Siman - Pesachim Daf 50
- עולם הפוך ראיתי
The Gemara brings an incident when Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi’s son, Rav Yosef, got sick and slipped into a comatose state. Rashi says that he expired, and his soul left his body. His soul eventually returned to his body, and when he awoke, he told his father, עולם הפוך ראיתי – I saw an inverted world! עליונים למטה ותחתונים למעלה – The ones who are uppermost in this world are below in Olam Haba, and the lowly in this world are above in Olam Haba. Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi said to his son, בני עולם ברור ראית – My son, you have seen a clear world. He then asked Rav Yosef how we, talmidei chochomim, are regarded there? Rav Yosef answered, “Just as we are regarded here, so are we regarded there”. His father asked what they were saying there, and his son replied that he heard them saying, אשרי מי שבא לכאן ותלמודו בידו – Fortunate is he who comes here and his learning is in his hand.
- ה' אחד ושמו אחד
The Gemara brings a passuk in Zecharia that says, והיה ה' למלך על כל הארץ ביום ההוא יהיה ה' אחד ושמו אחד – And Hashem will become King of all the earth; on that day Hashem will be one and His Name will be One. The Gemara asks “Is Hashem not one today?” and Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak answered, לא כעולם הזה העולם הבא – The World to Come is unlike this world. In this world Hashem’s name is written with the letters, yud, hei , etc. and is pronounced with the letters aleph, dalet, etc. אבל לעולם הבא כולו אחד – But in the World to Come it will be all one. Meaning, it will be both pronounced and written with the letters yud, hei, etc.
Rebbe Avina contrasted two parts of a passuk. It says, זה שמי לעלם – This is my name l’olam, which indicates Hashem’s name should be hidden, as l’alem means to conceal, whereas immediately after in the passuk it says, וזה זכרי לדור דר – and this is My mention from generation to generation, which implies that the Name is mentioned? Rebbe Avina resolved the contradiction. אמר הקדוש הברוך הוא – Hakadosh Boruch Hu said, לא כשאני נכתב אני נקרא – I, meaning My Name, am not pronounced as I am written. I am written with the letters yud, hei, etc, but I am pronounced with the letters aleph, dalet, etc.
- לשמה ולא לשמה
Rava pointed out a contradiction between two pesukim. It is written, כי גדל עד שמים חסדך – For great until the heavens is Your kindness, and it is written elsewhere, כי גדול מעל שמים חסדך – For great above the Heavens is Your kindness. Does the reward from Hashem, which is referred to by “Your kindness,” originate “above the heavens” or only “until the heavens”? The Gemara answers, כאן בעושין לשמה וכאן בעושין שלא לשמה – Here, in the second passuk, it is referring to those who perform a mitzvah for its own sake, for no purpose other than to fulfill Hashem’s will. They will receive reward from above the heavens, meaning supernaturally. In the first passuk, it refers to those who perform a mitzvah not for its own sake but for personal gain, and they will receive reward from until the heavens, meaning through natural means. This statement, is like Rav Yehudah, who said in the name of Rav, לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ומצות אף על פי שלא לשמה שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה – A person should always engage in learning Torah and doing mitzvos even though not for its own sake, because from doing them not for their own sake he will eventually come to do them for their own sake.
