The Purpose of Creation and the Coming of Mashiach: Understanding Spiritual Repair and Eternal Reward

God created the universe with the ultimate purpose to bestow eternal goodness upon mankind. This goodness is achieved through a person’s self-refinement, by cultivating a relationship and connection with the Creator. When one chooses a life of loyalty to God, advances in observing Torah and mitzvot, and succeeds in overcoming desires that contradict the Torah, one walks the path that leads toward the ultimate goal of human existence.

The Process of Rectification

Life in its current form is temporary and limited. Each person is allotted a fixed number of years in this world, the duration granted for their personal process of rectification. After this period, the soul transitions to the spiritual world, where it stands before the heavenly court to be judged according to its deeds. The question is whether it fulfilled its purpose by living in loyalty to God’s will.

• If the person reached completion of their rectification, the soul enters Gan Eden (Paradise).

• If not, the soul will undergo additional cycles of correction, designed to guide it toward that ultimate spiritual goal for which it was created.

Gan Eden

Gan Eden is only a temporary station for souls that have reached their rectification. There, they await the next stage of creation while experiencing sublime pleasure that is beyond anything our senses can grasp.

The Time of Work

The world, in its present form, was given a limited timeframe for existence. This is “the time of work,” when every individual, and humanity as a whole, is tasked with achieving spiritual repair. Once this time ends, the gates will close, and it is no longer possible for a person to change their spiritual level or repent. This closing point is the arrival of the Mashiach and the final redemption.

The Messianic Era

During the era of Mashiach, revolutionary events will unfold including the resurrection of the dead, the rebuilding of the Third Temple, and the continuation of certain processes of rectification.

The Seventh Millennium

Exactly 6,000 years after creation the world will enter a new stage: a form of “Gan Eden on earth.” Body and spirit will exist together, but materiality will be secondary, while the spiritual dimension will dominate.

The Door That Closes Forever

In the days of Mashiach, when God’s sovereignty will be revealed to all, it will no longer be considered wisdom or faith to suddenly decide to strengthen oneself and repent. True spiritual growth can only take place beforehand, when divine presence is hidden and we live with full free choice between closeness to God through Torah and mitzvot, or distance from Him. After this time, the door closes forever.

Those who chose loyalty to God during this time of work will indeed continue to grow spiritually after the arrival of Mashiach, but only in proportion to the “vessel” they built for themselves in this life, shaped by the effort and labor they invested in serving God. After Mashiach's arrival, this vessel can no longer be altered.

Imagine it like two machines for baking pita bread:

• One person uses a small home machine that produces 3 pitas an hour.

• Another, through hard work and investment, built a factory producing 100,000 pitas an hour.

Both continue to operate with the tools they built. One will progress slowly, the other at great speed. In the same way, our spiritual graph continues upward after Mashiach's arrival, but the slope of that graph depends entirely on the effort we made beforehand.

An individual who made only minimal effort in spiritual growth will continue slowly, while one who invested deeply in Torah study, mitzvot, self-refinement, and good deeds will continue to rise at a much higher pace.

The more a person advances in their service of God through Torah study, mitzvah observance, refining character traits, and holiness in areas such as Shabbat, kashrut, modesty, family purity, and tefillin, the greater their vessel becomes. The higher the spiritual level attained, the deeper the connection to the Creator, and the more indescribable the eternal delight that follows.