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The Advocate Born of a Mitzvah

by Ram ben Ze'ev


The Advocate Born of a Mitzvah
The Advocate Born of a Mitzvah

Our Sages teach in מסכת אבות (Masechet Avot – Ethics of the Fathers) Chapter 4, Mishnah 11:"רבי אליעזר בן יעקב אומר, העושה מצוה אחת, קונה לו פרקליט אחד; והעובר עבירה אחת, קונה לו קטיגור אחד" – "Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: One who performs one מצוה (mitzvah – commandment) acquires for himself one פרקליט (praklit – advocate), and one who performs one עבירה (aveirah – transgression) acquires for himself one קטיגור (ketigor – prosecutor)."


The straightforward understanding is that every מצוה (mitzvah – commandment) a person fulfils gives rise to a מלאך (malach – angel) who becomes his advocate, and every עבירה (aveirah – transgression) produces an accuser. The holy ספר הזוהר (Sefer HaZohar – Book of Radiance or Splendor) states explicitly that for every מצוה (mitzvah – commandment), there is a corresponding מלאך (malach – angel) created. Similarly, the גמרא (Gemara – Talmudic discussion) in מסכת סוטה (Masechet Sotah) 3b teaches that a מצוה (mitzvah – commandment) will greet a person in the עולן הבא (Olam HaBa – World to Come), as it says: "וצדקתך תלך לפניך" – "Your righteousness shall go before you" (ישעיהו – Yeshayahu – Isaiah 58:8), meaning that the מלאך (malach – angel) announces ahead, "Make way!"


Maran רבנו עובדיה יוסף (Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef) זכר צדיק לברכה (zichron tzaddik livracha – may the memory of the righteous be a blessing) writes that anyone who goes beyond to fulfil הלכה (halacha – Jewish law) according to the ראשונים (Rishonim – early authorities) merits that in the עולן האמת (Olam HaEmet – World of Truth) after his passing, these great פוסקים (poskim – legal decisors) will come out to greet him. The גמרא (Gemara) in מסכת בבא קמא (Masechet Baba Kama) 111b recounts: "Rava said, 'When I pass away, Rav Oshaya will come to greet me, for I made the teachings of the משנה (Mishnah – oral law codified) accord with his opinion.'"


Furthermore, Maran זצ״ל (zt"l – abbreviation for may the memory of the righteous be a blessing) teaches that one who defends the rulings of מרן השלחן ערוך (Maran HaShulchan Aruch – the codifier of Jewish law, Rabbi Yosef Karo), even against occasional challengers, will certainly be greeted by Maran himself in the עולן הבא (Olam HaBa – World to Come). Maran will act not merely as an advocate but as an extraordinary and powerful intercessor before the Heavenly Court. This merit is not reserved solely for Torah scholars; even one who teaches others to observe properly, according to מרן רבנו יוסף קארו (Maran Rabbeinu Yosef Karo), whether through Torah lectures, books, or personal study, earns this incredible privilege.


A remarkable story is preserved in the ספר מגיני שלמה (Sefer Maginei Shlomo – Shields of Solomon), authored by Hagaon Harav Yehoshua, head of the בית דין (Beit Din – Rabbinical Court) of Kraków some four hundred years ago. The entire work is dedicated to defending the explanations of רש"י (Rashi – Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) throughout the תלמוד (Talmud). His grandson recounts in the introduction that רש"י (Rashi) once appeared to him in a dream and said with immense joy: "Because you have troubled yourself to defend me from the mighty lions, the בעלי תוספות (Baalei Tosafot – authors of Tosafot), I will come to greet you in the עולן הבא (Olam HaBa – World to Come), together with all my students."


And so it was: on the day of his passing, moments before his holy נשמה (neshamah – soul) departed, surrounded by many leaders of ישראל (Yisrael – Israel), he declared, "Make way for our great Rabbi, the light of our eyes, Rabbeinu Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi), who has come with his holy entourage to greet me and lead me to the דרך עץ החיים (Derech Etz HaChaim – Path of the Tree of Life), for I have always stood by his side."


From these teachings, we learn that every מצוה (mitzvah – commandment) we perform builds not only our reward in the future world but forges our very defenders in the Heavenly Court. Every good act, every defence of truth, every stand for proper observance, brings a friend, an advocate, and a light into our journey toward eternity.


May we be strengthened to seize every opportunity to fulfil mitzvot to defend the words of truth, and to merit the greeting of the great צדיקים (tzaddikim – righteous ones) when our time comes.


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