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 Rabbenu Bachya in Parashat Beshalach writes in the name of Rabbenu Chananel that Emunah can be broken down into four parts- believing in Hashem, believing in the words of our prophets, believing in the coming of the Mashiach, and believing in the next world. The real reward for the Mitzvot will be paid there in the World to Come. In this world, there are a lot of questions, so many things that we cannot understand without the belief that there is another world, and that this world is just a stepping stone to get there. Chazal explain in the Pasuk in Tehilim: “לולי האמנתי בטוב השם בארץ החיים” then “קמו בי עדי שקר ויפח חמס”- King David said, “If I didn’t believe in the rewards of the next world, then seeing a righteous person suffering here would have shaken me(Malbim).” But we cannot not be shaken, because we know that there is so much more than meets the eye- so much that we are not able to understand now. We would love to have the best of both worlds. If a person were to recognize all of his blessings, he would see that he does have this world, too. Here, however, is not the real enjoyment. The main pleasure is reserved for there. A man who was going through tough times once went to the Chafetz Chaim for Chizuk, and he asked the Rabbi, “Please pray to Hashem that I should receive the reward of one of my Mitzvot in this world to improve my situation.” The Chafetz Chaim responded by saying, “That would be a terrible deal for you.” He explained with a parable of a king who went swimming one day unattended in a lake. Something happened, and the king started to drown. A peasant farmer who lived by the lake saw what was happening. He jumped in and saved the king’s life. He did not know that it was the king. He brought the person to his house, gave him a change of clothing, gave him food, and he warmed him up by the fireplace. Before he left, the king thanked the man profusely. He then took a special document out of his bag, wrote something on it, and told the farmer, “Here is a present. Bring it to the bank.” The farmer went for the first time in his life to the big city bank. He stood on line, and watched as the other customers presented documents, and received money. He was excited for his turn. When he was called he handed the teller his document, and immediately there was a meeting of a few bankers analyzing the document. Soon after, the manager came out and told the farmer, “We can’t give you cash for this document here.” “What?” He said. “This is the king’s stationary! How can you not honor it?” He started to make a commotion. The manager calmed him down, and said, “No, you don’t understand. This entire bank does not have enough money to give you even one-tenth of what is written here. You will have to travel to our main branch in a different city. There, in the vault, they have enough to give you the full amount.” Although the manager was standing there well-dressed, in a nice suit and tie, while the farmer looked disheveled, the manager would have traded places with that farmer in a second. He was carrying a personal note from the king. The Midrash says in Vayikra Rabba that every Mitzva that we do creates a special document signed by Hashem, as it were. There is not enough blessings in this entire world to give us even one-tenth of its worth. In the end, the man took the Chizuk from the Chafetz Chaim, and left happily. The Gemara says in Masechet Baba Metzia that Rabba Bar Abahu once met up with Eliahu HaNavi. He asked Eliyahu HaNavi a question. Eliyahu then rebuked him for not knowing the answer. So he told Eliyahu, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t learn as much as I would have wanted to because of my financial trouble.” Then, Elyahu took him up to Gan Eden, and he said, “You are worried about money? Here, gather some of these old leaves from the ground, and put them in your cloak.” As they were leaving, a heavenly voice said, “Raba is taking from his reward in the next world.” So the Rabbi quickly shook out all of the leaves, and he left. When they came back down, the Rabbi realized that his cloak absorbed the fragrance of those leaves. The smell was so appealing that he sold the cloak for twelve thousand silver coins. The Rabbi did not want to benefit from the money, so he gave it away. The Torat Chaim pointed out- look at what Gan Eden is worth. From just the smell of some withered leaves, the Rabbi got twelve thousand silver coins. Imagine what the smell of fresh leaves would have been worth, and that is just for a leaf! Imagine what an actual fruit from Gan Eden is worth. Of course, there is no real eating there, it is just for us to understand- but the rewards there are unimaginable. The tests of this world can be difficult. People feel like they are giving up a lot of enjoyment here by keeping the Mitzvot. In truth, however, this world is just child’s play compared to the real reward. The stronger a person’s Emunah in the World to Come , the greater will be his performance of the Mitzvot.