Avos 4:22

בס׳ד

אבות ד:כב

He used to teach: The born are destined to die; and the dead are destined to be revived; and the revived are destined for judgment, in order to know, to declare, and to realize that: He alone is God; He alone is the Shaper; He alone is the Creator; He alone is the Discerner; He alone is the Judge; He alone is the Witness; He alone is the Plaintiff; and He alone will pass future judgment. Blessed is He, for in Him there is neither flaw nor forgetting; neither favoritism nor corruption; for everything is His. And know this: everything is perfectly calculated. And don’t let your rebellious urge convince you that death is some sort of refuge, For you were conceived without being consulted; and You were born without being consulted; and You live without being consulted; and You shall die without being consulted - and Without being consulted, you will eventually account for yourself before the King of Kings of Kings, the Blessed Holy One.

הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, הַיִּלּוֹדִים לָמוּת, וְהַמֵּתִים לְהֵחָיוֹת, וְהַחַיִּים לִדּוֹן. לֵידַע לְהוֹדִיעַ וּלְהִוָּדַע: שֶׁהוּא אֵל, הוּא הַיּוֹצֵר, הוּא הַבּוֹרֵא, הוּא הַמֵּבִין, הוּא הַדַּיָּן, הוּא עֵד, הוּא בַעַל דִּין, וְהוּא עָתִיד לָדוּן. בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁאֵין לְפָנָיו לֹא עַוְלָה, וְלֹא שִׁכְחָה, וְלֹא מַשּׂוֹא פָנִים, וְלֹא מִקַּח שֹׁחַד, שֶׁהַכֹּל שֶׁלּוֹ. וְדַע שֶׁהַכֹּל לְפִי הַחֶשְׁבּוֹן. וְאַל יַבְטִיחֲךָ יִצְרְךָ שֶׁהַשְּׁאוֹל בֵּית מָנוֹס לְךָ, שֶׁעַל כָּרְחֲךָ אַתָּה נוֹצָר, וְעַל כָּרְחֲךָ אַתָּה נוֹלָד, וְעַל כָּרְחֲךָ אַתָּה חַי, וְעַל כָּרְחֲךָ אַתָּה מֵת, וְעַל כָּרְחֲךָ אַתָּה עָתִיד לִתֵּן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא:

        These teachings are a kind of extended commentary on Rabbi Yannai’s earlier teaching that this world is a place of preparation for the Coming World (Avos 4:16-17).  This mishnah also has a close relationship to Rabbi Aqiva’s teachings on the human condition in Avos 3:13-16.  Rabbi Aqiva reflected primarily on the nature of human choice in a world created by a God who already knows all the possibilities of our existence.  Rabbi Eliezer shifts attention from the problem of freedom to the question of destiny and the ultimate limitation of our physical death.  How do we live if we know that, ultimately, everything we do, think, and say in this life will confront us as we stand before HaShem’s Bes Din in the Coming World?  How do we live once we learn, as we do early on, that everything we love and cherish, including our very lives, is a mere speck of a moment in the infinite reality of God’s knowledge and subject to the ultimate mystery of His will?

        The phrase, “without being consulted” (be-al korkhekha) serves as a kind of refrain at the end of this mishnah and a key to Rabbi Eliezer’s conception of a heroically lived human life.  Once I was hospitalized and came down with a serious infection that almost killed me.  I was feeling very sorry for myself and unable to care for myself. I almost wanted to give up.  Then one day a nurse took me to the wing of the hospital where they offered physical therapy.

        There I saw a man who was paralyzed from the neck down.  He was lying on a table and a therapist was helping him turn his head back and forth.  This was the only existence he had.  And he did it every day, and would do it every day for the rest of his life.  And he was grateful that he had this left to him.  When I saw this man, I knew the meaning of “without being consulted”.  When HaShem whittles your life down to a fine point, you have two choices: write with it or fall into despair.  This man was “writing” with what was left to him. “Without being consulted”, he lived.  And he made life worth living. His example was a hizzuk for me, and I always try to keep his memory in my mind.

        The Midrash Tanhuma (Pekudei, 3) records a powerful expansion of Rabbi Eliezer’s basic understanding of the origins of the soul, it’s destiny, and the way our knowledge about ultimate limitations shapes our lives. It is very long, but so beautiful, that I couldn’t leave it out. Here it is:

“When a man has relations with his wife, the Holy one signals to the Angel appointed over pregnancies.  And the Angel’s name is Lilah. And the Holy One says to Lilah: ‘Know that this night a person has been conceived from the seed of So and So.  Take care and preserve this drop, and take it in your hand and sow it in the threshing floor of the 365 organs.’

And that’s what the Angel does.  Immediately, Lilah takes the drop in hand and brings it to the Holy One and says before Him: ‘I have done what you commanded me.  Now, as for this drop, what will you decree for it?’  Immediately the Holy One decrees the destiny of this drop: will it be male or female, weak or strong, poor or rich, short or tall, ugly or beautiful, fat or thin, pleasant or coarse?  And he also decrees all that will happen to the drop.  But not whether it will be righteous or wicked.  Rather, that matter is the responsibility of the person alone, as it is said: ‘See, I have placed before you today life and goodness, or death and evil.’

Immediately the Holy One signals to the Angel appointed over souls. And He says to him: ‘Bring me such and such a soul which is in the Garden of Eden, for it is the soul of So and So, and this and that is its description…’.  Immediately, the Angel goes and brings the soul before the Holy One.  And when she comes, she immediately bows before the King of Kings of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

At that moment says the Holy One to the soul: ‘Enter into that drop in the hand of So and So!”

But the soul opens her mouth and says before Him: ‘Lord of the World! I am satisfied with the world that I’ve lived in since you created me. Why do you want to place me in this rotten drop?  For I am holy and pure, carved from the stock of your Glory!’

Immediately He places her into the drop despite herself.  And then the Angel comes and places the soul into the belly of its mother.  Then he appoints two other angels to guard it, so that it does not leave or fall out…And from there it can see from one end of the world to the other.

Then the Angel takes it from there and brings it to the Garden of Eden and shows it the righteous sitting in honor, with their crowns on their heads.  And the Angel says to the soul: ‘Do you know what they are?’ And the souls says: ‘No, my Master!’ The Angel replies: ‘These whom you see here were originally created, just like you, in the wombs of their mothers.  And they went into the world, and observed the Torah and mitzvahs.  For this they were rewarded and set aside for this goodness that you see them enjoying.  Know that you are about to go into the world.  And if you are deserving, and observe the Torah of the Holy One, you too will be rewarded as they are.  But if not, know that you will inherit another place entirely!’

In the evening, the angel takes the soul to Gehinom and shows it the wicked.  And punishing angels beat them with clubs of fire.  And they cry out: ‘Oi vey! Oi vey!’ But no one has pity on them.  And the Angel says to that soul: ‘Do you know who these are?’  And the soul replies:'No, my Master.’  And the Angel says: ‘These burning people were created, just like you, and they went into the world.  But they did not keep the Torah and the laws of the Holy One.  That is why they arrived at this tragedy that you have seen.  Know that you are about to go out into the world.  So be righteous and not wicked!  And you will inherit the life of the World to Come.’

Now the Angel tours with the soul from morning to evening.  And he shows it the place it will eventually die and where it will eventually be buried.  And afterwards he brings it for a tour of the entire world, showing it the righteous and the wicked, showing it everything.  And in the evening, he returns the soul to its mother’s belly.  And the Holy One places a bolted door before it….

Finally, the baby’s moment comes for entering the fresh air of the world. Immediately that Angel comes and says to it: ‘Your time has come for entering the world.’  And the baby says: ‘Why do you want to send me out into the fresh air of the world?’  The Angel replies: ‘My child!  Know that you were conceived without being consulted, you were born without being consulted, and you’ll die without being consulted, you live without being consulted, and, without being consulted, you will eventually have to give an account of yourself before the Blessed Holy One.’

But the baby refuses to leave, the Angel gives it a slap, blows out the candle that is lit by its head, and brings it out into the fresh air of the world whether it wants to be or not.  Immediately, the baby forgets everything it saw before leaving and everything it knew.  Now, why do babies cry when they leave?  It cries in regret for leaving the peaceful world it knew.

At the moment of birth, the baby inherits seven worlds which will shape its life. In the first world, it is like a King, for everyone wants to know how it is feeling, and everyone is desperate to see it, and everyone hugs and kisses it.  And this lasts for a year.

In the second world, the baby is like a pig which wallows in its filth, for the baby sits in its own filth until it is two.

In the third world, the baby is like a goat, who dances here and there with glee before its mother.  So a toddler takes pleasure in its mother and father, dancing here and there, and playing, and everyone delights in it.

In the fourth world, it is like a horse, being guided by reins during its period of puberty.  And at 18, just as a horse gallops and takes pleasure in its powers, so too we take pleasure in our new powers.

In the fifth world, it is like a mule, for they place a saddle upon it.  So, too, humans receive a saddle, they marry, produce sons and daughters, run back and forth looking for food to sustain their children, and they bear burdens.  And when is this?  When we are 40 years old.

In the sixth world, it is like a dog, which skulks here and there, takes from this one and gives to that one without shame.

In the seventh world, it is like a monkey, because its face changes from what it was, and it has to ask over and over again even after receiving an answer, and it eats like an infant, and thinks only about the past. Even its children make fun of it…And even a flying bird wakes it in the night from its sleep.

Finally, its time comes.  The very same Angel returns to it and says:‘Do you recognize me?’  It says: ‘Yes, why have you come for me today rather than some other day?’  The Angel replies: ‘To bring you out of the world, for your time has arrived to pass away.’

Immediately, it begins to cry so loudly its voice can be heard from one end of the world to the other.  But no creature hears or pays attention except the rooster. And the person says to the Angel: ‘Haven’t you already thrown me out of two worlds and placed me in this one?’  And the Angel replies: ‘Didn’t I already tell you that you were conceived without being consulted, you were born without being consulted, you live without being consulted, you shall die without being consulted, and, without being consulted, you shall give an account of yourself before the Holy Blessed One!’ ”

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