The tradition is adamant about belief in the resurrection of the dead as evidenced by the statement that \u201cwhoever denies the resurrection of the dead will have no share in it\u201d (Sanhedrin<\/i> 90b), as if to say that if you doubt it, you don\u2019t belong there in the first place.<\/p>\n
In reference to the eeriness of it and the out-and-out other-worldliness of something that\u2019s so far removed from human experience, the Talmud underscores the point that \u201cthe resurrection of the dead will be accomplished by God, who alone holds the key to it\u201d (Ta’anit<\/i> 2a, Sanhedrin<\/i> 113a).<\/p>\n
Rambam made it the last of his thirteen articles of faith, which, as worded in Ani<\/i> Ma\u2019amin,<\/i> reads: “I firmly believe that there will be a revival of the dead at a time which will please the Creator, blessed be His name.” He did, though, contend that it would only be experienced by the righteous in his comments to the Mishna (Sanhedrin<\/i> 10:1), but many argued against that view and affirmed a resurrection for all dead (Abarbanel in his Ma’yenei<\/i> Yeshu’ah<\/i> 2:9 and Menashe ben Israel, in his Nishmat<\/i> \u1e24ayyim<\/i> 1:2:8).<\/p>\n
But perhaps the most elegant affirmation of it is the one we\u2019re asked to offer each and every morning when we say, “O God, the soul which You have set within me is pure. You Have fashioned it; You have breathed it into me, You keep it within me, and will take it from me and restore it to me in time to come. As long as it is within me I will give homage to You, divine Master, Lord of all spirits, who returns soul to dead bodies” (Berachot<\/i> 60b).<\/p>\n
(c) 2012 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n
Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n ———————————————————-<\/p>\n AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> at a discount.<\/p>\n You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here<\/a> at a discount as well.<\/p>\n Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The tradition is adamant about belief in the resurrection of the dead as evidenced by the statement that \u201cwhoever denies the resurrection of the dead will have no share in it\u201d (Sanhedrin 90b), as if to say that if you … Continue reading