Rav Yosef Sees Olam Haba
Bava Batra 10b records the remarkable episode of Rav Yosef’s near-death experience in which he catches glimpses of Olam Haba and shares it with his father, Rabbi Yehoshua. Rav Yosef reports seeing an upside-down world in which the mighty in this world, in the next world, ranked low and vice versa.
Onkelos and His Uncle Titus
Titus—after his death—similarly reports to his nephew, Onkelos, that although downtrodden in this world, the Jews are foremost in the next world (Gittin 56b).
Shimon HaTzaddik and Alexander the Great
We glimpse an upside-down situation in the Gemara’s (Yoma 69a) description of Shimon HaTzaddik’s epic encounter with Alexander the Great. To the great shock of all his aides, Alexander bows deeply to Shimon HaTzaddik. The top becomes the bottom, and the bottom becomes the top. This is how Olam Haba operates and how things will look when Mashiach arrives.
The Gemara is not to be understood as a time when Greek culture will blend with Torah. Rather, it reflects a time when Greek teachings (and their successor cultures) serve as handmaidens to the Torah.
Olam Haba in This World
Interestingly, Rav Yehoshua asks how the Chachamim rank in Olam Haba. Rav Yosef answers that it is exactly as they rank here. In other words, the world of Torah—unlike so much else in this world—is a true world. Truth permeates Torah.
Torah Integrity
The Gemara countless times records great Torah scholars who humbly and unabashedly answer that they do not know when asked a halachic question. For example, see Bava Batra 14a, where the great Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi readily admits he does not know the answer to a question. Rashi and Tosafot raise questions for which they readily acknowledge that they do not have an answer.
Menachot 48a notes that the mishna omits Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi’s opinion that with techeilet, one cannot wear tzitzit, for it reflects a rejected view. Can one imagine this? Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi—the composer of the mishna—omitted his opinion about an important matter because he recognized that it constitutes an outlier view! What integrity!
Such commitment to truth continues in our day. I will never forget Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik telling me that, in retrospect, he realizes his objection to Israel’s acceptance of German reparations was wrong. “How else,” he reflected, “could Israel have been built up that it has without the infusion of billions of dollars of German compensation for their wartime crimes against us?”
I will never forget Rav Yehuda Amital—before the entire yeshiva—acknowledged a student disproving the central thesis he outlined in a yeshiva-wide shiur klali in 1982.
Harvard: A Den of Lies
Let us contrast this with Harvard, which arrogantly promotes its motto, “Veritas,” Latin for truth. Visitors to Harvard will see the “Veritas” slogan prominently displayed throughout the campus, even on its student buses.
I asked Harvard graduates if they had heard a professor admit an error at this once venerable institution. They never responded. Harvard president, Claudine Gay, in December 2023 could have saved her career by admitting her mistake, but she lacked the decency and integrity to do so. With its vile behavior since Oct. 7, 2023 while promoting itself as a paradigm of virtue, Harvard has emerged as a cesspool of lies.
Harvard might still rank on top with some today. However, in Hashem’s view, Harvard ranks at the bottom, and, eventually, history will acknowledge it as such.
Torah Versus Harvard
To find truth in this world, open up Torah books and visit Torah institutions. That is where truth resides. Yeshivot are a breath of fresh air in an upside-down world where lies and superficiality too often prevail. They are havens where deep truth is sought and discovered, constituting a slice of Olam Haba in this world.
Rabbi Jachter serves as the rav of Congregation Shaarei Orah, rebbe at Torah Academy of Bergen County and a get administrator with the Beth Din of Elizabeth. Rabbi Jachter’s 18 books may be purchased at Amazon and Judaica House.
