Haolam Haba—salvation of man from rabbinical point of view Part 2

literature about ‘ the world to come’.” 1

Who will have a share in the world to come according to the sages?

“ All Israel have a place in the world to come.” ( Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10:1).

“… Rabbi Eliezer said: all the nations will have no share in the world to come { i.e. no heathen, or non-Jew will have a share in the world to come}, even as it is said, ‘ The wicked shall go into Sheol, and all the nations that forget God’ (Ps. Ix, 17). ‘ The wicked shall go into Sheol’ {= hell}: these are the wicked among Israel. R. Joshua said to him: If the verse had said, ‘The wicked shall go into Sheol and all the nations,’ and had stopped there, I should have agreed with you, but as it goes on to say, ‘ who forget god’ , it means that there are righteous men among the nations who have a share in the world to come.” 2

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There is a consensus between the Rabbis that all Israel will have a share in the world to come. Not so with the Gentiles, only the righteous will have a share. The question is asked: what makes a Gentile righteous? The Rabbis had an answer to that too. They invented the so called “noachide laws” saying any Gentile who abides by these laws is righteous. 3 But even here there are disagreements, contradictions and confusions.

“ If I had not accepted the law, I should have been just as one of the nations, for whom there is neither reward nor punishment.” ( Pesikta rabbati 107 a).

Some of the Rabbis where of the view that this world is for the Gentiles happiness, but the next world happiness is for Israel. One can see the division of classes not only between Israel and the nation, but also within Israel itself. On one hand we have the Sanhedrin passage: “all Israel will have a share of the world to come..” On the other, in the same tract we find that not ALL Israel will, some of Israel will not:

“…He who says the resurrection of the dead is not indicated in the law… ( Rambam’s view) …He who says the Torah is not from heaven… The Epikouros… He who reads alien books…He who pronounces the divine name out loud… Three kings and four private persons have no share in the world to come…” (Sanhedrin 11, 99b, 105a).

One of the three kings, Menassah, will have a portion in the world to come after all:

“ If a man were to come and say that God does not receive the penitent, Manassah would come and testify against him, for there was never a man more wicked than he, and yet, in the hour of his repentance, God received him, as it is said, ‘He prayed unto God, and God was entreated of him’ (2 Chron. 33:13).” ( Numbers rabbah, Naso, 14,1).

Rabbi Akiva was of the mind that a share in the world to come is a privilege, and that privilege can only be gained by a positive and upright living, namely doing the Mitzvot. Akiva did not see this privilege as an inherited right that only punishment can erase, meaning that the deeds of man in this life overturn the election of God. He said that only the people who do not posses good deeds at all will not have a share in the world to come. God will be merciful, and grant admission to the world to come even to a person who does only one good deed.

The ancient sages viewed the עולם הבא as the place where one gets his rewards for life in עולם הזה . Life in this world is a conditioning to life after this life. The reward, good, or bad, will be given in the world to come. It is unclear what the reward is, and there is some confusion over that issue.

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“ R. Nathan said: There is no commandment in the law, however light, for which there is not a reward in this world; the reward in the world to come, I know not….” (Menachot 44a).

On the other hand we have this:

“ The reward for obedience to the law is not in this world, but in the world to come…” ( Ta’anit, Bereshit 1,f, 7a).

Some Rabbis, like Rabbi Akiva thought that heavenly rewards are a certainty (Mak.24b), Others, warned against keeping the Mitzvot in order to receive rewards in heaven. But the idea that one is merited a share in the world to come if he keeps just one Mitzvah is a major theme in rabbinic literature:

“ The Rabbis say: let a man ever regard himself as if he were half-guilty and half-deserving; then, if he fulfills one command, happy is he, for he has inclined the scale toward merit;……..” ( Kiddushin 40b).

“ R. Hananiah b. Akashya said: It pleased God to make Israel able to acquire merit. Therefore He multiplied to them Torah and commandments, as it is said, ; It pleased the Lord for his righteousness sake to make the law large; (Makkot 3:160.

“Rabbi Gamliel, the son of Rabbi Judah the prince, said: Let all who are employed with the congregation act with them for heaven’s sake, for then the merit of their fathers sustains them and their righteousness endures forever. ‘And as for you, God says, ‘ I account you worthy of great reward as if you had wrought it all yourselves.’ “ (Avot 11:2)

In light of this Avot passage, What Paul said in Romans 11:28 is interesting at the least.

The Rabbis viewed the whole purpose of the Torah with it’s 613 laws was to enable Israel to acquire merit, and through merit, reward. Note also how in some cases an individual Israelite is stressed, in others it stresses the individual human being. Yet some of the rabbis stressed that one should not rely on merit too much:

“ A man must not trust in the work of his ancestors. If a man does not do good in this world, he cannot put his trust in the work of his fathers. No man will eat in the time to come of his father’s works, but only of his own.”

Given all the confusion of the Rabbis throughout the generations is it a wonder why the modern Jew of today believes that heaven can wait? The modern Jew believes that it is better to concentrate on life here and now, keep the mitzvoth in order to get the rewards in the world to come.

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If one is to attend a Jewish funeral to day, one will not hear something like this: “ He/she is OK, He/she is in Paradise,” referring to the deceased. For them, this is something you hear in Christian funerals. This does not mean that the Jews today do not believe in the concept of גן עדן , they just don’t mention it. why? Because there was never a unified teaching of this concept, there was never an emphasis of the spiritual side of death. For the modern Jew, death has such finality to it because he/she was never conditioned to the concept of after life. This is why a Jewish funeral is so hard to bear.

So, maybe Avot 4:21,22 does not show confusion. For the modern Jew העולם הבא is the place where Jews get their rewards, therefore none of the pleasures of this world can measure to the delights of the world to come. On the other hand, this world, is the place where a person chooses to do good deeds, and in some way doing good deeds has a higher priority than receiving the rewards of the world to come.

There is the story of the Vilnah Gaon, on his deathbed he was crying. When asked by his family why was he crying his answer was: “Here in this world, for a few coins I can buy a tzitzit.” All the bliss of the world to come, cannot substitute for the opportunity to keep the Mitzvot. Jews are focused on this world, because only in this world the soul can choose goodness. Only in this world can a person try to achieve God’s will. Since the world to come is a mystery, and no one knows what will happen once we get there, it is easy for the modern Jew to believe that the world to come is for GETTING ( the rewards), and this world is for GIVING. By giving one imitates God the ultimate giver. No wonder that Judaism emphasizes the עולם הזה .

But then, the prevailing belief of the modern Jew is that one should not keep the Mitzvot in order to receive rewards in the world to come. The Rabbis of today teach that every Mitzvah is worth more than its reward. Doing the will of God is a target by itself. Jews do not aspire to get into גן עדן , but to change life in this world to make it a גן עדן on earth. The modern Rabbis also teach that when a Jew dies, he fails, since he does not have the opportunity to do good things anymore. This is why Jews value life so much, they see their daily efforts as something invaluable. For them, the loss of days, hours, and minutes is something extremely tragic. Chabad teaches that every Mitzvah done on this earth will count so much more in heaven.

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Conclusion:

The Prophet Isaiah spoke of אחרית הימים (Isaiah 2:2). The sages wrote about them with much confusion and contradictions. Within אחרית הימים they included: ימות המשיח –Days of Messiah, תחית המתים –the resurrection, and העולם הבא –the world to come. These eras seem to overlap, there is confusion when the days of Messiah end, before or after the resurrection, or when the world to come start. It is also difficult to know what is reality, and what is a metaphor.

ימות המשיח –the Days of Messiah.

Also known as the DAYS OF REDEMPTION. The teaching about the Days of Messiah are not about a personal Messiah,(certainly, there is much existing writing about a personal Messiah), but of a Messianic age where people will live on this earth, in this world, which will remain in its basic form with no more wars, nor hate, nor poverty, nor evil. People will eat and drink, conduct regular life, and there will be no more hatred toward the Jewish people. The temple will be built, and the re-gathering of all Jews back to the Holy Land will occur. How will the world change from the present condition to a new world? There will be a time immediately before the Days of Messiah, where all the values of the old world will collapse as a preparation to the new world.

תחית המתים –the Resurrection.

We know from Scriptures that the belief in the Resurrection existed within Judaism. The Pharisees and the Sadducees, were divided on the belief. The Sadducees rejected the Resurrection because it was not mentioned in the Torah. In the writings of the sages the belief took hold. Maimonides included it in his thirteen principles of faith. He reaffirmed the Talmudic writers in their contention that he who do not believe in the Resurrection does not have a share in the World to come.

As mentioned above, controversy, confusion, and imagination are sawn through the writings of the sages on the belief. There exists a disagreement on the question of: will the Resurrection be only spiritual, (only the souls will be resurrected) or, will the body and soul unite.

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העולם הבא – the World to come.

The term is used interchangeably for the spiritual after life, and also for the Days of Messiah (Messianic age). The sages wrote that all Israel has a share in the עולם הבא , but not all shares are equal. One can “earn” his share in the World to come through doing the Mitzvot. Rabbinic Judaism does not see the error in this thinking because they are not focused on the question of how to get into the World to come. Their focus is on life here and now. Judaism sees the עולם הבא as the place where the rewards are given for keeping the commandments.

There is so much more to research, but I have tried to limit myself to the general outlook of Judaism.

Notes:

1) Montefiore & Loewe, A Rabbinic Anthology (Schocken books 1974), p. 581.

2) Ibid. p. 604.

3) Tim Hegg, “ Do the Seven, Go to Heaven?” www.torahresources.com.