Vayechi. The Destination is Not the Goal

Copied from the impeccable "Points to Ponder,"  a project of Kollel Horaah of America. Separately, I suggest that you remember the name Moshe Dovid Berman. He's a man with a great future. For dedication opportunities, please contact yungeleit@kollelhoraah.com Fri, Dec 21, 2018 7:00 am The Secret of Perception R' Moshe Dovid Berman

יעקב אבינו gathered his sons with the intent of revealing to them the secret of the arrival of משיח. However, Hashem did not wish for that to be known; he removed the divine presence from יעקב, concealing it from him as well. Similarly, when revealing the secrets of the end of days to the נביא דניאל, Hashem exhorts him, “חסום הספר, seal the book.” Indeed, the chapters in דניאל discussing the קץ are the most cryptic in תנ''ך. All this begs the question: What is the big secret?  The answer many offer is that knowing just how long we have until the ultimate redemption will lead to despair. It is the hope of משיח that kept our ancestors going through the darkness of exile. Informing them that we still have millennia to go would lead them to abandon all hope.  However, it would seem that this answer doesn’t suffice. Imagine being on a long journey and being told, when asked how much longer until the destination, that it cannot be revealed as you will give up hope. Such a response indicates how far one has to go; would that not itself lead to even greater despair then having a clear destination, no matter how far?  Perhaps we can understand that Hashem’s message was something else entirely. We are being told the destination is not the goal; rather we are to focus on the present. As the משנה in אבות tells us, לא עליך המלאכה לגמור. It is not our job to concern ourselves with the destination; we need to focus on the journey, and leave the driving up to the Driver. Our responsibility is only to live the moment, to do that which is incumbent upon us. Indeed, it is this very shift in perspective which allows us to survive our extended exile, to hold on to the knowledge that there is someone in the driver’s seat: One who can be trusted to deliver us to our ultimate destination, במהרה בימינו.

(Editor's note: I believe this is why Hash'aras Hanefesh and Techiyas Hameisim are not mentioned in the Torah, to the extent that although the Tanaim in San 90b find various pesukim that prove that it will occur, and Rashi in the Mishna (San 90a) says that it is a fundamental article of faith that those sources are indeed the Torah's intent, 

אפילו יהא מודה ומאמין שיחיו המתים, אלא דלא רמיזא באורייתא, כופר הוא. הואיל ועוקר שיש תחיית המתים מן התורה מה לנו ולאמונתו, מהיכן הוא יודע שכן הוא. הלכך כופר גמור הוא

the Rambam in Iggeres Tchiyas Hameisim says that the pesukim are not rayos, only remazim.  Even more, he says 

ואמרנו שתחיית המתים פינת התורה, ואין חלק למי שלא יאמין בה בתורת משה רבינו. אמנם, אינה התכלית האחרון.

What a strange thing the Rambam is saying - It's a cornerstone of the faith, but it's not central.  I believe this is a good example of Rabbi Berman's idea.  We were placed in this world to believe there is a world to come, but to act as if this is all there is, and to seek justice here and now, to know that everything comes from the Ribono shel Olam but to do hishtadlus as if it all depends on us.
I heard that the Gedolim, at one of the Kenaisios, were discussing the threats and crises faced by the Jews at that time, and finally one got up and said, as the Mishna is Sotah says, that there is no way we can deal with this, and we need to remember that  it is Mashiach tzeiten, and על מה יש לנו להשען על אבינו שבשמים. I believe it was Reb Meir Simcha that got up and said that now he understands the pshat in the Mishna. The Mishna there talks of all the terrible things that will precede the coming of Mashiach, - 

חכמות סופרים תסרח ויראי חטא ימאסו והאמת תהא נעדרת נערים פני זקנים ילבינו זקנים יעמדו מפני קטנים בן מנוול אב בת קמה באמה כלה בחמותה אויבי איש אנשי ביתו פני הדור כפני הכלב הבן אינו מתבייש מאביו 

and ends with those words, 

ועל מה יש לנו להשען על אבינו שבשמים

It seems that those words are a non-sequitur, words of consolation that follow a Jeremiad of troubles. But, he said, he just realized that on the contrary. Those final words, that attitude, is another of the terrible things that the Jews will experience prior to the coming of Mashiach. They will be up against real problems, and instead of facing reality and making the hard decisions, of being moser nefesh to stubbornly do what needs to be done, they will throw their hands up and say "ועל מה יש לנו להשען על אבינו שבשמים." What use is that? We know it is true. We have to believe it. But it does not give us any excuse from being moser nefesh and going beyond what the average human being would consider possible.)