For the Sake of Heaven
By Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
In this paper I would like to study the future for Jews, the Ger Toshav (G-d fearers), and the Ger Tzadik (The righteous Gentile who has converted to Judaism). We will see which folks enjoy the Messianic Age and what folks enjoy the Olam HaBa, the World to come.
It is interesting to note that the Torah never talks about the reward of the righteous. Why is reward never even mentioned in the Torah? The answer is both intriguing and disconcerting at the same time. If the Torah had commanded us to serve HaShem for the sake of reward, it would be a mitzva to do so. We would literally be earning our reward. HaShem did not want us to have this focus. He wanted us to serve Him because of our love for Him and for no other reason. This would be true love.
In the Shema, we echo this theme twice a day:
Devarim
(Deuteronomy) 6:4-5 Hear, O
In the Tanach, the so called Old Testament, we see reward only in the vaguest terms:
Tehillim
(Psalms) 19:9-11 The fear of
HaShem is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of HaShem are sure and
altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant
warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
In this same vague way, the Nazarean Codicil also views reward. We never see it as something we can work for:
Matityahu
(Matthew)
So, reward is not the focus of the Torah and it should not be our focus. Because the Torah never tells us what our reward will be, we must look elsewhere if we are to understand what the future will hold for us.
For those who see heaven as the destination of the righteous, I encourage you to review my study on HEAVEN.
Let’s start by defining some terms.
The Messianic Age is the millennium during while Mashiach (Messiah) will resurrect the dead and rule. Some Jewish sources call this the Olam HaBa, the World to Come. For the sake of this paper, we will call it the Messianic Age. The Talmud explains the difference between this world and the Messianic age:
Berachot 34b R. Hiyya
b. Abba also said in the name of R. Johanan: All the prophets prophesied only
for the days of the Mashiach, but as for the world
to come, ‘Eye hath not seen, oh God, beside Thee’. These Rabbis differ from
Samuel; for Samuel said: There is no difference between this world and the days
of the Mashiach except [that in the latter there will be no] bondage of foreign
powers, as it says: For the poor shall never cease out of the land.[1]
Yevamoth 24b Our
Rabbis learnt: No proselytes will be accepted in the days of the Mashiach.[2]
In the same manner no proselytes were accepted in the days of David nor in the days
of Solomon.[3]
Said R. Eleazar: What Scriptural [support is there for this view]?-Behold he
shall be a proselyte who is converted for my own sake,’[4]
he who lives with you shall be settled among you,[5]
he only who ‘lives with you’ in your poverty shall be settled among you; but no
other.
The world after the Mashiach comes is often referred to in Jewish literature as Olam HaBa. This term can cause some confusion, because it is also used to refer to a spiritual afterlife. In English, we commonly use the term "Messianic age" to refer specifically to the time of the Mashiach. The Talmud sheds some light on this period:
Pesachim 68a R. Samuel
b. Nahmani said in R. Jonathan's name: The righteous are destined to resurrect
the dead, for it is said, There shall yet old men and old women sit in the
broad places of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in
his hand for very age;[6]
and it is written, and lay my staff upon the face of the child.[7]
‘Ulla opposed [two verses]. It is
written, He will swallow up death for ever;[8]
but it is written, For the youngest shall die a hundred years old?[9]
There is no difficulty: there the reference is to
R. Hisda opposed [two verses]. It is
written, Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed;[11]
whereas it is written, Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of
the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of the seven days?[12]
There is no difficulty: the former refers to the world to come;[13]
the latter to the days of the Mashiach.[14]
But according to Samuel, who maintained, This world differs from the Messianic
age only in respect of the servitude to governments,[15]
what can be said? — Both refer to the world to come, yet there is no
difficulty: one refers to the camp of the righteous; the other, to the camp of
the Shechinah.
The Olam HaBa is the world without time which comes at the end of the Messianic age. Some Jewish sources call this Gan Eden, the Garden of Eden ("the World of Souls").[16]
Olam HaBa will be characterized by the peaceful co-existence of all people:
Yeshayahu
(Isaiah) 2:2-4 And it shall come to pass in the last days, [that]
the mountain of HaShem’s house shall be established
in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all
nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let
us go up to the mountain of HaShem, to the house of the
God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his
paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the
word of HaShem from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among
the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords
into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Shabbath 63a R.
ELIEZER SAID: THEY ARE ORNAMENTS FOR HIM. It was taught: Said they [the Sages]
to R. Eliezer: Since they are ornaments for him, why should they cease in the
days of the Mashiach? Because they will not be required, he answered, as it is
said, nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Yet let them exist merely
as ornaments? — Said Abaye. It may be compared to a candle at
Now this disagrees with Samuel.[18]
For Samuel said, This world differs from the Messianic era only in respect to
servitude of the exiled, for it is said, For the poor shall never cease out of
the land.[19]
This supports R. Hiyya b. Abba,[20]
who said, All the prophets prophesied only for the Messianic age, but as for
the world to come, the eye hath not seen, O Lord, beside thee [what he hath
prepared for him that waiteth for him].[21]
Some there are who state: Said they [the Sages] to R. Eliezer:
Since they are Ornaments for him,
why should they cease in the days of the Mashiach? In the days of the Mashiach
too they shall not cease, he answered. This is Samuel's view, and it disagrees
with R. Hiyya b. Abba's.
Hatred, intolerance and war will cease to exist. Some authorities suggest that the laws of nature will change, so that predatory beasts will no longer seek prey and agriculture will bring forth supernatural abundance:
Yeshayahu
(Isaiah) 11:6-11:9 The wolf also
shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall
lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling
together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall
feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw
like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the
weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor
destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge
of HaShem, as the waters cover the sea.
Others, however, say that these statements are merely an allegory for peace and prosperity.
All of the Jewish people will return from their exile among the nations to their home in
Yeshayahu
(Isaiah) 11:11-12 And it shall
come to pass in that day, [that] the Lord shall set his hand again the second
time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria,
and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from
Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up
an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the
outcasts of
Yirmeyahu
(Jeremiah) 23:7-8 Therefore,
behold, the days come, saith HaShem, that they shall no more say, HaShem
liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of
the land of Egypt; But, HaShem liveth, which brought up and which led the
seed of the house of Israel out of the north
country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell
in their own land.
The Talmud also talks about this time:
Berachot 12b MISHNAH. THE EXODUS FROM
GEMARA.
It has been taught: Ben Zoma said to the Sages: Will the Shemot (Exodus) from
Yirmeyahu
(Jeremiah) 30:3 For, lo, the days
come, saith HaShem, that I will bring again the captivity of my people
Hosea
3:4-5 For the children of
The law of the Jubilee will be reinstated in the Olam HaBa. In the Olam HaBa, the whole world will recognize HaShem as the only true G-d, and the Jewish religion as the only true religion:
Yeshayahu
(Isaiah) 2:2-3 And it shall come
to pass in the last days, [that] the mountain of HaShem’s house shall be
established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills;
and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye,
and let us go up to the mountain of HaShem, to the
house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of
his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the
law, and the word of HaShem from Jerusalem.
Yeshayahu
(Isaiah)
Micah
4:2-3 And many nations shall
come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of HaShem, and to the
house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk
in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of HaShem from
Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar
off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning
hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they
learn war any more.
Zechariah
14:9 And HaShem shall be king
over all the earth: in that day shall there be one HaShem, and his name one.
There will be no murder, robbery, competition or jealousy. There will be no sin:
Zephaniah
3:13 The remnant of Israel shall
not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in
their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make [them]
afraid.
Sacrifices will continue to be brought in the Temple, but these will be limited to thanksgiving offerings, because there will be no further need for expiatory offerings.
The Torah contains several references to "the End of Days" (achareet ha-yameem), which is the time of the Mashiach.
The Mashiach is the one who will be anointed as king in the End of Days.
Our Sages have taught[26]: "In the World to Come (Messianic Age) there will be neither eating nor drinking; rather, the righteous will sit with crowns on their heads, and bask in the radiance of the Divine Presence."
In the Messianic Age (Olam HaTechiyah, "the World of Resurrection") there will be physical bodies complete with all their organs, as now.
Nevertheless, even though there will then be neither eating nor drinking, the physical body with all its organs will not have been created in vain, G-d forbid; rather, the body will be nourished by the radiance of the Divine Presence.
In this it will resemble Moshe Rabeinu during his forty days on
"In his Mishneh Torah, Maimonides concludes that both the one who denies the concept of resurrection of the dead or the one who denies the coming of the Mashiach are among those who have forfeited their share in Olam Haba -- the Hereafter[27]."
What the Torah tells us about cooking can also help us to understand the Messianic age and the Olam HaBa. First let’s see what the Torah teaches us about cooking on the Sabbath:
Shemot
(Exodus) 35:3 Ye shall kindle no
fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.
So, the Torah indicates that cooking is NOT allowed on Shabbat.
The Mishna gives us the 39 labors forbidden on Shabbat:
Shabbath 7:2. THE
PRIMARY LABOURS ARE FORTY LESS ONE, [VIZ.:] SOWING,
PLOUGHING, REAPING, BINDING SHEAVES, THRESHING, WINNOWING, SELECTING, GRINDING,
SIFTING, KNEADING, BAKING, SHEARING WOOL, BLEACHING, HACKLING, DYEING,
SPINNING, STRETCHING THE THREADS, THE MAKING OF TWO
MESHES, WEAVING TWO THREADS, DIVIDING TWO THREADS, TYING [KNOTTING] AND
UNTYING, SEWING TWO STITCHES, TEARING IN ORDER TO SEW TWO STITCHES, CAPTURING A
DEER, SLAUGHTERING, OR FLAYING, OR SALTING IT, CURING ITS HIDE, SCRAPING IT [OF
ITS HAIR], CUTTING IT UP, WRITING TWO LETTERS,
ERASING IN ORDER TO WRITE TWO LETTERS [OVER THE ERASURE], BUILDING, PULLING
DOWN, EXTINGUISHING, KINDLING, STRIKING WITH A HAMMER, [AND] CARRYING OUT FROM
ONE DOMAIN TO ANOTHER: THESE ARE THE FORTY PRIMARY LABOURS LESS ONE.
So the Mishna makes it quite clear that cooking (baking) is forbidden on Shabbat.
Now let’s see what the Torah says about cooking on the festivals:
Shemot
(Exodus) 12:16 And in the first
day [there shall be] an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be
an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save
[that] which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
The Shulchan Aruch uses this pasuk to indicate that cooking is permitted on the festivals. So, we can cook on the festivals IF we started the fire before the festival started. Now, how does this apply to the Messianic Age and the Olam HaBa?
The Messianic Age is like the festivals. It is a time of rest, but we are allowed to cook. The Sages have understood this to mean that any character improvements or mitzvot we have started before the Messianic Age began (we started the fire before the festival began), we will be allowed to continue to completion (cook). But, if we did not start the improvement or Mitzva before the Messianic Age (we did not light the fire before the festival began), we will not be allowed to start them after the Messianic Age begins. In the Messianic Age we will have resurrected bodies – physicality. With this physicality, we will be able to “do” in the world to a limited extent.
The Olam HaBa is like Shabbat. It is a time of rest, but we are not allowed to cook. The Sages have understood this to mean that we may no longer perform mitzvot or character improvements (there is no cooking). In fact, the Sages all agree that there is no physicality in the Olam HaBa, only reality. Without physicality, there is no “doing”. Our reality has been built. One way to understand this is to compare us to HaShem. Does HaShem have hands or arms?
Devarim
(Deuteronomy) 11:1-3 Therefore
thou shalt love HaShem thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his
judgments, and his commandments, always. And know ye
this day: for [I speak] not with your children which have not known, and which
have not seen the chastisement of HaShem your God, his greatness, his mighty
hand, and his stretched out arm, And his miracles, and his acts, which
he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his
land;
According to the above pasuk, HaShem does indeed have hands and arms. So what is the difference between His hands and arms, and our hands and arms? Surely you would agree that His are much more powerful. So, what is the difference between His and ours?
His are REAL, ours are only physical. His are unlimited, ours are limited. In the Olam HaBa, we will have real arms and real hands. In the Olam HaBa we will experience reality.
The Sages say that everything we have as a part of our body is given to help us understand what reality is like. Physicality, which is unreal, teaches us about the real.
* * *
The order of events
Shabbath
113b And dip thy morsel in
vinegar.[28] R. Eleazar said: Hence [it may be deduced]
that vinegar is beneficial in hot weather. R. Samuel b. Nahmani said: He
intimated to her, A son is destined to come forth from thee whose actions shall
be as sharp[29] as vinegar; and who was it, Manasseh — And
she sat beside the reapers.[30] R — Eleazar observed: At the side of the
reapers, but not in the midst of the reapers: he [Boaz] intimated to her[31] that the Kingdom of the House of David was
destined to be divided.[32] And he reached her parched corn, and she
did eat [and was sufficed, and left thereof]:[33] Said R. Eleazar: ‘She ate’ in the days of
David, ‘she was sufficed’ in the days of Solomon, ‘and she left over’ in the
days of Hezekiah.[34] Some there are who interpret, ‘She ate’ in
the days of David and Solomon, and ‘she was sufficed’ in the days of Hezekiah,
‘and she left over’ in the days of Rabbi.[35] For a Master said, Rabbi's house steward
was wealthier than King Shapur.[36] In a Baraitha it was taught: ‘And she ate’, in this world; ‘and she was sufficed’, in
the days of the Mashiach: ‘and she left over’, in the future that is to come.[37]
* * *
This study was
written by Hillel ben David
(Greg Killian).
Comments may be
submitted to:
Greg Killian
7104 Inlay St SE
Lacey, WA 98513
Internet
address: gkilli@aol.com
Web page: http://www.betemunah.org/
(360) 584-9352
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Send comments to Greg Killian at his email address: gkilli@aol.com
[1] Deut. XV, 11. ‘Never’ i.e., not even in the Messianic era.
[2]
When
[3]
During
[4]
Or who is converted while I am not with you (v. Rashi, a.l.) i.e., while
[5] Isa. LIV, 15, according to the Midrashic interpretation of R. Eleazar. The rt. rud which E.V. renders ‘to gather’ is here interpreted ‘to become a proselyte’, ‘to be converted’.
[6] Zech. VIII, 4.
[7] II Kings IV, 29. The staff was employed to revive the child (ibid. seq.), and the same purpose is assumed for it in the first verse.
[8] Isa. XXV, 8.
[9] Ibid. LXV, 20.
[10] Ibid. LXI, 5.
[11] Ibid. XXIV, 23.
[12] Ibid. XXX, 26.
[13] Then the sun and the moon shall be ashamed — i.e., fade into insignificance because of the light radiating from the righteous (Rashi in Sanh. 91b).
[14] V. Sanh., Sonc. ed., p. 601, n. 3.
[15] I.e., delivery from oppression.
[16] "Gan Eden ('the World of Souls') and Olam HaTechiyah ('the World of Resurrection') are both known as Olam HaBa ('the World to Come') - and this has resulted in many errors."
[17] Being unnecessary then, it is not beautiful either. Thus, when war will be abolished, the instruments of war will not be adornments. Now, however, that they may be needed, they are also ornamental.
[18] Sc. the view that they will cease to be in the days of the Messiah.
[19] Deut. XV, 11 . This implies that poverty will continue in the Messianic era. Hence the prophets’ tidings of a new state of affairs cannot refer to the Messianic era, which will be the same as the present, save in this matter.
[20] Sc. the Baraitha which states that weapons of war will cease to exist in the Messianic age.
[21] Isa. LXIV, 3. — The conception of the future world is rather vague in the Talmud. In general, it is the opposite of vzv okug, this world. In Ber, I, 5, ‘this world’ is opposed to the days of the Messiah, and this in turn is differentiated here from the future world. The following quotation from G. Moore, ‘Judaism’ (Vol. 2, p. 389) is apposite: ‘Any attempt to systematize the Jewish notions of the hereafter imposes upon them an order and consistency which does not exist in them’.
[22] Deut. XVI, 3.
[23] Jer. XXIII, 7. 8.
[24] Gen. XXXV, 10.
[25] Likkutei Torah, Shabbat Shuvah, p. 65d
[26] Berachos 17a.
[27] Mishneh Torah Hilchot Teshuva 3:6
[28] Ruth II, 14.
[29] Lit., ‘hard’, ‘grievous’.
[30] Ibid.
[31] By seating her thus.
[32] Just as the reapers made a division between her and him.
[33] Ruth II, 14.
[34] This metaphorically indicates the progressive stages of prosperity during the reigns of these three monarchs.
[35] R. Judah the Prince, who was a descendant of the House of David.
[36] Shapur I, King of Persia and a contemporary of Samuel (third century).
[37] Cf. Sanh., Sonc. ed., p. 601, n. 3.