FEATURE
Embracing Judaism’s belief in the
resurrection of the dead I BY ILAN HERMANN
YOU DON’T NEED TO BE IN THIS WORLD TOO LONG
to know that life is not forever. From the
vivid portrayal of fatal loss on our media
screens and in the literature, to the firsthand experience of losing someone. We are
reminded of our mortality ever so frequently. And yet, when such happens, G-d forbid,
closer to home, it is shattering, devastating
and traumatising. Why? If death is a part of
the design and if we are aware that it is indivisible with the package deal of life and an
unalterable reality, why then do we struggle
so profoundly to digest death and loss, carrying scars and pain in its wake?
In a twist from the more common response and explanation, the mystics explain that we carry a trace of the ‘Garden
Of Eden’ syndrome within us. In that hallowed, untainted and pure environment,
there was no death. Death was introduced
into the picture only after indulgence in
the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good
and evil, say our Sages. So the idea goes
that we harbour deep within us, on an unconscious level, the intuition that death
should not be. After all, this is G-d’s world
and G-d is altogether good and G-d is life,
so how can the phenomenon of death and
THE MYSTICS EXPLAIN THAT WE CARRY A TRACE
OF THE ‘GARDEN OF EDEN’ SYNDROME WITHIN US…
WE HARBOUR DEEP WITHIN US, ON AN UNCONSCIOUS
LEVEL, THE INTUITION THAT DEATH SHOULD NOT BE.
AFTER ALL, THIS IS G-D’S WORLD AND G-D IS
ALTOGETHER GOOD AND G-D IS LIFE.
58 JEWISH LIFE ■ ISSUE 83
loss exist within this Divine backdrop?
The thought goes one step further: that
the proof that this is the case, that the
natural order inherent within creation is
one where death is not a part of it, is in
the fact that when the process of creation
finally reaches its goal – the end conclusion – at that time, existence will revert
to its ideal state, one in which death will
again be vanquished. More so, at that
time, the reversal will take place whereby
all ‘those that lie in the dust shall awaken
to eternal life’, resurrected, in the great
miracle called Techiyat Hameitim, revival
of those who have passed on.
This concept of the resurrection is one
that is often overlooked and understated,
and yet it is as much a part of Jewish
thought as any other. It is listed as one of
the 13 principles that underpin the Jewish belief system, according to Maimonides, a Sage revered and accepted by all.
Within the intimate passages of Torah
study, the Talmud, the classic and epic
stories and encounters of our Sages, the
subject of the miraculous, including that
of the resurrection, is far more readily digestible and is layered with a depth of understanding. But, for the average person,
the notion of the resurrection is audacious and ludicrously farfetched. It is the
talk of tales and legends, most would say,
but not based in reality.
So I undertook, as part of a reality
check project, to find substance, a precedent perhaps, for the miracle of rebirth.
My conclusion was that it is far less heavenly and otherworldly than one might expect. It was actually so common, so tangible and vivid, so clear and evident so as to
be overlooked! Let me explain.
Essentially, the study revolved around
analysing life, its birth and the strata of
our human physiology and that of the
world around us. I postulated that if it
could be shown that life is a phenomenon
that is astonishing and displays evidence
of a Higher Power, a Creator, then a
PHOTOGRAPH: BRIAN CHATKIN
Arise,AWAKEN