Tefillah 056

50:
We continue our discussion of the second benediction of the Amidah. In the previous shiur we noted that while the original theme of the benediction may well have been the constant anxiety of those who live in Israel concerning the timing and the extent of the rainfall, the sages did use this benediction to emphasize the concept of the resurrection of the dead. However, in our modern discourse we tend to obfuscate the demarcation line between the concept of "the resurrection of the dead" and the concept of "life after death". In a hazy manner the Biblical record assumes "life after death" in some form or other, but does not explicate or define that which in any case cannot be explicated or defined in factual terms. For instance, while factually recounting the conversation that King Saul had with the deceased prophet Samuel on the eve of the disastrous battle of Mount Gilboa (a conversation that took place through the medium of the Woman of En-Dor), no attempt is made to explain the nature of Samuel's existence at that time or its "geography". You can read the whole episode in I Samuel 28:3-25.

51:
The concept of "the resurrection of the dead" [Teĥiyyat ha-Metim] is different – and probably not directly connected with the concept of "life after death". In the previous shiur we noted briefly that at some time during the epoch of the Second Bet Mikdash this new belief took root. Scholars tend to date the introduction of this new belief to the period that proceeded the Hasmonean uprising against the Syrian Hellenists. The apostacy that was enforced in Judah under the aegis of Antiochus Epiphanes during the first quarter of the second century BCE is graphically (but not necessarily historically) portrayed in accounts such as the death of Ĥannah's seven sons. Incidents such as this one, multiplied many-fold, undermined the simple belief in direct retribution: that the good are rewarded and the wicked get their just deserts – in this life. Such a simple belief was seen to be antagonistic towards the observed facts of life! According to the scholars, there now developed a new theology that would not run counter to the observed facts. While it is true that we all die, and that there is not necessarily justice in the vicissitudes of the life we live here and now, this will not always be the case: at some time in the future all the dead will be resurrected (i.e. restored to life) and in this "World to Come" [Olam ha-Ba] there would take place a great judgment in which the righteous would receive the reward that they did not get "in this life" and the wicked would receive the punishment that their deeds during their lifetime require of Divine Justice. I must emphasize that it was held – as far as we can tell – that this judgment would not take place "after death" in a heavenly Tribunal, but on earth at some time in the future subsequent to a total and general "resurrection".

52:
That this theology was an innovation we can deduce from the fact that it was not universally accepted. Indeed, the breach between the Sadducees and the Pharisees probably became irreversible because of this item of Pharisaic creed. The Sadducees refused to accept it because, they claimed, it was completely unjustified by Holy Writ. (The attempts of the Pharisees to manipulate the biblical text in order to "prove" that "the resurrection of the dead is taught in the Torah" are – let us say with a modicum of charity – unconvincing.) However, this opposition only made the sages all the more determined to ensure that that this theology be accepted as a general religious truth. It was always found that the best way to ensure a certain belief was to make it a liturgical requirement. Thus, undetermined by opposition, the belief in the physical resurrection of the dead was made the lynch-pin of the second benediction of the Amidah – the benediction which is the subject of our present discussion. We only have to pick up the siddur and count the number of times in this comparatively short paragraph that the concept "resurrection of the dead" appears to see how strongly this creed was hammered home. But the count must be done in Hebrew, since most modern "translations" of this text are in fact "interpretations" and, even worse, obfuscations.

53:
The Hebrew MeĤayyeh Metim might justly be rendered "injects life into the dead". Siddur "Sim Shalom" of the Rabbinical Assembly [page 115] renders this recurrent phrase as "give life to the dead", which could just as easily refer to "life after death" as to "the resurrection of the dead". The Artscroll translator has a finer conscience and translates "resuscitates the dead", which while still being ambiguous is less so. It is important to bear in mind the intentions of the sages in this benediction in order to correctly interpret other references that they included. "Those the sleep in the dust" is a direct reference to Daniel 12:2 (to which we made reference in the previous shiur) which teaches that at the time of future redemption many of those sleeping in the dusty ground will awaken to everlasting life and others to humiliation and eternal contumely. The phrase "King who kills and resurrects" must also not be misconstrued; unfortunately, the translator in Siddur Sim Shalom makes the phrase say something that was not intended by its authors: "You are Master of life and death".

54:
Of all the great "classical" works in the halakhic repertoire that we might describe as being 'under-rated' or insufficiently studied, we must certainly include the great Commentary on the Mishnah by Rambam. In all probability the only reason that this work did not achieve the renown and 'circulation' of Mishneh Torah is the fact that it was written in Arabic. And it was written in Arabic because Rambam wanted it to be a work for 'Everyman' and not just for scholars. While this major work follows closely the text of the mishnayot, the author does not hesitate to launch into major excursuses – some of very many pages – when a particular topic requires extraordinary attention. One such excursus is the General Introduction; another is the introduction to Tractate Avot, familiarly known as "The Eight Chapters of Rambam"; and a third is the commentary on the opening mishnah of the tenth chapter of Tractate Sanhedrin, familiarly known as Perek Ĥelek.

55:
This last-mentioned mishnah is the one that starts off with the famous statement "All Israel have a share [ĥelek] in Olam ha-Ba. Rambam was hardly the kind of scholar who would let such a golden opportunity pass him by without utilizing it, and he launches into a famous discussion on the nature of "life after death". He writes:

Rambam concludes his lecture on Olam ha-Ba by reiterating the fact that it is completely severed from all physicality. He quotes the prophets:

To be continued.