Mesilat yesharim (Path of the Upright)

In summary, man was created not for his state in this world, but for his state in the world-to-come. His state in this world, however, serves as the means toward [attaining] his state in the world-to-come, which is the ultimate one. You will, therefore, find many dicta of our Sages, may their memory be blessed, all employing the same mode of expression. They compare this world to a place and time of preparation, and the world-to-come to a place of tranquility and partaking of the already-prepared. As [our Sages] have said: “This world is like an antechamber [before the world-to-come. Prepare yourself in the antechamber, so you may enter the banquet hall]” (Avot 4:16), as I have cited above. “‘Today to do them’ (Devarim 7:11) and tomorrow [to receive their reward]” (Eruvin 22a). [Additionally]: “He who toils on the eve of the Sabbath will feast on the Sabbath” (Avodah Zarah 3a). “This world may be compared to dry land, and the world-to-come to the sea. [If a person does not provide for himself on dry land, what will he eat at sea]” (Kohelet Rabbah 1:15). There are many such statements along these lines.

Indeed, you can see that no person of intelligence could possibly believe that the purpose of man’s creation is his existence in this world. For what is man’s life in this world? Who is really happy and tranquil in this world? For seventy is the sum of our years, eighty if we are strong, and at their best they are but toil and sorrow with all sorts of distress and sickness, pain and troubles, and after all that, death. Not one out of a thousand is to be found to whom the world offers copious pleasures and true tranquility. And even he, if he reaches the age of a hundred, [is as one who] has already passed away and departed the world.

Moreover, if man was created for the sake of this world, it would not have been necessary for him to be imbued with a soul so noble and exalted as to be greater than the angels themselves. All the more so, since [the soul] finds no satisfaction in any of the delights of this world. This is what [our Sages], may their memory be blessed, taught us in Midrash Kohelet (6:6) [regarding the verse], “[All man’s toil is for his mouth], but the soul is not fulfilled” (Kohelet 6:7): “To what can this be compared? To a provincial who married a princess. [Even] if he gives her everything in the world, it will mean nothing to her. Why? Because she is a princess. So too the soul, [even] if you give it all the delicacies in the world, they will mean nothing to it. Why? Because it derives from the heavenly realm.” Similarly, [the Sages], may their memory be blessed, said: “Perforce you are formed, and perforce you are born” (Avot 4:22). For the soul does not love this world whatsoever; to the contrary, it despises it. Surely then, the Creator, blessed be He, would not have created a being for a purpose which is contrary to its nature and which it despises. Rather, man was created for his stand in the world-to-come. Therefore, this soul was placed within him, for it befits the soul to serve [God], and with it man will be able to receive reward in the appropriate place and at the appropriate time, for [the world-to-come] is not something despicable to his soul as is this world, but to the contrary, it is loved and desired by it. This is obvious.

Once we realize this, we will immediately grasp the gravity of the commandments that are incumbent upon us and the seriousness of the [Divine] service that is in our hands. For these are the means which lead us to true perfection and without which it cannot be attained at all. It is well-known, however, that an ultimate end results only from the confluence of all the available means that brought it about. And the end engendered by these means will vary with their potency and the way they were employed. The consequence of any slight deviation in the means will be quite clearly discernable when the time comes for the [realization of the] end generated by the confluence of all [these means], as I have explained. This is clear. Certainly then, the care that one devotes to the mitzvot and the [Divine] service must be of the highest degree—like the care with which gold and pearls are weighed because of their preciousness. For the consequences that arise from the [mitzvot and Divine service] are true perfection and eternal, unsurpassable glory.

We see, then, that the fundamental purpose of man’s existence in this world is solely to keep the mitzvot, serve [God], and withstand trial. The world’s pleasures should serve only to aid and assist him in being tranquil and composed, so that he may turn his heart to this service for which he is responsible.

It is indeed befitting that man’s every inclination be directed solely toward the Creator, blessed be He, and that everything he does, great or small, should be for but one purpose: to draw near to Him, blessed be He, and break down all the barriers that separate him from His Maker—namely all matters material or attendant upon the material—till he is literally drawn after Him, like iron after a magnet. Whatever might conceivably serve as a means to such nearness, he should pursue, grasp and not let go. And whatever might conceivably impede it, he should flee from as he would from fire. As it is said, “My soul is attached to You, Your right hand upholds me” (Tehillim 63:9). For he has come into being for this purpose alone: to achieve that nearness by saving his soul from whatever might impede it or impair it.

Once we have come to recognize and understand clearly the truth of this principle, we must examine its details in accordance with their gradations, from beginning to end, as they were arranged by Rabbi Pinhas ben Yair in the statement that we have already cited in our introduction. They are: vigilance, alacrity, blamelessness, separateness, purity, piety, humility, fear of sin, and sanctity. And now, with God’s help, we will explain them one by one.