The Moralists write that this World and the Next World oppose each other like enemies, and that as long as a person pursues the pleasures and vanities of this World it is a sign that he is still removed from attaining the paths of Life which would enable him to merit enjoying the glow of the Shechinah. It is proper for every person to fortify himself and delve into deep thoughts of purity, in order to understand and fathom that all the pleasures of this World are but emptiness — illusions that came in a moment and will disappear just as quickly. He will therefore not pursue them or be drawn after them. And even if he encounters some pleasure, such as financial gain or tasty food or fine clothing and the like, he will immediately make nothing of that pleasure; he will say to himself: If I can enjoy something so empty and false, how much more so will I enjoy the pleasure of the World to Come, where the righteous sit and enjoy the shine of the Shechina, which is a limitless pleasure that we cannot even imagine a fraction of, as long as we are still in our physical body.
How much more so must be the pleasure of the love of Hashem and the fulfillment of His mitzvos, for better is one hour of Torah and good deeds in this World than all of the life of the World to Come; and better is one hour of pleasure in the World to Come than all of the pleasures of this World.
