator, He Is The Discerner, He Is The Judge, He Is The Witness, He Is The Plaintiff, He Will Hereafter Sit In Judgment. Blessed Is He, Before Whom There Is No Iniquity, Nor Forgetting, Nor Partiality, Nor Bribe-Taking; And Know That All Is According To The Reckoning.

"And Let Not Your Evil Inclination Assure You That The Grave Will Be A Place Of Refuge For You, For Against Your Will You Were Created, Against Your Will You Were Born; Against Your Will You Live; Against Your Will You Die, And Against Your Will You Are Destined To Give An Account Before The Supreme King Of Kings, The Holy One, Blessed Be He."

Bribe-Taking

In his Commentary to the Mishnah, the Rambam explains that this clause teaches that G-d will not accept the bribe of a mitzvah. Even when a person has performed 1,000 good deeds and only one evil act, the good deeds will not eclipse the evil act. He will receive ample and fair reward for all the good he has done, and just retribution for his misdeed.

The reckoning which G-d makes of our virtues and shortcomings is not a form of barter. Every mitzvah a person performs creates an eternal bond between him and G-d, and every sin causes separation between the two.

This highlights the importance of repentance, for teshuvah re-establishes the connection with G-d that is broken through sin, and indeed has the potential to transform one's willful sins into merits.[71]

For this reason, our Sages[72] refer to teshuvah as a bribe, and state that this is the one bribe G-d does accept.

(Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXIV, p. 76ff)

Against Your Will You Live; Against Your Will You Die

By saying that a person lives against his will, the mishnah implies that a person's true desire is to abandon material existence. Saying that a person dies against his will, by contrast, implies that a person desires to continue living within the body.

In truth, both statements are true. On one hand, the soul is a spiritual entity, "an actual part of G-d."[73] Thus it has a natural desire to rise above the limits of material existence and return to its spiritual source.

Why does it remain within the body? Because it perceives G-d's desire for the world to be transformed into a dwelling for Him. And it dedicates itself to the fulfillment of this desire against its own individual will.

Nevertheless, because the soul is an actual part of G-d, G-d's desire for a dwelling in this world is not an external factor, but rather permeates its essential will. Therefore, death - the departure from this material framework - is also against its will.

These two thrusts, though seemingly contradictory, actually reinforce each other. It is only when a person feels the limitations of material existence and desires the spiritual, that he is capable of satisfying G-d's desire for a dwelling within this world. If he lacks the drive for spirituality, it is likely that his involvement in the world will be spurred by ordinary material desires, and not G-d's desire for a dwelling.

These concepts should be reflected in every individual's life. On one hand, he should not shy away from worldly involvement, for through such activity he can fulfill G-d's desire. Simultaneously, a person should feel that this involvement is contrary to his inner nature - against his will - for his true desire is to be one with G-d.

(Likkutei Sichos, Vol. IV, p. 1217ff)

   

Notes:

71. (Back to text) Yoma 86b.

72. (Back to text) Midrash Tehillim commenting on Tehillim 17:2; Yalkut Shimoni, Tehillim sec. 670.

73. (Back to text) Tanya, ch. 2.