Here is a questions we will talk about and of course answer:
One of the Maimonides’ 13 principals is the belief in
resurrection of the dead but what is the qualifier for this?
Does this only include Jews? Does it only apply to the righteous? Will Noachides rise again? Could evil Jews or evil gentiles that performed t’shuvah before death rise again?
The Kabbalists felt that there was a real distinction between
Jew and non-Jews. Even the nature of immorality was
distinct, in that the soul of a Jews came from holiness while
the soul of a non-Jew came from the idolatrous nations of
uncleanliness and is not, “properly speaking, ‘man’,” says
Bereshith 20b; cf. Amor 104b, Jethro 86a.
The Kabbalistic view toward proselytes was no better. A
gentile who converts acquires a new soul from heaven, but
this new soul still lacks in spiritual caliber in comparison to
Jewish souls at birth. The Mishpatim 95b says it is a “great
humiliation for the holy soul to enter into a ‘stranger’, namely
into a proselyte. The Zohar even attributes the sin of the golden calf to non-Jews since it was a “mixed multitude.”
However in the modern age, the age of enlightenment, haskalah is born. Its founder was Moses Mendelssohn, a Maimonidean, a rationalist. He put emphasis on universalism.
Thus all people are created equal and are all in the image of
G-d. To fully understand a questions about resurrection we have to define our terms.
What is resurrection:
In the work called Chelek, Maimonides clearly indicates that
the intellect (the nefesh) goes to the world to come and joins
the higher intellect.[1] That is to say that there is no physical
resurrection, only spiritual. The Shem Tov ben Yosef Shem
Tom captures his thinking. He writes that he [Maimondies]
“did not believe in a physical resurrection.” In the Mishneh
Torah, he confirms this when he writes:
“In the hereafter neither a body nor a body shape exists, but
the souls of the righteous without bodies.”
Classical Judaism and Talmud(s) state that after the arrival of
the messiah, a period will be followed by resurrection.
However, many modern scholars now feel that this notion
was brought into Judaism from pagan Zoroastrianism and
Babylon. Like the names of the months which the rabbi
honestly admit came from Babylonian gods. The closest hint
to a bodily resurrection in the Bible can be found in Daniel 12
which is debatable. If we take the latter approach and say that resurrection is a spiritual endeavor then the only
difference in the messianic age (olam haba) is that Jews will
live in Israel and not be submerged under foreign rule nor will they be subject to enslavement by other nations. Although he does not deny a physical resurrection in his treatise, it has been noted by some scholars who doubt whether he ever wrote the Treatise on Resurrection, however, that too is
debatable.
Do only Jews go to heaven?
Many traditional Jews feel that only Jews or only righteous
Jews living in Israel will resurrect. The political message is obvious: come to Israel. It is also possible that the persecutions by non-Jews would prompt any rational Jew,
understandably, to say that non-Jews have no share in the
world to come and hence do not get resurrected at all. For example, the Spanish poet, Yehudah Halevi was convinced
that Jews are biologically superior to non-Jews. Even Noahides or converts do not meet the criteria of a Jew. They are little better than animals.[2] Addionaonly, Adam, Abraham, Jacob were non-Jews who we’d expect would resurrect.
Contrary to this racist opinion was Maimonides who believed
in universalism. Maimonides was proud to be an observant Jew. He was also proud of the Jewish people yet, he did not think Jews were superior and that this was innate, instilled into the Jewish people. He felt that Jews were no better than other people, save the obeisance of the Torah, respectfully.
This being the only distinction of the Jew. But anyone could
convert and indeed this would take place in the messianic
age.[3] Ruth was a gentile who converted and Kings David
and Solomon, as well as the Messiah, will descend from her.
We see from here that gentiles have the same capacity to
become the greatest leaders as those who are born to Jewish
parents.
In short, Everyone is created b’tzelem Elohim, “in the image
of G-d.” Maimonides defines this image to mean intelligence,
hence it is a duty to use one’s intellect because that is the
closest thing to G-d and it is the thing that separates us from
animals.
[1] Commentary to Mishnah, introduction to Perek Chelek and
Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Teshuvah 8.
[2] For support of this view see Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim’s
article in the Jewish Times “Jews: A super Race?”.
[3] For more information please see Menachem Keller who
stresses this point in his book Maimonides on Judaism and
the Jewish people, and again in his article “Chosenness. Not
Chauvinism: Maimonides on the Chosen People” Again, a long and informative answer that simply undermines the very assumption of the question by providing one opinion – “but Rambam thinks there’ll be no resurrection.” The
question is based on the opinion of those (the majority) that
do believe in it physically (Ramban)
Here are listed two opinions:
(1) the Rambam who believed in a more spiritual resurrection
and universalism (one which says even non-Jews are resurrected) and (2) the more traditional opinion of Yehudah Halevi, author of The Kuzari who felt that Jews are biologically superior to non-Jews.
(1) the Rambam who believed in a more spiritual resurrection
and universalism (one which says even non-Jews are resurrected) and (2) the more traditional opinion of Yehudah Halevi, author of The Kuzari who felt that Jews are biologically superior to non-Jews.
The Rambam clearly says that these are not only his views
but the views of the prophets. Additionally, Maimonides felt
that this “medieval philosophy” was lost and that he was the
first in the span of 2,000 yrs to reinvent it, however, this does
not give the same credence to the mystical book Zohar since
that work was proven to be a forgery by Moses de León.
From a philosophical argument, it makes sense that the greatest pleasure a soul could endure would be to experience G-d. Why then, should the soul wish to rejoin the body in the world to come.
It also makes sense that G-d loves all of His creations. The Bible says that people are created b’tzelem Elohim, “in the image of G-d.” Genesis 2:7 reads: “The L-rd G-d formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a nefesh chayah.” Onkelos does not render this simply as “a living being,” but
characterizes this as man’s ruach m’mal’la, “one with the power of speech,” a phrase denoting a certain level of intelligence. Thus Maimonides is correct when he says that the image of G-d denotes intelligence. In short, the “image of G-d” (Tzelem Elohim) is, according to Maimonides, a faculty of reason. The intellect.
Three Ideas Regarding Resurrection are:
- The resurrection of the dead happens during The
Messianic Era. Everyone is judged, those who are worthy
live on forever in physical bodies. This idea is almost
universally held to be wrong and even bordering on heresy according to many, but there is a very small number of relaible authorities that allow for this belief. - The resurrection of the dead happens in the Messianic era
and all Jews who ever lived come back to life. After the
Messianic Era ends the world is destroyed and a second
resurrection happens. This second resurrection enables
the souls of all the righteous including the righteous non-
Jews to be given life anew in a perfected body that is fit for
eternal life. This idea is a minority opinion, but far more accepted than the previous opinion. - According to the vast majority of Jewish Scholars the resurrection of the dead happens after The Messianic Era, implying that not everyone lives during The Messianic Era.
The resurection of the dead according to the majority view is a refference to the following process. The Messianic Era ends the physical world as it exists today is destroyed. An evil is destroyed and revealed G-d’s Oneness. After that life briefly ends before resurrection which follows Great Judgment where not worthy are destroyed. After that process to eternal reward where righteous will bask forever in radiance of G-d’s presence.
The spiritual realms rest for a period of time called The
Great Shabbat. The souls of the righteous are given bodies capable of experiencing an eternal existence of delighting in G-D’s presence, relative to their actions in the physical world.
Conclusion:
A resurrection to enter a next world will be spiritual not
physical.A righteous Jews living in Israel now will go to heaven and rest of the Jews will return one day to Israel when Messiah will be revealed to the world to rule Israel and later all the world.
A resurrection of non-Jews I view skeptically. A G-d will not
want to deal with gentile and pagan things,creation of a new
religions and obsessed to convert a new followers which is
idolatry and punish someone for violations of his Torah. A most likely in the next world from non-Jews will be only those who followed G-ds commandments but definitely a very few. Unfortunately this world did not understood G-d of Israel is only for Jewish people and majority of gentiles disobeyed a Creator to follow his Torah and his commandments. When is the resurrection of the dead supposed to occur according to Rabbinic Judaism? Rabbinic Judaism is called Kabbalah U’Mesorah in Hebrew. This means receive and teach it exactly as taught. The first Rabbis were the last of the prophets. Rabbinic Judaism, meaning Orthodox Judaism is Judaism. The term is used by christians, particularly so called Messianic Jews to plant a seed of doubt and claim their understanding is also a legitimate form of Judaism. Rabbinic Judaism is Judaism and so called other forms of Judaism are not actually the Jewish theology or religion even practiced by some misguided Jews people. According to Judaism there are three ideas regarding The Resurrection of The Dead, they are:
- The resurrection of the dead happens during The Messianic Era. Everyone is judged, those who are worthy live on forever in physical bodies. Note: This idea is almost universally held to be wrong and even bordering on heresy according to many, but there is a very small number of relaible authorities that allow for this belief.
- The resurrection of the dead happens in the Messianic era and all Jews who ever lived come back to life. After the Messianic Era ends the world is destroyed and a second resurrection happens. This second resurrection enables the souls of all the righteous to be given life anew in a perfected body that is fit for eternal life. This idea is a minority opinion, but far more accepted than the previous opinion.
- According to the vast majority of Jewish Scholars the resurrection of the dead happens after The Messianic Era, implying that not everyone lives during The Messianic Era. The resurection of the dead according to the majority view is a refference to the following process. The Messianic Era ends the physical world as it exists today is destroyed. The spiritual realms rest for a period of time called The Great Shabbat. The souls of the righteous are given bodies capable of experiencing an eternal existence of delighting in G-d’s presence, relative to their actions in the physical world.
- Sources:
- Derech Hashem, by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, translated
- as The way of GOD by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan. Feldheim Publications.
- Lectures by Rabbi Avigdor Slatus.
- Rabbi/Av Beit Din, Bnai Brith Jacob Synagouge in Savannah,
- Georgia USA