Scriptural Sources of the World to Come (1)

 

We have briefly discussed the immortality of the soul from three perspectives:

 

1.  In terms of content: what does the Torah teach us about this issue?

2.  Our philosophical and scientific outlook upon this principle of faith.

3.  The origins of this belief in the Torah.

 

We will not attempt here to present the claims, interesting in and of themselves, with which Jewish philosophy has attempted to prove the immortality of the soul.  Most of them are built on psychological principles which were widespread in the Middle Ages and are of purely historical interest.  Although these claims have retained their importance and meaning, from a philosophical perspective pointing to the absolute separation that exists between the material and physical, the mental and spiritual, we must recall Rihal's statement about this issue [5:14, pg. 214] which nullifies the significance of these proofs.  Everything came into being through the will of God.  Therefore, since according to Rihal there is no necessary rational order, it is meaningless to reach conclusions from what appears to us as such.  If God decreed it so, then the soul would be immortal, even if it were physical.    

 

     In the following lectures, we will discuss the third perspective.  At first glance, it seems that the "World To Come" is not mentioned anywhere in the Scriptures.  It is impossible, however, not to see therein any fewer than three dimensions of the theory of redemption: the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the dead, and the redemption of the cosmos.  Regarding the first dimension we follow in the footsteps of Rihal, who considered Elijah's ascent to the heavens the test case and model for Scriptural faith.  We will attempt to follow the Scriptural heroes that are "gathered to their people," and follow the soul of Samuel which returns to earth to prophesy once more.  We will also attempt to listen to the Psalmist who hopes and waits for God to redeem him from Sheol.  Regarding the second dimension, we will listen to the Scriptural descriptions of the Messianic era.  Third, we will listen to the words of the prophets as they speak of the redemption of the world.  Before we begin, I will only add that in order to fully understand this issue, we must accept a fundamental assumption: the existence of the Oral Law, which completes the written Torah and helps us understand it properly.  And it must be made clear that these are not two separate entities, an Oral Law completely detached from the Scriptures.  The Oral Law helps us read the Scriptures and understand them, while it is hinted at within the Scriptures as well.  We will illustrate this later on.

    

     We find many Scriptural references to Sheol, to where souls depart after death.  Sheol exists; it is an actual place.  Sheol is figuratively described as the lower land, bearing resemblance to the grave.  We cannot describe the exact essence of Sheol, but we will not be mistaken if we view it as a place of static existence.  This is existence without life, a static existence with no action, anger, or injustice.  If our world is the world of action, Sheol is the world of rest for the weary.

 

     However, in order to understand the meaning of Sheol in the Scriptures, we must first understand its meaning in pagan mythology.  It is true that, with certain limitations, the pagan gods were immortal and therefore free of the dominion of Sheol; they did not, however rule over Sheol.  Sheol was under the reign of a specific god.  Even if at times the gods could grant immortality to humans whom they favored, they could not revive the dead; this key was not in their hands.  Paradoxically, in Sheol man was free of the rule of the gods.

 

     This approach, according to the Scriptures, means a corruption of Monotheism, of God's absolute control as the Creator.  Just as the borders of the land of Israel do not confine the power of God, neither are the dead "free" of divine control.  The Scriptures emphasize that God's hand reaches Sheol: "If they dig their way to Sheol, from there My hand will take them, and if they ascend to the heavens, from there I will bring them down" [Amos, 9:2].  God's dominion is not only in heaven, but also in Sheol, for "if I search the heavens You are there, and if I descend to Sheol You are there"  [Psalms 139:8]. In a cryptic passage, the prophet Isaiah suggests asking for a sign from Sheol [Isaiah 7:11].  "Go down to Sheol or rise up," since essentially, "Sheol is naked before Him and there is no shelter for ruin" [Job 26:6 and Proverbs 15:11].  Sheol offers no protection or asylum from the divine presence.

 

     The stories of Elijah and Elisha teach us this idea through the concept of miracles.  Their lives feature many achievements that demonstrate their control over nature.  They have been given all the keys: bringing down rain, granting fertility to the barren, and resurrection of the dead - the three symbols of God's control over nature and its laws [Bereishit Rabba 77].  Their control over leprosy also may be seen as a type of control over death, as it is essentially the ability to revive dead flesh.  This triumph over nature finds its ultimate expression on the day of Elijah's departure from this world.  Indeed, "There is d-- on the day of death."

 

     The centrality of Elijah's ascension was emphasized by Nachmanides:

 

"...and those who leave behind all the interests of this world and disregard it as if they are not bodily creatures, and all their concentration and thought focus on their Creator alone, as was the case with Elijah, when their souls cleave to...  [God], they live forever in their bodies and souls, as it appears from the Scriptures regarding Elijah..." [Nachmanides' commentary on Leviticus 18:5].

 

Reward and Punishment in Sheol

 

The existence of Sheol teaches us that the naive approach, which views the Scriptures as a book devoid of faith in the immortality of the soul, is fundamentally wrong.  One critical question, though, remains.  Are reward and punishment parts of the experience of immortality?  At first glance it would seem that the answer is no.  I intend to prove that this answer is entirely incorrect.  In order to prove this we must return to the existence of Sheol, only from a different perspective.

 

     The dead occupants of Sheol, maintain certain characteristics of their lives even after death.  The classic example is of course Samuel's dress: "an old man arose and he was clothed in a cloak" [Samuel 1, 28:14].  Moreover, death reflects and reinforces the state of the person during life.  Jacob laments, "For I will go down to my son in mourning to Sheol" [Genesis 37:35].  This does not merely refer to anguish unto the point of death; it refers to anguish which the person continues to experience after death.  This fact itself carries with it a particular view of reward and punishment, that the dead in Sheol remain in the same state which typified their lives.  We will continue to develop this idea in our next lecture.