Why isn't life after death discussed throughly in the Torah? Part 8 of 8

Hi,

"When Gd wished to give the Torah to humanity, to publicize His mitzvot and His religious laws and prohibitions via His prophets throughout the world, as in (Shemot 9:16), 'In order to tell of My Name in all the land.' He created great signs, which are recorded throughout the Torah, until these caused people to believe in the prophecies of the prophets and the creation of the world… 

"And He did not transport them from matters of this world, with reward and punishment. And he continued thus until these cornerstones were strengthened and held as true for the flow of generations, and no doubt remained in the prophecies of the prophets and the creation of signs. And then the prophets told us that which Gd had told them, of resurrection of the dead, for [then] it was easy to accept this."

(Rambam, Maamar Techiyat haMeitim (Statement on the Resurrection of the Dead))

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Why isn't life after death discussed throughly in the Torah? Part 7 of 8

Hi,

"The material rewards mentioned in the words of this covenant could not have included any spiritual promises, for these promises included the entire nation. Bountiful rain, the blessing of the crops, victory over foes and other items mentioned here include the entire nation… But spiritual rewards are only for each Israelite individually. Regarding material benefits, the world or the city or the nation is judged with its majority… "

(Commentary of Don Isaac Abarbanel to Vayikra 26:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Why isn't life after death discussed throughly in the Torah? Part 6

Hi,

"Early idolaters promised great material success and benefits… And when He wished to make us complete in the truth of His faith, Gd came and gave us His Torah and prohibited us from those types of service, and so He needed to say [that there would be material rewards], lest one think that in halting those types of service, the material benefits would also be lost, as was said by the early ones and as the accursed women said, 'Since we ceased to burn offerings for the queen of the heavens, and to pour libations for her, we have lost all. (Yirmiyah 44:18)' It would not be so. Just the opposite – by distancing ourselves from those types of service, greater and greater benefits and successes, without measure, would flow upon them under the supervision of Gd."

(Commentary of Don Isaac Abarbanel to Vayikra 26:1)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Why isn't life after death discussed throughly in the Torah? Part 5

Hi,

"The early ones, all of the seed of Adam and Noach's descendants, other than special individuals like Shem, Ever and Avraham, served the stars and denied Divine supervision of individual human beings. Those who believed in an eternal world followed them, and thought that Divine influence was entirely automatic, and nothing of its nature would change due to Divine wish... 

"Therefore, when Gd wished to purify Israel He arranged before them the deeds they would perform, to educate them [to know] that this world was created from total nothingness, and all of this came from Gd, in accordance with His Will and not automatically, and that He could alter nature at will, and that there were deeds Gd desired and deeds which angered Him… 

"If Gd had promised spiritual rewards in His covenant of guarding the mitzvot and His Torah, the Children of Israel would not have believed this, for they did not yet believe in Divine supervision! Therefore, He needed to promise them that which they could grasp with their senses, indicating definitively that He was supervising."

(Don Isaac Abarbanel, commentary to Vayikra 26:1)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Why isn't life after death discussed thoroughly in the Torah? Part 4

Hi,

"The third answer [of seven that he presents, from various sources] is that persistence of the spirit, and its reward in accord with its perfection, are inherent in the nature of humanity. Spiritual success [survival?] is not one of the concepts which is received only from Divine religion; the conclusion of sense and logic mandates that Creation and the path of perfection of natural forms should include it, as philosophers have received in their analyses.

"It is known that the promise of the Divine Torah is not that nature should continue in its natural way, for then there would be neither reward nor punishment. All of her promises involve direction by Divine supervision, not the natural order. Therefore this was tied specifically to mitzvah observance and fulfillment, through supernatural miracles."

(Don Isaac Abarbanel to Vayikra 26:1)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Why isn't life after death discussed thoroughly in the Torah? Part 3

Hi,

"In my view, the Torah was given to everyone, and not only to one person. Olam HaBa [the next world] would not be comprehensible to only one in one thousand, for it is deep."

(Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra, Commentary to Devarim 32:39)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Why isn't life after death discussed thoroughly in the Torah? Part 2

Hi,

"The first answer [of seven that he presents, from various sources] is that the good and bad mentioned in the passages of the [biblical] covenant are neither reward nor punishment for mitzvot. True reward or punishment would be spiritual, affecting the soul in the world of souls, and reward for mitzvot is not in this world. The Torah did not want to mention reward for mitzvot and their true punishment, so that one would serve his Creator altruistically, not due to expectation of punishment."

(Don Isaac Abarbanel to Vayikra 26:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Why isn't life after death discussed thoroughly in Torah? Part 1

Hi,

"Rabbeinu Hai said that it was not necessary to explain the matter of olam haba, for it was known by transmission."

(Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra to Devarim 32:39)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Creator of Heaven and Hell?

Hi,

"In truth, Olam HaBa [The reward in the Next World] is the work of one's own hands, in that a person broadened, added or repaired a part for himself, with his deeds... And Gehennom [Hell] is likewise, for the sin is its own punishment."

(Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, Nefesh haChaim 1:12)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

How to make it to the next world

Hi,

"When Rabbi Elazar became ill, his students came to visit him. They asked him, 'Our master, teach us the paths of life, that we might merit life in the next world!'

"He told them: Be careful with the honor of your colleagues, keep your children from prattle and have them sit at the knees of Torah scholars, when you pray know before Whom you stand, and thus you will earn life in the next world."

(Talmud, Berachot 28b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The importance of humility

Hi,

"Rabbi Yirmiyah asked Rabbi Zeira: What is the meaning of the following verse (Job 3), 'Small and great will be there in the Next World, and slaves will be free of their masters?' Don't we know that small and great people will be there?

"It means that anyone who makes himself small for the sake of studying Torah in this world will be great in the next world. Anyone who makes himself like a slave for the sake of studying Torah in this world will be great in the next world."

(Talmud, Bava Metzia 85b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

No tzedakah in the next world

Hi,

"It is known that in this world even the poorest Jew, who has no home and must beg at doors, is still not cast out in the streets - every Jew is instructed to give him a place to stay, at least.

"However, in the next world it will not be relevant for one to bring another into his place in the Garden of Eden, for a rotating sword's blade guards the path to the tree of life, and one who lacks merit will not be permitted to enter there at all."

(R' Yisrael Meir Kagan (Chofetz Chaim), Shem Olam II, Perek 4)

Gmar tov,
Mordechai

What happens in Olam haBa (the world of the future)?

Hi,

"Rav regularly said: The next world is not like this one; the next world will not have eating, drinking, procreation, commerce, jealousy, hatred or competition. Rather, the righteous will sit, with crowns on their heads, benefiting from the radiance of the Shechinah, as it is written, 'And they envisioned Gd, and they ate and drank.'"

(Talmud, Berachot 17a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Only gratitude will remain

Hi,

"In the future, all korbanot [offerings] will be cancelled other than the korban todah [thanks offering], and all prayers will be cancelled other than prayers of thanks.

"It is written [regarding the world of the future], "The voice of joy, the voice of happiness, the voice of grooms, the voice of brides, the voice of those who say, 'Thank Gd!'" which is a prayer of thanks, and [the verse continues] "And those who bring thanks to the house of Gd" which is the thanks offering."

(Midrash, Vayyikra Rabbah 9:7)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Reward and the Afterlife

Hi,

"They taught in the yeshiva of R’ Yaakov… If a person's father told him to climb a building and bring back young birds, and he ascended, sent away the mother and took the young, and then upon his return he fell and died, what of his “length of days” [promised biblically as a reward for honoring parents and for sending away a mother bird before taking the young] and where would be the good due to him?

"Rather, “so that your days will be aroch” refers to the world that is entirely aroch, and “so that it will be good for you” is in the world that is entirely good.

"But perhaps such an event simply could not happen? R’ Yaakov witnessed such an event."

[Note: I did not translate "aroch" because some render it as "long" and others as "of high quality". The former is Hebrew, the latter is Aramaic. I could see arguments for either translation.]

(Talmud, Chullin 142a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Judgment Day

Hi,

"Rava taught: When a person is brought in for judgment, they say to him:
Did you deal honestly?
…establish time for Torah study?
…involve yourself in procreation?
…hope for Mashiach?
…delve into fine points of the Torah's wisdom?
…understand lessons within the Torah's lessons?

"And yet, with all of this - if he possesses awe of Gd in his storehouse then he will do well, but otherwise he will not."

(Talmud, Shabbat 31a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The soul's existence before it enters this world

Hi,

"All of the souls which have existed since Creation, all stand before Gd until they descend to this world. In exactly the form they will manifest in that world, and in that physical appearance in which they will stand in that world, they stand above. When a soul is summoned to descend to the world, that soul, in that form in which it stands in this world, stands before Gd, and Gd makes it swear that it will guard the mitzvot of the Torah and not violate its laws."

(Zohar I pg. 233b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The once and future Light

Hi,

"Rabbi Yehudah, son of Rabbi Simon, said: The light Gd created on the first day was sufficient to enable Man to gaze and see from one end of the world to the other. When Gd looked at the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Tower of Bavel, with their corrupt deeds, He stood and hid it and prepared it for the righteous in the future.

"How do we know He hid it? “And he hid from the wicked their light (Iyyov 38).”

"How do we know He prepared it for the future? “And the path of the righteous is like the light of morning, continuing to grow in its illumination until the day is established (Mishlei 4).”"

(Midrash, Bereishit Rabbah 11:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Death of the righteous

Hi,

"Rabbi Chiyya bar Gamda taught in the name of Rabbi Yosi ben Shaul: When a righteous person leaves this world, the ministering angels say before Gd, 'Master of the Universe! So-and-so the righteous person has come!'

"Gd then says, 'Let the righteous people come and greet him.' They come and say, 'May he come in peace,' and then they rest on their beds."

(Talmud, Ketuvot 104a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Messianic Times

Hi,

Of Messianic times:

"The world will not be embedded in materialism as it is now. The inclination for evil will leave humanity, and all of HaShem's creations will turn with one heart to serve the Creator of all.

"Even according to the view that the only difference between this world and the next is tyranny, what that means is that the world will function in its natural way, with natural mechanisms, it will not function in some supernatural way but only through natural means, but all humanity will be righteous."

(Maharal of Prague, Netzach Yisrael Chapter 50)

Have a great day,
Mordechai