“Her price is far above pearls,” etc., and “who are nicer than gold, than much fine gold.” It was said about this, “This world,” meaning the path of preparation, is only a transition where there is a life of sorrow.
But the next world is like the living room, since in the living room there are all kinds of pleasures. Also, in the next world, called “Torah itself,” there are all kinds of pleasures, as it is written, “nicer than gold.” It is called “the next world” because it comes after one goes through the path of Torah, called “a sorrowful life,” since there is labor in it.
It follows that this world is regarded as the state in which one is while he begins to enter the path of Torah, and this is the situation he is in now, in his beginning. This is why it is called “this world,” and it is only a corridor.
Afterward, when he comes to the life of Torah itself, it is called “the next world,” which is regarded as the next state, after he successfully went through the path of Torah, called “a corridor,” when one feels the state of “you shall have a sorrowful life.” In ethics, this is regarded as “this world” and “the next world.”
“Why are Israel compared to an olive tree? It is to tell you that as the leaves of an olive tree do not fall during the summer or during the rains, so Israel have no rest, neither in this world nor in the next world” (Minchot 53b).
We see that there are three discernments concerning the olive tree: leaves, fruits, and oil. Leaves are fit as food for beasts. Fruits are fit as food for man. But the main purpose of the olive is not the fruit but the oil.
Man is like the tree of the field, as it is written, “for man is the tree of the field.” The beginning of the blossoming is the leaves, since as soon as one begins one’s work on the path of truth, he begins to feel a shadow, which is the concealment, for we see in corporeality that the leaves cast a shadow on the person. Hence, the shade, which is concealment, is called “leaves.”
Afterward, when one takes upon oneself all the concealments and prevails over them, this yields fruits. In other words, the leaves are the reason for the bearing of the fruit, since after the acceptance of the burden above reason, it becomes food that is fit for human consumption.
In other words, during the time of the leaves, which is concealments, it is called “animal food,” and it is called “faith” for human consumption. When he takes upon himself all these concealments, he turns them into food for humans. But the taste of olives is bitter, since when he made food out of the leaves, it is bitter. However, by grinding, he extracts its oil, which is the Torah, called “Your oils have a pleasing fragrance.”