Earning and Receiving Good

     This week I started back at the beginning of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's, "Inner Space."  This is a very difficult book to comprehend, so I'm reading it again.  What struck me this week was a section about free will:
     "There are therefore two basic concepts which comprise human existence.  First, man must earn the good that G_d has prepared.  Secondly, he must receive this good.
      "There is, however, a basic difference in environment required to actualize these two concepts.
      "For earning his own perfection and closeness to the Divine, the maximum possible challenge is required.  This in turn will result in the greatest possible pleasure of accomplishment.  Such an environment must therefore be one where neither G_d Himself nor the divine nature of our deeds is obvious.  It must be a world where G_d is hidden, and where good can only be accomplished with great difficulty.
      "The place where man receives good, on the other hand, must be the exact opposite.  In order for man to enjoy the maximum possible pleasure from the good he has done, the true nature of his deeds must be as obvious as possible.  The existence of G_d must also be as apparent as possible in such a world.  It must be an environment where man realizes the goodness of his deeds and their relationship to G_d.
      "It is for this reason that G_d created two levels of existence.  First there is this world----Olam HaZeh---a place of accomplishment and maximum challenge.  Secondly there is the World to Come----Olam HaBa---the world of ultimate reward, where both G_d's existence and the nature of one's deeds are totally apparent."
     So if you've ever wondered why the closer that you get to G_d, the more struggles and difficult choices you have to make, it's for a reason.  Your innate goodness is being honed to focus on the goodness and not the evil that resides in all of us.  Have you ever done something that you knew to be G_d's work here for others and felt G_d's presence and the total joy of that?  Now the goal is to use your free will to choose the right action and thought with every challenge.  The more honed at making good choices and taking good actions, the more good we will receive in Olam HaBa.


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