This Opportunity Will Never Come Again

1. Introduction. Hashem created the universe with the purpose of providing eternal goodness to mankind. This goodness occurs through a person's self-improvement, via a connection and relationship with the Creator of the World. Choosing a lifestyle that aligns with the Creator, advancing in keeping Torah and mitzvot, and overcoming desires that contradict the Torah are the steps one takes toward the ultimate goal of life's purpose.

2. The Process of Correction. Life in its current form is limited and temporary. Each person is allotted time for their process of correction, which is the number of years they live in this world, followed by a transition to a spiritual world. There, the soul stands before a heavenly court where it is judged for its actions in this world, and assessed whether it has reached its life’s purpose and correction through loyalty to its Creator's will. If the person achieves their correction, they enter Gan Eden. If not, they undergo additional processes aimed at helping them reach the spiritual goal for which they were created.

3. Gan Eden. Gan Eden is merely a temporary stop for souls that have achieved their correction, awaiting the next phase of this world, enjoying supreme delight that we cannot comprehend with our senses.

4. The Time of Work. The world has been allotted a limited time in its current form as we know it today. This period, known as the ‘time of work,’ is when individuals and all of humanity are tasked with reaching our ultimate goal—spiritual correction. The conclusion of this ‘time of work’ is marked by the arrival of the Messiah and the complete redemption. After this point in time, the gates will close and it will no longer be possible to change one's spiritual level or repent.

5. The Messianic Era. During this period, revolutionary processes, such as the resurrection of the dead and the building of the Third Temple, will occur, along with certain continued processes of correction.

6. The Seventh Millennium. Exactly 6,000 years from the creation of the world (currently, we are in the year 5784), a new era will dawn in which the world will transition to its next phase—Gan Eden on earth, where the physical is secondary and the spiritual dimension is dominant.

The Door That Closes Forever

In the days of the Messiah, once Hashem’s kingdom is clear and evident to all, it will not be wise then to decide to strengthen oneself and repent. These spiritual steps can only be taken prior to the Messiah’s arrival, when there is concealment and complete free choice between keeping Torah and mitzvot and living a life distant from the Creator. Meaningful steps of strengthening and deciding to repent won't be possible after the Messiah’s arrival. The moment the Messiah arrives, the door closes. Forever.

Anyone who chose to live a life of fidelity to the Creator during the ‘time of work’ will be able to continue advancing in mitzvot and spiritual corrections after the Messiah’s arrival, but it will be according to the ‘vessel’ each one built for themselves during their lifetime, based on their toil and effort in serving Hashem until that moment of the Messiah’s coming. After the Messiah’s arrival, the vessel will not be changeable. It can be likened to a pita bread production machine. Imagine one person operates a home machine that makes three pita breads per hour, while another has taken loans, and invested resources and effort into building a factory producing 100,000 pitas per hour. Each continues to operate with their respective equipment. One works at a slow pace, the other at high speed. Thus, the more effort we invest in our service to Hashem, the more we strive, the further we go in our spiritual strengthening, we will continue to ascend and achieve additional spiritual levels at the same pace after the coming of the Messiah. Visualize it as different graph trajectories. Some operate spiritually on a graph with a gentle slope, and others with a sharp slope, and both will continue to ascend at that graph rate after the Messiah’s coming. One does not exert in spiritual ascension and takes mediocre and slow steps, while another works, invests, and strives in their strengthening, mitzvot observance, and character refinement. Their continued correction and spiritual ascent after the Messiah's arrival will follow the same 'graph' and rate of progress and effort they had before the Messiah's coming.

Those who advance themselves in divine service, study more Torah, strive in mitzvot observance, and spiritual ascent, multiplying good deeds, excelling in keeping Shabbat, observing kashrut, modesty, family purity, donning tefillin, and other Torah commandments, create a high-level vessel for themselves. The higher one's spiritual status built, the higher the attachment to the Creator, resulting in bliss that is incomprehensible in today's terms.  

What will happen at the end of days? When will the Messiah come? Rabbi Zamir Cohen in a powerful segment about the end of days: