Worrying could be a sport in my house. There is always something to worry about. Will this arrive on time? Did I forget something important in that stack of papers? Did I turn the oven off before I left?
The flipside of worry is hope.
One of the hopes of the Jewish people has traditionally been the coming of the Mashiach, either defined as a person or an era. The language of the World-to-Come is sometimes used, which is also the place we find ourselves after death.
This place/time appears in rabbinic texts with a wide variety of descriptions that do and do not correlate with each other. There is not a single view. It is a manifestation of both the rabbis themselves, in their specific time, and our hopes for the moment we’re currently in.
On Ketubot 111b, quoting from the Torah portion Ha’azinu, the rabbis imagine what this World-to-Come will be like.
It is stated in the verse: “And from the blood of the grape you drank foaming wine” (Deuteronomy 32:14).
The Sages said: The World-to-Come is not like this world. In this world there is suffering involved in picking grapes and in pressing them.
Inspired by the poetry in Ha’azinu, the sages describe our world. It is a difficult one, full of hard labor. Using the imagery of the creation of wine, life is full of suffering metaphorically represented by the picking and pressing of grapes for wine.
By contrast, in the World-to-Come one will bring one grape in a wagon or on a boat and set it down in a corner of his house and supply from it enough to fill about the amount of a large jug [pitus], and with its wood one will kindle a fire under a cooked dish.
And every grape you have will produce no less than thirty full jugs of wine. As it is stated: “And from the blood of the grape you drank foaming wine [ḥamer].” Do not read this term as ḥamer; rather, read it as ḥomer.
We will not suffer the same way in the rabbinic imagination of the World-to-Come. What will it be like? The grapes will be so large you will need a wagon to transport them, and they will provide thirty jugs of wine each.
How do we know this? We don’t read the verse with the word hamer denoting wine and vinegar, but as homer, which denotes great weight or importance (according to the Jastrow Dictionary).
Pulling back into our metaphor here, what are we saying?
This mythical World-to-Come is one of abundance.
It is a universe of less suffering, of tremendous opportunity and ease.
But that is not the only story about this place/time.
On Berakhot 4b, it says:
Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Avina said: Anyone who recites: “A Psalm of David” (Psalms 145) three times every day is assured of a place in the World-to-Come.
On Berakhot 17a, it says:
Rav was wont to say:
The World-to-Come is not like this world.
In the World-to-Come there is no eating, no drinking,
no procreation, no business negotiations,
no jealousy, no hatred, and no competition.
Rather, the righteous sit with their crowns upon their heads, enjoying the splendor of the Divine Presence, as it is stated:
“And they beheld God, and they ate and drank” (Exodus 24:11).
On Sanhedrin 91b, it says:
And according to Shmuel, who says: The difference between this world and the messianic era is only subjugation of the exiles
On Avodah Zarah 5a, it says:
And Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani further says that Rabbi Yonatan says: With regard to anyone who performs one mitzva in this world, the mitzva will precede him and walk before him in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your reward” (Isaiah 58:8).
As you can see, from these texts, there is not a single view other than that it is a good place and era to come.
This prompts us to think about, what will it be like right before this era arrives? What brings forth this era?
In Ha’azinu, the Torah says,
For the LORD will vindicate God’s people
And take revenge for God’s servants,
When God sees that their might is gone,
And neither bond nor free is left.
This is understood by the Talmud, broadly, to describe this pre-World-to-Come era. And the verses are interpreted specifically, by the Talmud on Sanhedrin 97a like this:
The Sages taught in a baraita: The verse states: “For the Lord shall judge God’s people and atone for God’s servants, when God sees that their power is gone and there is none shut up or left” (Deuteronomy 32:36).
From the phrase “their power is gone” it is derived that the son of David will not come until informers will proliferate.
Alternatively, the Messiah will not come until the number of students of Torah diminishes.
Alternatively, the Messiah will not come until the peruta will cease from the purse.
Alternatively, the Messiah will not come until they despair from the redemption, as it is stated: “And there is none shut up or left,” as though there were no supporter or helper for the Jewish people.
So when will this happen? When will all of the good stuff come our way?
When things look bleak. Great.
When people cannot trust their neighbors, when Torah study is decreased, and when we’re destitute and in despair. This sounds like a rough time.
Now, I’m not so concerned about all my previous worrying. I’ve got despair and informers to worry about. I’m sure that’s what the rabbis intended.
So what do we do with all of this? Should we really be keeping track of this information? Are we on the lookout?
Some would say, yes, we should be praying and intending for this moment to come. They would say we should be intent and focused on this with every fiber of our being. While others would remind us that we should just keep doing what we’re doing and it will come when it comes.
On some level, there’s truth to both perspectives. Commenting on that idea, the text above continues like this:
This is as in that practice of Rabbi Zeira, who, when he would find Sages who were engaging in discussions about the coming of the Messiah, said to them:
Please, I ask of you, do not delay [the messiah’s] coming by calculating the end of days. As we learn in a baraita: There are three matters that come only by means of diversion of attention from those matters, and these are they: The Messiah, a lost item, and a scorpion.
Rabbi Zeira tells us, “Don’t spend any time on this, go about your day!” Attempting to prognosticate, prophetize, and guess is foolish. Why?
It is when you stop paying attention to something, THATS when it appears. Watched pot, and all that. Rabbi Zeira lists a few things that fall into this category: the Messiah, lost objects, and… scorpions.
Rashi says that the scorpions are always coming with an element of surprise.
But the broader point is this:
There’s no use worrying. Just live your life.
There is so much in our lives that we cannot control, the coming of an exalted era is certainly one of them.
Instead, we should focus on what we’re doing right here and now. Our relationships, our actions, creating justice in the world, and growing as human beings.
It isn’t to say we cannot have hope. We can still make efforts to bring that hopeful future to fruition.