Rashi says, (26:12) Im bechukosai teileichu, if you will walk in My laws, a'tyeil imachem b'gan eden, I will walk together with you in Gan Eden. What does it mean?
ANSWER:
Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't have to take a walk, He doesn't walk; it means this. When a person follows in the ways of Hashem, he's going to have kirvas Hashem. Dovid Hamelech said, V'ani kirvas Elokim li tov, the best of all things is to get close to Hashem. Now how do you get close to Hashem? If you understand that Hashem isn't a physical thing, Hashem is ruchnius, how do we get close in ruchnius to a ruchnius? The answer is: by being similar.
I'll give you an example. You have a cellular telephone and you're speaking to somebody hundreds of miles away, but this minute you're close to him. Why are you close to him, you are very far from him? But your wavelength is the same as his, and your voice enters his cell phone. So if a person has the wavelength-has the middos of Hakadosh Baruch Hu-he is close to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
It's the same as if he is walking side-by-side with the Shechina, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, if you'll improve your character we'll all walk together in Gan Eden. How it will look like, I cannot tell you, I certainly cannot explain what it looks like to take a walk with Hakadosh Baruch Hu, it's impossible to explain that.
But it certainly means more than what we think; it's a very great happiness and a great honor. If Hakadosh Baruch Hu allows you to be considered close to Him, it's because of the shleimus of middos, and the shleimus of middos-the Rambam says-is one of the means of getting close to Hashem.
Good Shabbos To All
This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210
Important Numbers
