Product Code Database
Jewish eschatology is the area of Jewish theology concerned with events that will happen in the Eschatology and related concepts. This includes the ingathering of the exiled Jewish diaspora, the coming of the Jewish Messiah, the afterlife, and the resurrection of the dead. In Judaism, the end times are usually called the "end of days" ( aḥarit ha-yamim, אחרית הימים), a phrase that appears several times in the Tanakh.
These beliefs have evolved over time, and according to some authors there is evidence of Jewish belief in a personal afterlife with reward or punishment referenced in the Torah.
According to Maimonides, any Gentile who lives according to the Seven Laws of Noah is regarded as a Ger toshav and assured a place in the world to come (the final reward of the righteous).Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot M'lakhim 8:14Encyclopedia Talmudit (Hebrew edition, Israel, 5741/1981, entry Ben Noah, end of article); note the variant reading of Maimonides and the references in the footnote
There is a great deal of surviving rabbinic material concerning the fate of the soul after death, its experiences, and where it goes. At various points in the afterlife journey, the soul may encounter: hibbut ha-kever, the pains and other experiences of physico-spiritual dissolution or reconfiguration within the grave; Dumah, the angel in charge of funerary matters; Satan, as the angel of death or another equally grim figure; the Kaf ha-Kela, the ensnarement or confinement of the stripped-down soul within ghostly material reallocations, described in chapter 8 of the Tanya, Chabad's primary philosophical text, as devised for the cleansing of souls needing punishment not severe enough to warrant Gehenna; Gehinnom; and Gan Eden (a place of respite or paradise characterized by spiritual purity). Classical rabbinic scholars agree that these concepts are beyond typical human understanding, so these ideas are expressed throughout rabbinic literature as parables and analogies.
Gehenna is fairly well defined in the rabbinic literature. It is sometimes translated as "hell" but is more similar to Nicene Christianity's purgatory than to its Hell. Rabbinic thought maintains that souls are not tortured in Gehenna forever; the longest that one can be there is said to be eleven months, with the exception of heretics and the exceedingly sinful. This is why Jews mourning for near relatives will not recite mourner's kaddish for more than eleven months after death. Gehinnom is considered a spiritual forge whereby the soul is purified for its eventual ascent to Gan Eden (Garden of Eden).
Above this Paradise is the higher Gan Eden, where God is enthroned and explains the Torah to its inhabitants. The higher Gan Eden contains 310 worlds and is divided into seven compartments. The compartments are not described, though it is implied that each compartment is greater than the previous one and is made open to a soul based on its merit. The first compartment is for Jewish martyrs, the second for those who drowned, the third for "Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai and his disciples", the fourth for those whom the "cloud of glory" carried off, the fifth for penitents, the sixth for youths who never sinned, and the seventh for the poor who lived decently and studied the Torah.
The Book of Daniel promised literal resurrection to the Jews in concrete detail. Alan Segal interprets Daniel as writing that with the coming of the archangel Michael, misery would beset the world, and only those whose names were written a divine book would be resurrected. Moreover, Daniel's promise of resurrection was intended only for the most righteous and the most sinful: the afterlife was a place for righteous individuals to be rewarded and unrighteous individuals to receive eternal punishment.
Greek and Persian culture influenced early Jewish beliefs of an afterlife between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, as well. The Hebrew Bible, at least its rabbinic interpretation in tractate Sanhedrin, contains frequent references to the resurrection of the dead.Jacob Neusner The Documentary History of Judaism and Its Recent Interpreters 2012 – Page 138 – "... tense in Scripture, proof of the resurrection is drawn from numerous passages: Exodus 15.1; Joshua 8.30; 1 Kings 11.7; Psalm 84.5; Isaiah 52.8; Deuteronomy 33.6; Daniel 12.2 and 12.13. The grave and womb in Proverbs 30.16 are likewise ... The Mishnah lists belief in the resurrection of the dead as one of three essential beliefs of Judaism:
In the late Second Temple period, the Pharisees and Essenes believed in resurrection, while Sadducees did not. During the period of Chazal, signaling the adoption of resurrection into the Jewish canon.
Jewish liturgy, most notably the Amidah, contains references to the bodily resurrection of the dead.Sommer, Benjamin D. "Isaiah" Introduction and Annotations. The Jewish Study Bible. Ed. Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 780–916. In contemporary Judaism, both Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism maintain the traditional references to it in their liturgy. However, Conservative Jewish leadership has officially acknowledged metaphorical rather than literal interpretations, too.Emet Ve-Emunah: Statement of Principles of Conservative Judaism. Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism have altered traditional references to the resurrection of the dead in the liturgy, revising "who gives life to the dead" to "who gives life to all" in the second blessing of the Amidah.
Conservative Judaism both affirms belief in the world beyond (as referenced in the Amidah and Maimonides's principles of faith) while recognizing that human understanding is limited and we cannot know exactly what the world beyond consists of. Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism affirm belief in the afterlife, though they downplay the theological implications in favor of emphasizing the importance of the "here and now" as opposed to reward and punishment. The Union for Reform Judaism believes the righteous of any faith have a place in heaven but does not believe in a concept of hell.
In the Talmudic era the title Mashiach or מלך המשיח, Méleḵ ha-Mašíaḥ literally means "the anointed King". The Messiah is to be a human leader, physically descended from the Davidic line, who will rule and unite the people IsraeliteMegillah 17b-18a, Taanit 8b and will usher in the Messianic AgeSotah 9a of global and universal peace. What is the Jewish Belief About Moshiach?; web-look-up: 03-10-2010.
The Talmud tells many stories about the Messiah, some of which represent famous Talmudic rabbis as receiving personal visitations from Elijah and the Messiah.
Maimonides' commentary to tractate Sanhedrin stresses a relatively naturalistic interpretation of the Messiah, de-emphasizing miraculous elements. His commentary became widely (although not universally) accepted in the non- or less-mystical branches of Orthodox Judaism.
Some authorities in Orthodox Judaism believe that this era will lead to supernatural events culminating in a bodily resurrection of the dead. Maimonides, on the other hand, holds that the events of the Messianic Era are not specifically connected with the resurrection.
Resurrection of the dead
An early explicit mention of resurrection in Hebrew texts is the Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones in the Book of Ezekiel, dated BCE. Alan Segal argues that this narrative was intended as a metaphor for national rebirth, promising the Jews' return to Israel and reconstruction of the Temple, not as a description of personal resurrection.
The last judgment
In Judaism, the day of judgment happens every year on Rosh Hashanah; therefore, a future "last day" of judgment for all humankind is disputed. Some hold that there will be such a day following the resurrection of the dead. Others maintain that there is no need for that because of Rosh Hashanah. Yet others hold that this accounting and judgment happens when one dies. Others contend that the last judgment only applies to the gentile nations and not the Jewish people.
In contemporary Judaism
Irving Greenberg, representing an Open Orthodox viewpoint, describes the afterlife as a central Jewish teaching deriving from the belief in reward and punishment. According to Greenberg, suffering medieval Jews emphasized the world to come as a counterpoint to the difficulties of this life, while early Jewish modernizers portrayed Judaism as interested only in this world as a counterpoint to "otherworldly" Christianity. Greenberg sees each of these views as leading to an undesired extreme—overemphasizing the afterlife leads to asceticism while devaluing the afterlife deprives Jews of the consolation of eternal life and justice—and calls for a synthesis, in which Jews can work to perfect this world, while also recognizing the immortality of the soul.
Jewish messianism
The Hebrew word mashiach (or moshiach) refers to the Jewish idea of the messiah. In biblical times the title mashiach was awarded to someone in a high position of nobility and greatness. For example, Cohen ha-Mašíaḥ means High Priest. While the name of the Jewish Messiah is considered to be one of the things that precede creation, The Personality of Mashiach; web-look-up: 18-11-2011. he is not considered divine, in contrast to Christianity where Jesus is both divine and the Messiah.
Early Second Temple period (516 BCE – c.220 BCE)
Early in the Second Temple period hopes for a better future are described in the Jewish scriptures. After the return from the Babylonian exile, Cyrus the Great was called "messiah" in Isaiah, due to his role in the return of the Jews exiles.
Later Second Temple period (c.220 BCE – 70 CE)
A number of Messianism ideas developed during the later Second Temple Period, ranging from this-worldy, political expectations, to apocalyptic expectations of an endtime in which the dead would be resurrected and the Kingdom of Heaven would be established on earth.R. J. Zwi Werblowsky (1987), "Messianism: Jewish Messianism", Encyclopedia of Religion The Messiah might be a kingly "Davidic line" or a more heavenly "son of man", but "Messianism became increasingly eschatological, and eschatology was decisively influenced by apocalypticism," while messianic expectations became increasingly focused on the figure of an individual savior. According to Zwi Werblowsky, "the Messiah no longer symbolized the coming of the new age, but he was somehow supposed to bring it about. The "Lord's anointed" thus became the "savior and redeemer" and the focus of more intense expectations and doctrines." Messianic ideas developed both by new interpretations ( pesher, midrash) of the Jewish scriptures, but also by visionary revelations.
Talmud
The Babylonian Talmud (200–500 CE), tractate Sanhedrin, contains a long discussion of the events leading to the coming of the Messiah. Throughout their history Jews have compared these passages (and others) to contemporary events in search of signs of the Messiah's imminent arrival, continuing into present times.
Rabbinic commentaries
In rabbinic literature, the rabbis elaborated and explained the prophecies that were found in the Hebrew Bible along with the oral law and rabbinic traditions about its meaning.
Contemporary views
Orthodox Judaism
The belief in a human Messiah of the Davidic line is a universal tenet of faith among Orthodox Jews and one of Maimonides' thirteen principles of faith.
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism varies in its teachings. While it retains traditional references to a personal redeemer and prayers for the restoration of the Davidic line in the liturgy, Conservative Jews are more inclined to accept the idea of a Messianic Era:
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism generally concurs with the more liberal Conservative perspective of a future Messianic Era rather than a human Messiah. Available online via Jewish Virtual Library.
See also
Notes
External links
|
|
