Community Magazine September 2021

46 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE earn resurrection by encouraging their husbands and children to study. However, those who did not affiliate themselves with the Torah have no way of returning to life at tehiyat hametim to experience Olam Haba . The exception to this rule is people who surrendered their lives to sanctify the Name of Hashem, who will earn tehiyat hametim even if they did not connect themselves with Torah. One who denies the reality of tehiyat hametim forfeits the privilege of experiencing it. The Resurrection of Those Buried Outside Israel There is a debate among the sages of the Talmud as to whether tehiyat hametim will take place only in Israel, or even outside the land of Israel. According to one view, the event of tehiyat hametim will be limited to Israel, and therefore people buried elsewhere will be resurrected only after their remains roll underground to the land of Israel. Others, however, maintain that tehiyat hametim will take place even outside Israel. According to all views, the righteous sadikim buried outside Israel will be spared the grueling process of rolling. Instead, they will stand and then walk through miraculously designed underground tunnels to the land of Israel for tehiyat hametim . This is one of the reasons why many people prefer being buried in the land of Israel – so that they will not need to roll to Israel at the time of tehiyat hametim . In fact, halachah allows exhuming a person’s remains for reburial in Israel. Your Soul’s Identity The Kabbalists have taught us the concept of gilgulim (transmigration of souls), the notion that a soul can be reincarnated with a new identity after death for the purpose of rectifying the misdeeds committed in its previous life. It is thus possible for one soul to be “reborn” numerous times. The concept of gilgulim gives rise to the question of how resurrection will occur for souls that different people possessed at different periods. Will they all somehow be resurrected, or will only the last body to possess the soul be brought back to life? The widely accepted view is that it is indeed possible for a soul, which is entirely spiritual in nature, to “divide” itself among several physical beings. Therefore, all people who had assumed a given soul and are deemed worthy of eternal life will be resurrected at tehiyat hametim . The Vilna Gaon, z.s.l. , however, writes that only the last person to possess his soul will return to life, and for this reason, it behooves us all to complete our mission and purpose in the world so we will not need to return in a different form and our present identity will be forgotten. Will husbands and wives still be considered married at the time of tehiyat hametim , or will they have to remarry after resurrection? Interestingly enough, a number of scholars addressed the similar question of whether a woman who was brought back to life by a prophet was still married to her husband after the resurrection. This issue is subject to a debate among the sages, but the Ben Ish Hai (Rabbi Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) asserted that according to all views, husbands and wives will have to marry each other again at the time of tehiyat hametim . Unlike in the case of the woman resurrected by a prophet, who was revived with her previous body intact, at tehiyat hametim we will receive entirely new bodies, and we will thus be considered as having been created anew. If a woman was widowed or divorced and subsequently remarried, whom will she marry at the time of tehiyat hametim ? According to all views, divorced women will return to their second husbands at the time of the resurrection. With regard to remarried widows, however, the scholars debate the question of whether she will return to her first or second husband. Will we still have an obligation to honor our parents after tehiyat hametim , or will we be considered “reborn,” such that we will no longer retain our familial relationships? The Ben Ish Hai writes that the obligation to honor parents will remain in effect after the resurrection. Parents bring not only their children’s bodies into the world, but also their souls. Therefore, since our souls will remain the same even after tehiyat hametim , we will be required to respect our parents. The Great and Awesome Day of Judgment The event of tehiyat hametim will be immediately followed by the final Day of Judgment. (According to one Midrash, this will occur three days after resurrection.) All people will be judged according to the actions they performed during their lifetime, and it will be determined who will proceed to Olam Haba to enjoy the spiritual pleasures of that existence. The Midrash says that even the greatest sadikim and highest angels will tremble in fear from the great intensity of Hashem’s final judgment. Those who earn a favorable outcome will remain alive for Olam Haba , while those who are found undeserving of eternal reward will be sent to the spiritual fires of Gehinom to be burned and destroyed forever. Tehiyat hametim is included among the thirteen fundamental beliefs of Judaism. We all must know and believe that this wondrous day will arrive when those who have passed on will be revived and given a new life. Let us seize the opportunity we have now, during our lifetime, to make ourselves worthy of a favorable judgment and be deserving of eternal life in the World to Come. Next Issue: The World to Come Tehiyat hametim is included among the thirteen fundamental beliefs of Judaism. We all must know and believe that this wondrous day will arrive, when those who have passed on will be revived and given a new life.