Does the soul meet its family in Heaven?

Hello,

Indeed, when the soul reaches the upper world, its relatives who have already merited to rest there come to receive it, and the soul sees them and they see it. However, the ethical masters liken this to the following parable: Imagine a man with a large family, with a wife and children, who one day decides to travel across the sea to distant lands in order to acquire wealth in the lands of gold and crystal. It is hard to describe the sorrow of parting when he leaves his beloved wife and children, but the hope that when he returns, he will bring great wealth consoles them. Thus, he departs on his journey.

Days pass, years pass, and the man delays his return home. The longing of his family grows stronger until one day they receive a letter stating that on a certain day he will arrive at a certain port on a specific ship. The family joyfully counts the days until the arrival of the head of the household. On the appointed day, they all go to the port to greet him, eagerly awaiting to see the ship’s mast that will bring their beloved father home. They see the ship arriving and hear its horns; their hearts leap in anticipation of meeting their father. However, at the last moment, just as the father is about to disembark, something tragic occurs. Representatives from the country where the father went to acquire wealth arrive, claiming that he must return because he faces serious legal accusations there. No pleas help; they forcibly take him back to the ship that will return him to where he came from.

It is beyond description how heartbroken the family is, having waited so eagerly for their father’s return. When they begged the authorities to allow them at least to embrace their head of household before he was taken back, they refused firmly, and the family was compelled to return home without meeting their beloved one.

The parable closely resembles the situation of the soul. The soul is sent from the lofty and awe-inspiring place beneath the Divine Throne to a very distant place in order to gather spiritual wealth through the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvot, thus increasing its stature for when it returns to its source. The soul’s relatives, who are there, deeply long for its return adorned by the strength of its deeds. Indeed, on the appointed day of the soul’s return, a herald announces in the heavens the arrival of so-and-so’s soul, and all its family and relatives go to greet it. If the soul is meritorious, they meet and escort it to its place of rest to enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah.

However, it is bitter and painful when the relatives see that, due to the soul’s deeds, it is sent back to reincarnate in this world or to undergo other punishments, denying them the chance to meet it despite their great yearning. One cannot describe the immense sorrow of the soul’s relatives as they watch the soul they waited so long for raise anchor and return to the place from which it came. Therefore, the living should take this to heart and return to Hashem while the soul is still in the body, so that the waiting relatives will not be disappointed at death and will ascend together to the designated place to enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah and be crowned with the crown of the righteous. May we be counted among them.

Best wishes – Menashe Israel