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Every day requires Mitzvos to be performed:[1]
A cryptic Zoharic statement: The Zohar explains the verse “Veavraham Zakein Ba Bayamim” to mean that Avraham was satiated with his days, that each day contained its garments of Mitzvos which Avraham had completed. The Zohar concludes: Woe onto the man who has decreased his days, as a day with a blemish is a day without a garment, as above in heaven they garb him in these garments.
The intent: The intent of the statement of the Zohar is as follows: After death, the souls which eventually make it to the garden of Eden receive their pleasure and reward from basking in the Ray of the Divine presence. Now, being that the soul is a limited creation, he cannot receive directly from the divine Ray without it being led to expiration and essential nonexistence. To prevent this from occurring, G-d created garments for the soul to protect it from the intensity of his Divine rays, and allow the souls to receive a measured experience of Divinity, which allow it to receive immense pleasure and at the same time retain its existence. What are these soul garments made of? The Mitzvos that one performs in this world. Every Mitzvah that one performs becomes the garment for his soul in the garden of Eden. Now, every day of life in this physical world contains a special divine mission for one’s soul and if a vacation day was taken from one’s divine service and thereby caused that day to be absent of the fulfillment of Mitzvos, then that day is lacking its garment with which the soul is to be garbed in, in the garden of Eden. It does not suffice to simply do two Mitzvos the next day as a makeup, as every day has its specific required Mitzvos that cannot be made up. This then was the greatness of Avraham Avinu, that he did not lack even one day from his divine service and hence all of his garments were complete.
The Divine lesson: Never push off a Mitzvah that you can do today for tomorrow. Every day of a Jew’s life has its intent and purpose in divine service, and that service is specific to that day. Q&A So, is there really no hope for one who took a vacation from G-d for a day and lost that day’s garment? What about Teshuvah? Indeed, this matter requires further analysis as on the one hand it states that repentance works retroactively, although on the other hand it is not possible to go back in time and reexperience the benefits of having performed the Mitzvah on that day. Perhaps then we can conclude that while repentance can help one regain the future benefit from the Mitzvah that he missed on a particular day, it will never so to say fix the experience of the past and the fact will always remain that he has one day that is missing a garment. On the other hand, perhaps the fact that that days sin is what caused him to repent in the future, then retroactively it is considered as if he began his repentance on the day of the missed Mitzvah and hence he never missed a Mitzvah on that day, as that day was part of his performance of the Mitzvah of repentance. Vetzaruch Iyun. |
[1] Torah Or p. 16a
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