Reward in this world and the next that a person merits by his good deeds in this world. This takes two forms: reward in this world alone and reward in the next world alone. Sometimes a person merits both on account of a single deed. This matter was not explained to us in detail. Rather, the Creator promised His people general reward for general observance and did not state specific reward for respective acts of service in this world as he did in regard to punishment for transgression. But of reward and punishment in the next world, the Prophet has told us nothing in his book for several reasons. One of these is that the form of the soul apart from the body is unknown to us, still less do we know what brings it delight in that state or causes it to suffer pg 437
Once, on a Motzoei Shabbos, the chasidim were sitting in the bais medrash of the Ruzhiner Rebbe zy”a for Melave Malka. Suddenly, the Rebbe opened the door of his room next to the bais medrash, stood at the entrance, and said, “The Baal Shem Tov was not a deity, and the zaida, the Magid, was not just an ordinary wagon driver. And once, when the holy Baal Shem Tov prayed, his talis fringe fell out of his gartel and dragged on the floor. The Magid approached, picked it up, and put it back in the gartel, but he was trembled with such tremendous fear that he fainted and his life was in danger. They were compelled to rouse the Baal Shem Tov from his deep dveikus in order to calm him.” He then added, “I told you that the Baal Shem Tov was not a deity and my zaida, the Magid, was no wagon driver. Still and all, when he touched the Besht’s garment, he fainted from fear. The entire world is Hashem’s garment. How much fear must we feel to touch this world!” May the memory of the...
