Jewish View of Resurrection

There are recent postings on this blog discussing the resurrection from a view point of "allowing the Bible to interpret itself." In my studies I try to understand and review what the Jewish view on these issues are. The Jewish view does not always coincide with the Biblical view, but it is very interesting to compare the two and see what does and does not match. Compare the information below with what we have written in our recent posts on this topic.

"Just as a person goes, so he will return. If he died blind, deaf or mute, he will return blind, deaf or mute. As he goes clothed, he will return clothed.¹ G‑d said, 'let them rise as they went—and afterwards I will heal them'"—Midrash Rabbah, Genesis 95.

The very body that died will be resurrected.² According to tradition, there is a miniscule bone in the upper spine called the luz bone. It is from this indestructible bone that G‑d will reconstruct the entire body when the time arrives for the Resurrection of the Dead. (Today, with our understanding of how DNA works, this age-old tradition doesn't seem so far-fetched.) Incidentally, this bone receives its only sustenance from the Melaveh Malka meal, the Saturday night meal that honors the Shabbat Queen as she goes on her way.

Timeline - The order of the Messianic redemption is as follows: First Moshiach comes and rebuilds the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The ingathering of all the exiles will then follow. The resurrection of the dead will occur forty years after the exiles return to the Land of Israel. Tzaddikim, the saintly righteous men and women of the generations, are an exception to this rule; they will be resurrected immediately with the arrival of Moshiach.

First the dead who are buried in Israel will rise from their graves, they will be followed by the dead of the Diaspora, followed by the generation that left Egypt and died in the desert. Last of all will rise the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. Their resurrection is postponed so that they should have the nachas of waking to find all their children alive, well, and happy.

The categories mentioned above will also be further subdivided. The more righteous individuals will be resurrected before the general population. Amongst these righteous individuals, those who were primarily preoccupied with Torah study will take precedence over those whose forte was mitzvah observance.

The Midrash also expresses another opinion, whereby all the dead will be summoned to life via an alphabetical roll call. The humble, however, will be moved to the head of the pack.

Those Alive at the Time of the Resurrection - According to the Zohar, immediately before the resurrection, all those who are alive at that time will momentarily die, and then instantaneously be resurrected. This is in fulfillment of the verse (Genesis 3:19), "For you are dust and to dust you shall return." Also, this short death serves a spiritual purpose—it will cleanse the souls of all traces of the imperfect and tainted world it inhabited. They will then rise with a clean and pure slate.

The Rebbe suggested that this process may be unnecessary. In the concluding paragraph of the Amidah prayer we say, "Let my soul be as dust [exceedingly humble] to all." Our nation has collectively accomplished this goal many times over—our spiritual returning to dust rendering it unnecessary to physically return to dust.

Location

All the dead will be resurrected in the land of Israel. Those who are buried outside the Holy Land, their bodies will burrow through the earth until they reach Israel, and there their souls will be reinstated into their bodies. For tzaddikim, special tunnels will form beneath the ground, in order to make the journey easier and more dignified. Avoiding this laborious process is one of the reasons why so many choose to be buried in the soil of the Holy Land.

The Zohar explains the symbolic connection between the resurrection and the land of Israel. With the future redemption, the land of Israel will be rebuilt, never again to be destroyed or laid to waste. So, too, the souls which reenter the bodies during the resurrection will never again be subjected to death.

FOOTNOTES
1.	According to different interpretations, this either means that people will return in the shroud in which they were buried, or in the type of clothing they would normally wear during their lifetime.
2.	Only in rare instances will a departed soul descend into a new body. See Who will be Resurrected?

Is the Resurrection Era the Ultimate Reward? http://www.chabad.org/library/moshiach/article_cdo/aid/1128675/jewish/Is-the-Resurrection-Era-the-Ultimate-Reward.htm

There is a fundamental difference of opinion between two of the greatest medieval scholars, Maimonides (Rambam, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon) and Nachmanides (Ramban, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman), regarding the duration of the Messianic Era.

Maimonides contends that the ultimate reward for our good deeds will be in the spiritual Gan Eden ("Paradise"), to be experienced by souls alone. The finite physical body, he explains, is an impediment to the soul's infinitely larger capacity to experience unimaginable spiritual delights. As such, the Resurrection Era will be temporary. Eventually all those created from dust will return to dust, and all souls will return to Gan Eden where they will remain for eternity.

(Although it is not the ultimate reward, the resurrection is still necessary—and Maimonides himself lists the belief in the resurrection as one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith. Apparently this is because the body and soul are partners in all good deeds performed. They must both be rewarded accordingly.)

Nachmanides strongly disagrees. Armed with various Talmudic proofs, he argues that – despite its loftiness and the intensity of the pleasure it affords the souls it houses -- Gan Eden is merely a "holding block" for souls until their ultimate reward, the Messianic Era, arrives. At that time all souls will be reunited with their bodies, never again to be parted.

The kabbalistic and chassidic masters have concurred with Nachmanides' view. The reasoning is as follows:

The divine energy that emanates from G‑d (euphemistically referred to as G‑d's "Light") is more manifest and revealed in the higher spiritual worlds (such as Gan Eden). Yet G‑d is referred to as "hidden from all who are hidden," because His essence transcends the highest and lowest creations equally, for all are naught in His presence.

Nevertheless, it is the very essence of G‑d that will be revealed in this physical world during the Messianic Era. Due to His omnipotence, He can be revealed or hidden at will: and it is His choice to reveal Himself specifically in the realm wherein His nation lovingly toiled and sacrificed for thousands of years to create a dwelling place for their Creator.

For a true understanding of the resurrection of the dead begin by reading 1 Corinthians 15 where the Apostle Paul teaches on this issue. Then read Revelation 20. Seek the word and dig deeper after reading those two chapters.