The Secret to Longevity
The Parashat Vayera 18:2 says: Avraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent when — Looking up, he saw three figures standing near him. Perceiving this, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them, and bowing to the ground." Three strangers came to Avraham, Rashi told us they were angels — Angel Mikhael came to announce to Sarah the birth of a son, Angel Gabriel to overthrow Sodom, and Angel Raphael to cure Avraham, for one angel does not carry out two commissions (Genesis Rabbah 50:2). They stayed by Avraham, and later left to carry out their missions.
The Gemara Masechet Shabbat tells us that when Shabbat begins everyone is surrounded by two angels — a good angel and a bad one. When we come home, and the table is set for the Shabbat meal, the good angel blesses the house saying that next week it should be so, as well — a set table, with a happy family, and a table full of delicious salads, hot delicacies and blessings in life. But if the person comes and no table is set or does not even go to synagogue, then the bad angel curses, that next week it should be so, as well, which eventually leads to the destruction of that home, and after that, both angels leave.
In addition to the above, everyone at any age receives a new Neshama or a soul from Higher Worlds, and this soul does something amazing.
Since we are busy every day, each of us has a list of chores to complete for the week, and we run and drive around trying to complete this list. Suddenly we get unexpected events that we must attend to and deal with. Kids, parents, family matters, obligations, jobs, businesses — our plate is full, literally — everyone is busy. We have no time for anything else. But there's one thing we miss out on, and this is the learning of the Torah. As much as rabbis tell us from the podium about its importance, we don't seem to have any time for it left at the end of the day. So why would it be so important?
And this is where Hashem steps in and sends us a third "angel", or something Holy and Divine — a Neshama Yetera, an Additional Soul, which stays with us from the beginning of Shabbat until its departure. You may ask, why do we need this Additional Soul? We may think that we are doing fine without it, but...
Because of our constant "pursuit of physical happiness" which at that moment indulges our body and creates a fleeting feeling of security and happiness, we are strangling to death the soul that is within us, which gives us that precious life every moment here on this Earth. But guess what, our soul is starved, because of the lack of the Divine, and is not content staying in this body, and would rather go to its source — G-d Almighty. But this would mean an end to our physical existence. And just like Hashem sent a Malach Raphael to cure Avraham Avinu after the circumcision, Hashem sends us this Additional Soul to "cure us" or make a "Shalom Bayit" - a Peace between The Body and Soul so that Starved Soul of ours should stay for another week, so that person's existence should not cease. That Additional Soul stays with our soul to learn Torah, which gives it those missing "Spiritual Nutrition" — that the body is not supplying. It fills it with The Divine throughout Shabbat, and then at the end of the Shabbat, the Additional Soul leaves the body, leaving the Soul inside content and in peace till the next Shabbat comes around.
Midrash tells us, that when Moshe Rabbenu's time to die has come, Hashem sent the Angel of Death to take his neshamah. When he approached Our Teacher, Moshe, his soul saw the Angel of Death and said it wouldn't go with him. Why? asked the Angel. The soul said - it is content and doesn't want to leave his body, since Moshe Rabbenu is full of Torah. Hashem had to intervene and took Moshe's soul Himself, and at that moment Moshe Rabbenu passed on to the Next World.
When King David asked Hashem when he would pass away, Hashem told him—on Shabbat. Since then, every Shabbat that he stayed alive he has made a party, and that's why we make the fourth seudah, a Melaveh Malka. But on Shabbat King David was doing one thing, all the time — filling himself with Torah — learning it, reading it, singing it, filling every minute of his with Torah and not wasting it on anything else.
When his time came to pass on to the Next World, the Angel of Death, didn't know how to take his soul, so for as long as he learned the Torah, the Angel of Death couldn't take his life. The Angel of Death had to come up with a plan. He made a noise in the garden, and King David looked up from his study and went to see what happened. And this is when, the Angel of Death took his life, since he had that blank moment — a moment void of Torah study.
Only you can help your starved soul — this Shabbat, next Shabbat, every Shabbat, and every day by filling yourself and your soul with Torah knowledge, to the point when you become the Torah geyser from whom the new Torah insights come out flying, and you become soaked thoroughly with Torah and Divine, so you get awarded with healing and longevity by G-d Almighty.
So..my friend, how's your soul feeling Today?
Shmuel Katanov
