The tzaddik receives both his portion and the portion of the rasha in Gan Eden

“Yehoshua ben Nun and Kalev ben Yefunah… tore their clothes.” (Bamidbar 14:6)

Rashi quotes the Gemara (Bava Basra 118b) that Yehoshua and Kalev were given the portions in Eretz Yisrael that would’ve been given to the other spies.

Rav Aharon Kotler quotes the Gemara (Chagigah 15a) that the tzaddik receives both his portion and the portion of the rasha in Gan Eden.

The purpose of Creation, and the reason the world continues to exist, is due to the observance of Torah and mitzvos. The Gemara (Shabbos 88a) says that at Brias Ha’olam, Hashem stipulated, “If Yisrael accepts the Torah the world will continue to exist and if not, I will return it to nothingness.” Only our acceptance and observing the Torah keeps the world going. (Rabbi Shlomo Caplan, Mishulchan Shlomo)

Once upon a time, but not too long ago, there were two Jewish guys who became friends in college: Mack and Jack.

Upon graduating, they decided to partner and open their own company. Business boomed.

Both guys married and had families. Jack had four children to the astonishment of Mack who had but one daughter, yet complained bitterly about the constant cost of raising children. Bit by bit, although the business held them together, their personal lives proceeded along ever-widening trajectories.

Rav Chaim Volozhin avers that if there would be one moment when nobody on this planet would be learning Torah, the world would immediately cease to exist. The mishnah in Avos (5:1) questions why the world was created with ten utterances. Wouldn’t one have sufficed? It answers that this was to exact more punishment from the wicked who destroy the world created with ten utterances and to bestow reward upon the righteous who sustain the world created with ten utterances.

The mishnah clearly demonstrates Rav Aharon’s point that the reward of the righteous isn’t merely for keeping the mitzvos, but for sustaining Creation.

Jack and his wife became interested in Judaism, moving closer to a synagogue and sending their children to day school.

Mack bought a yacht and a beach house and wondered how Jack could possibly pay private school tuition.

As the years went by, Mack’s daughter spent more and more time hopping through various therapists’ offices, while Jack’s children went off to study in Israel.

Rav Aharon offers another reason why the righteous deserve more reward. People are affected by their environment. In an environment where one is surrounded by people who aren’t Torah observant, it’s that much more challenging to keep mitzvos. This additional struggle and effort deserve greater reward. Rabi Shimon bar Yochai declared, “If you see that people have abandoned the Torah, arise and strengthen yourself in it, and you will receive reward equivalent to all of them” (Yerushalmi Berachos).

Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai lived over 1,800 years ago. If it was true then, it’s certainly true today. Today, when only a small percentage of Jews are Torah observant and intermarriage is rampant, these words resonate emphatically. Furthermore, the moral fabric of the world at large is unraveling, making this concept even more relevant. The very existence of the world rests on the shoulders of those of us who are faithful to observe Torah and mitzvos. The impact of every mitzvah that we do and every word of Torah that we learn is magnified hundreds of times over. Thus the shomrei Torah of our generation receive their portion in Gan Eden as well as the portions of those who do not.

More cracks formed when business started getting tight, and the economy entered a downslide.

Eventually the two friends were forced to file for bankruptcy. Petrified, Mack immediately began scrabbling to reopen under different circumstances. After all, he had a lifestyle to maintain and a daughter’s therapies to pay for.

Jack took early retirement and moved to Israel.

The two friends kept up, but ties waned as they aged. They were niftar within a few months of each other.

Mack left a struggling enterprise to his (still single) daughter, who was completely uninterested in the business, preferring misery rather than the company.

And Jack left behind children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren living Torah lives in Eretz Yisrael.

They say you can’t take it with you, but some things you can.

 (Originally featured in Family First, Issue 948)