Masa/Journey
"A time to give birth and a time to die" (Ecclesiastes 3:2).
A journey is an expanse of time which connects two points - a beginning and an end. All the experiences undergone between these two points describe the content of that journey, a clear metaphor for the most fundamental of human experiences - the journey from birth to death. To talk of a journey is to talk of time, to talk of change, to compare the beginning with the end.
Birth and death - these two events are the only definitive and inarguable points of reference a man has, while the nature of his journey - the effect he has on the world, his joy and pain, the people he relates to; all these are unforetold and comprise the content of the book of his life; the pages of which he writes with every passing moment. In order for man to experience the passing of time as a journey and not as a random series of events, there must be a plot, and for a plot, he must have a purpose which he passionately pursues.
A man with a purpose is like a traveller with a compass and a map to guide him through the depths of a forest, and the more he is confident in his purpose, the more he can enjoy the beautiful scenery he passes as he proceeds steadily to his destination.A person with no purpose is like a traveller lost in the very same forest, circling his own tracks in despair, cursing the very landscape which could have been enjoyed had he only known he was moving in his intended direction.
Purpose
"This world is like a corridor to the World to Come." (Avoth 4:21)
For a long time I struggled with this phrase - is man to go through his life viewing his world as a means to an end, an end which lies beyond the end of his conceived physical existence? Does the beauty of the fleeting moment not justify our full attention?
"Man was placed in this world first - so that by these means...he would be able to reach... the World to Come, there to be sated with the goodness which he acquired..." (Mesilat Yesharim, Chapter 1)
Could it be that the same source of wisdom which preaches that the Infinite is instilled and must be appreciated in each aspect of our material lives, that every blade of grass is administered with an angel whose only task is to encourage it to grow, that this same wisdom could encourage man to view the world as a series of tasks to complete in order to amass spiritual "credit" for spending in the afterlife?
There are people of various faiths who have been educated to ascribe to this interpretation, but I feel they do themselves a gross injustice, for they may race down their corridor of life, oblivious to the beauty that surrounds them on all sides, intent only on increasing their heavenly account balance.
I would like to suggest that a deeper way of interpreting this phrase lies in our definition of the World to Come. Is the World to Come some kind of distant realm which we travel to when we die, to sit in a Divine courtroom and be defended and accused by angel - lawyers as we await our verdict, or could it perhaps be that the World to Come is not so far removed from where you and I are right this moment.
Perhaps, in fact, it is so close you could touch it.
The World to Come
A fundamental principle in Kabbalah presents the various levels of reality as closely interrelated with each other, so much so that every action in the physical world (Asiya) has a direct effect on the most spiritual and abstract levels of reality. The difference between this material world and the "World to Come" is simply a time delay and a difference of consciousness.
In the material world, we do not immediately experience the consequences of our actions. I can sit out on my roof, happily eating a toasted cheese and ham sandwich and nothing heavy will immediately land on my head (do not try in Sederot!). Similarly, I may give charity to a poor person and be mugged the very next moment. Consequence does not seem to follow action. Shit happens.
In the material world, we are tied to the shackles of time, and because the physical sensation and the ultimate effects of our actions not only are insimultaneous but may contadict (ask anyone who smokes), we allow ourselves to screw up and to do things which cause us harm.
In the spiritual world, there is no time. We exist as pure consciousness, and there is no time delay between cause and effect. You experience what you cause. It is the world "to come" in the sense that you directly experience the effects of whatever you have caused to
come into being.
It may be true that upon man's death, his consciousness, now stripped of its physical shell, will experience itself in a very different way to the way it was experienced while inhabiting a physcial body, but in no way does that mean that man can not experience the "world to come" whilst he is alive. To the contrary, the Sabbath, a day which comprises a seventh of mans worldly life, is described in well known Jewish liturgy as belonging to the "World to Come".
If we consider the above phrase once more through this interpretation of the "world to come", we can see that not only is this world not just a means to an end, but the very appreciation and enjoyment of this material world is a path (or a corridor) to connecting to that deeper, spiritual element of our being which comes from the world to come.
I am beginning a year-long project based on the theme of "Journey" ("Masa", in Hebrew), the end product will be a hand-crafted book comprised of photographs and other media which will express my personal interpretation of this concept. I will be grateful to recieve your feedback, ideas and insights in order to further develop my project.
Sincerely,
Zak Yitro
