Community Magazine November 2009

28 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE two millennia ago. The Temple will be restored to its previous state of glory, and the sacrificial offerings will be reinstated. The Yehudim will once again come to the Mikdash together as a nation three times each year on the pilgrimage festivals (Pesah, Shavuot and Sukkot). The rabbinic scholars debate the question of who will build the third Temple. Some say that Gd Himself will build the structure, which will descend readymade from the heavens in a pillar of fire. Others, however, contend that Mashiah will rebuild the Temple. There are some who claim that both views are correct: Mashiah will first rebuild the Temple, but then a spiritual Temple will descend from heaven and enter the Temple constructed by Mashiah, just as a soul enters a physical body. Free Choice and Reward The purpose of man’s creation, in its most simplistic description, is to resist the temptation to sin and act righteously, whereby he will be deserving of eternal reward in the world to come. This gives rise to the obvious question as to the purpose of man’s existence in the Messianic Era, when there will be no inclination toward evil. What will be the purpose of man during this period of time? This question led the Ramban (Rabbi Moshe Nachmanides, Spain, 1194-1270) to claim that there will indeed be no reward given for serving Hashem during the Messianic Era, when people will not have free choice to do evil. Remarkably, this opinion led the Ramban to call the time of Mashiah “the unwanted days,” because they will not offer the possibility of earning eternal reward! Others, however, disagree, and explain that even in the times of Mashiah, people will endure spiritual challenges, though not to the same extent as they do now. Although people will not experience an internal drive to do evil, there will still be some sort of external force luring them to sin. Just as the snake lured Adam to violate Hashem’s command, similarly, in the Messianic era we will be exposed to external sinful pressures. We will be able to earn eternal reward in the next world by resisting these pressures and remaining faithful to the Almighty. The Messianic Era and Olam Haba Many different opinions exist as to the duration of the Messianic Era. Some scholars say that this period will last for only 400 years, while others claim that it will endure for 2,000 years. After this period, the world will reach the stage called Olam Haba – the world to come, when all of existence will be transformed into an entirely new entity – which we will discuss at length in next month’s installment. Next Issue: Tehiyat Hametim and Olam Haba * The information in this article was adapted from Sefer Ossrot Aharit Hayamim by Rabbi Yehuda Hiyun.