Kohelet Rabbah, in its wonderfully enigmatic way, wrestles with this very question, using the verse, "The eye is not satisfied..." as its jumping-off point. It’s a verse that speaks to our inherent human longing, that feeling that something is always just out of reach.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman offers a powerful idea: The blessings and comforts the prophets foresaw weren't simply handed to them on a silver platter. Instead, they earned those glimpses through deep contemplation, through performing mitzvot (commandments), and acts of righteousness. It was the fruit of their labor.
But then comes the apparent contradiction! If they saw these things, how do we reconcile that with Isaiah 64:3, which proclaims, "No eye has seen, besides You, God, [that which He will do for one who awaits Him]"? It seems to say that the ultimate reward is beyond human comprehension, beyond even a prophet's vision.
So, did they see, or didn't they?
Well, the rabbis of the Midrash offer a fascinating compromise. On the one hand, Amos 3:7 tells us, "For the Lord God will do nothing, unless He reveals His counsel to His servants the prophets." This suggests they did see something.
Rabbi Berekhya offers a beautiful image: they saw "as through the crack of the door." Just a sliver, a tantalizing glimpse of the incredible reward that awaits. It wasn’t the whole picture, but a hint, a suggestion of the unimaginable grandeur.
Rabbi Levi adds another layer. He suggests that the prophets saw the general picture, the overall landscape of the world to come, "but they did not see their reward." They didn’t perceive the individualized, specific reward tailored to each righteous person. It was a broad vision, not a detailed portrait.
And Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta brings in the concept of teshuvah, repentance. He says that the good, the blessings, and the comforts that the prophets saw were specifically intended for those who had repented – those who had "tasted the taste of sin" and turned away from it. For those who had never sinned, the reward, according to him, remains unseen, as Isaiah proclaims: "No eye has seen."
What does this all mean? Perhaps it suggests that the ultimate reward is so profound, so beyond our current capacity to understand, that it can only be revealed in glimpses, in hints, and even then, only to those who have actively striven for righteousness, and especially those who have returned to the path after straying. It’s a reward that is both universally promised and intensely personal, shaped by our individual journeys.
So, the next time you feel that longing, that sense that something more is out there, remember the prophets. Remember their striving, their contemplation, and the glimpse they caught through the crack in the door. Maybe, just maybe, that yearning is itself a preparation for the unimaginable reward that awaits.