Acknowledgement is given to KOL HASHOMRIM a bi-annual publication of the Shomrey Emunah Congregation, which also published this article in the Fall 2001 issue, pp22+. Acknowledgement is also given to members of my Rashi class at Shomrey Emunah who proofread the original version.(This html version differs from the published version in minor punctuation marks and grammar. Also TABLE 1 and TABLE 3 (which are similar) got reversed in the KOL HASHOMRIM version)





INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW



One of the distinguishing characteristics, not only of

Judaism, but of all major religions, is the concept of

a hereafter--a paradise and hell. According to many,

belief in resurrection and hereafter are fundamental

doctrinal beliefs required of religious people [2].

* Our Talmud does require belief in the hereafter

* Our Major Halachic authorities codify this belief

* There is an explicit description of this hereafter

* The Talmud describes entrance requirements for the hereafter

* The Talmud sees various verses alluding to the hereafter



But while the medieval Jewish texts and even the Talmud

openly speak about the hereafter, the Bible seems

to be silent on this important topic. Some antagonists

to religion even use this silence to cast doubt on the

doctrinality of this important concept: For, they argue,

if the hereafter is so important then it should be

explicitly mentioned in the Bible. In fact, the

hereafter appears to these antagonists as an

afterthought that Talmudic Rabbis invented to comfort

the persecuted masses.



The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that

the hereafter is explicitly mentioned in the Bible [3]

We develop this thesis in 4 stages: We show explicit

mention in the Bible that the hereafter...

STAGE 1 : ..is mentioned in the Bible

STAGE 2 : ..is identified with a higher quality of existence

STAGE 3 : ..is a place where people sits in Gods presence & learn



Finally we will conclude this paper with ..



STAGE 4 : Relevant educational implications for us ---How

Olam Haba should affect our curriculum and the instruction

of ourselves and our children







STAGE 1: Explicit Biblical Mention of Reward for Mitzvoth



We develop our thesis in stages. In the first stage

we simply defend one aspect of Olam Haba: namely, that God

rewards those who do commandments. Such a statement does

occur in the Bible.

As the Table below shows there are 9 verses in Deuteronomy

which promise ARICHUS YAMIM to those who perform the

commandments. Subsequent sections will show that the

Biblical Hebrew term ARICHUS YAMIM corresponds to the

concept of the hereafter.

In the table below the first column lists the VERSE,

the 3rd column gives a BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE TEXT OF THE

VERSE, and the 2nd column gives a brief synopsis of the

SURROUNDING TEXT of the chapter. Those who wish further

study should review the whole chapter. VERSE SURROUNDING TEXT BRIEF SUMMARY OF TEXT OF VERSE Dt04-40 Gods greatness Watch Mitzvoth for aricuth yamim Dt05-16 10 Commandments Honor parents for aricuth yamim Dt05-30 Decaloge Receipt Watch Mitzvoth For aricuth yamim Dt06-02 Intro to Shma Learn and Do Mtzvt for aricuth yamim Dt11-09 Gods Greatness Do Mitzvoth .. For aricuth yamim Dt17-20 Kings Obligations Learn Do Mtzvt. For aricuth yamim Dt22-07 Mother Bird mtzvh Let mother go..for aricuth yamim Dt25-15 Honest weights Proper weights ..for aricuth yamim Dt32-47 The Rebuke Poem Pay Attention(to the Torah) for aricuth yamim Table 1: As an example we review the first row of the table. The first row of the table shows that Dt04-40

(Deuteronomy Chapter 4 Verse 40) says that we should watch Gods commandments and statutes which I command you today

which are good for you and your children after you and in order that you have aricuth yamim on the land that the Lord your God gives you all the days . We have summarized this as Watch mitzvoth for aricuth yamim . The surrounding text, Dt04-01:24 speaks about our obligation to see and remember Gods greatness particularly in the Exodus







STAGE 2: PHYSICAL BIGNESS CAN ALSO MEAN ABSTRACT BIGNESS

To proceed to the next step we must first illustrate the general rule that any word denoting a great physical quantity of an attribute can also denote a great abstract/spiritual/emotional quantity of an attribute.[4] This principle is not unique to Hebrew but applies in many languages. For example the English word Heavy can denote something physically heavy or can indicate a serious matter The Table below illustrates this principle with a list of words which can

either have

* a physical interpretation or

* an abstract spiritual/emotional interpretation ROOT Physical Meaning VERSE Abstract Meaning VERSE G-D-L Big Gn21-08 Leader [5] Est03-03 K-B-D Heavy Prv27-03 Honored Nu22-17 R-V-Ch Spacious Jer22-14 (Emotional)Calm[7] 1Sa16-23 R-B-H Reproduce Dt08-13 Trainees [8] Nu32-14 K-T-N Small 1Sa17-14 Unworthy [9] Gn32-11 K-Tz-R Short[10] Ps89-46 Lack of Interest Ex06-09 Table 2: To illustrate let us review the 3rd row of the table. The Hebrew ROOT studied is Resh-Vav-Cheth. The VERSE

Jeremiah 22-14 speaks about people who build houses with Spacious attacks . Thus this verse illustrates the PHYSICAL meaning of R-V-Ch. By contrast the VERSE I Samuel 16-23 speaks about how King Sauls paranoia was calmed when they played music for him. Thus thisverse illustrates the spiritual/emotional meaning of the R-V-Ch. The reader should note that calmness corresponds to adequate emotional space and therefore echoes and mirrors the concept of physical space.





We can now show that the hereafter refers to a higher

quality of life. Recall that in STAGE 1 we showed that

the reward for commandments is aricuth yamim. The Hebrew

word orech means long. Thus the literal translation of

Aricuth yamim would seem to mean long days.

However the above table shows a duality between physical

and abstract meanings. Hence just as aricuth yamim

could mean a lengthy life, aricuth yamim could also mean

a higher quality of days. This then is the desired goal of

stage 2: To show that the reward for doing commandments

is a higher quality of life.

To defend this possible translation of aricuth yamim as higher

Quality of life we bring 4 supports.

* The Radack points out that the Hebrew phrase for

Lengthy days uses the preposition for (lamed). For

example Gn26-08 would be translated as and when

the days were long for him ( orech l ). Based on this

observation it would appear that the ordinary phrase

orech yamim (Without the preposition for) would mean

higher quality of life

* According to all commentaries the Hebrew word aruchah

can mean healing (which is analogous to a higher

quality of life). Thus Jer30-17 is translated as

a promise by God to bring a healing to you

* We have the explicit statement in Chullin 142a

Consider the case where a mans father said to him,

Go up to the top of the building and bring me down young birds.

The son then went up to the top of the

building, let the dam go, and took the young birds,

but on his return fell and was killed.

If we translate orech yamim (Dt22-07) as length of

Days then the Biblical promise to give this person

Length of days has not been fulfilled.

Therefore we must interpret Orech yamim as Hereafter. * Finally extending the above Talmudic argument we

can cite other verses where quality of life

is a preferred translation to length of life.

Perhaps the simplest example is I Kings 3-14 where

God promises King Solomon orech yamim if he watches

Gods commandments.

But King Solomon violated the prohibition against

intermarriage and did not follow Gods commandments.

So King Solomon lost his right to orech yamim.

The Bible does not say he was punished with death!

Rather the Bible explicitly says he was punished with

harassment --In other words he lost quality of

life (I Kings 11:11-14).



To summarize: In stage 2, we demonstrated from a

variety of sources that orech yamim, the explicitly

stated Biblical reward for observing commandments,

does not mean long days but rather refers to a higher

Quality of life. Our support for this comes from

semantic, grammatical, Biblical and Talmudic sources.

STAGE 3: THE NATURE OF THE NEXT WORLD

Before proceeding to the next stage we recall the distinction between pleasures whose source is physical vs pleasures whose source is intellectual. [11] Some examples will suffice: Examples of Physical pleasures are eating, marriage, social standing, financial security etc. By contrast examples of intellectual pleasures are the happiness in finding a good distinction while learning or the sense of satisfaction in performing a commandment such as a charitable act

Recall further the distinguishing characteristics between physical and intellectual pleasures. Physical pleasures are intrinsically limited : You cant eat an unlimited amount unless you possess the food; and even if you did possess unlimited food overeating would cause nausea not pleasure. There is no way to train oneself to enjoy overeating. By contrast you neednt possess anything to learn or accomplish. If you are properly trained then you can learn all day and enjoy it. The pleasures of the next world are more similar to intellectual pleasures [11] then they are to physical pleasures. (That is, the next world is an unlimited pleasure that does not require the competition of possession).

With this background let us review how the Bible

describes the hereafter. Recall that The Bible mentions that as a reward for doing

commandments we will have a higher quality of life. This promise is made in 9 verses.

By studying the Biblical context of the promise, that is, by

studying what preceded and followed the promise of

higher quality of life in the Biblical chapter, we can

infer how this higher quality of life is perceived

As is shown in the table below, the higher quality

of life which is promised as a reward for the

commandments is connected with

* the intellectual pleasure of learning

* the satisfaction of performing commandments

* the intellectual pleasure of hearing Gods greatness

This description of the hereafter as a place where souls learn, do

commandments and view Gods greatness is almost identical with the

explicit statements made by both our Talmud and Rishonim

concerning the nature of the hereafter [2].

To illustrate how the table is used let us review the

4th row: Deuteronomy Chapter 4 discusses Gods greatness

* The chapter asks us to remember Gods Greatness.

* The chapter reviews how God literally saved the Jewish nation from Egypt

* The chapter also reviews How God caused prophecy to rest on the entire Jewish nation.

* The chapter then concludes that we should watch Gods commandments

* in order that WE HAVE A HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE ON THE LAND THAT GOD PROMISED US.

We are suggesting that the concluding sentence promising

a higher quality of life if we observe commandments

can be seen as concluding the whole chapter.. In other

words we see the message of the whole chapter as

* advising us to remember Gods greatness

* requiring us to observe Gods commandments

* And then as a consequence (to all the above) we will

have a higher quality of life (orech yamim).

We also see this consequence as a logical consequence vs an arbitrary gift by God.

That is the reason we will attain a higher quality of life for remembering Gods greatness

and doing Commandments is because by definition our source of pleasure will be

intellectual (doing commandments and talking about Gods greatness) rather than physical

Again this perspective on the next world is fully supported in the Talmud and Rishonim [2]

VERSE SURROUNDING TEXT TEXT OF VERSE THE CONTEXT Dt06-02 Intro to Shma Learn Do Mtzvt LEARNING Dt17-20 Kings Obligations Learn Do Mtzvt LEARNING Dt32-47 The Rebuke Poem Pay Attention LEARNING MOOSAR Dt04-40 Gods greatness Watch Mitzvoth GODS GREATNESS Dt11-09 Gods Greatness Watch Mitzvoth GODS GREATNESS Dt05-30 Decaloge Receipt Watch Mitzvoth DO COMMANDMENTS Dt05-16 10 Commandments Honor parents DO COMMANDMENTS Dt22-07 Mother Bird mtzvh Let mother go DO COMMANDMENTS Dt25-15 Honest weights[12] Proper weights DO COMMANDMENTS Table 3: Context of 9 chapters contain promise of higher quality of life for doing commandments.



STAGE 4: APPLICATION TO EDUCATION

We conclude with a few comments on application to modern

Judaica curriculum. Is the next world a theoretical

concept to comfort people whose relatives died. Or

is there something deeper to it?

I would suggest that besides promising us reward, the

concept of the next world also Teaches us moral behavior.

Without the concept of the next world most people would

concentrate on physical pleasures such as financial security



However the concept of the next world reminds us of

mans capacity to enjoy things other than physical

pleasure. As the Bible itself says Dt08-03 in Order

That You Should Know That Man Doesnt Only Live by

Bread but Rather Man Lives by the Word of God

In short, by teaching the concept of the next world

we are also helping ourselves in this world. We are

reminding ourselves and our children that man has

capacity for pleasures that are intellectual in nature.

By reminding ourselves of our capacity for these

pleasures we in turn encourage the type of training

(in performance of commandments and learning) that

facilitates the community to observe Gods law.

True there is an ideal not to observe commandments because

of reward and pleasure but as a practical matter we can

help people a great deal if we point out that by training

themselves (in performance of commandments and learning)

they can obtain pleasures in this world without the wear and

tear of physical pleasure and this awareness will significantly

increase Torah and Mitzvah performance.



