The Rebbe's Rambam | Marking the completion of the entire set

Hilchos Melachim | Ch 12

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without anyone bothering or disturbing them . This is so that they may merit life in the world-to-come, as we have explained in Hilchos Teshuvah 9:2.

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 The Rambam writes that in the world-to-come, “the righteous sit with their crowns upon their heads, and delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence . . . mean(ing) that the knowledge that they knew. . . is their crown . . . they know and grasp the truth of the essence of Hashem which they could not know while they were in a dark, humble body.” 500 In other words, the world-to-come is not only a place of reward, but a state of closeness and intimacy with Hashem which is impossible in this world. When the Rambam states in Hilchos Teshuvah that “one should not say: I am performing the mitzvos . . . so that I merit life in the world-to-come,” he refers to the desire for the world-to-come as a reward. The Sages and prophets desired the world-to-come not as reward, but as the most perfect way to further their intimate connection with Hashem. Nevertheless, there is even great value in “doing the truth because it is the truth.” In doing so, one has no ulterior motives at all; not a desire for the reward of the world-to-come and not even a desire to further one’s own connection with Hashem. Such an approach is “exceedingly great,” as the Rambam writes (not only the “quality of the prophets and Sages”), and it is in this regard that he says “not every wise man merits it — it is the virtue of Avraham Avinu, whom Hashem called ‘he who loved him.’” Based on the above, we can understand the story of the Jews in the desert who were punished because they did not want to enter Eretz Yisrael. At face value, the Jews received exactly what they had hoped for: they remained in the desert and did not enter Eretz Yisrael. If so, what was the punishment? The explanation: The Jews refused to enter Eretz Yisrael because of their great spiritual stature. They did not want to

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Pardes Hamelech

become occupied with the physical and materialistic pursuits of living in the land, preferring to remain in the desert and focusing on their connection with Hashem. 501 They failed to understand that serving Hashem from within Eretz Yisrael is actually greater, as it is non-self-serving — “does what is true because it is truth.” This is alluded to in Yehoshua’s response to the people during the debacle of the spies: “If Hashem desires us and he brings us…” Yehoshua tells them that entering the land means that Hashem desires us, and that is a much greater state of connection than remaining in the desert to remain unencumbered by materialism. By not entering Eretz Yisrael, the Jews were prevented from achieving this great quality. When the Rambam describes the greatness of “doing what is true because it is the truth,” he says that “eventually, good will come about too.” Although the good benefits are irrelevant to the individual, good will result from their actions as an automatic consequence. Similarly, Yehoshua and Kalev describe Eretz Yisrael as being “very, very good.” In other words, although learning Torah with no distractions could bring one to the world-to-come (which “has no comparison in the good of this world”), by entering the Land and doing the “truth because it is the truth,” they would eventu ally gain an even greater good (albeit not as a reward or payment). Since Torah is eternal, Yehoshua and Kalev’s state ment is an everlasting message to every Jew. When fulfilling mitzvos with a simple commitment to observe Hashem’s instructions, every Jew can attain heights which are far greater than serving Hashem through love. Likkutei Sichos vol. 33 pg. 87

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