English translation — מאמר לה"ע תחיית המתים תשמ"ו

With the help of Heaven.

Shabbos Parshas Acharei,

Rosh Chodesh Iyar 5746*

To understand the concept of Techiyas HaMeisim (the resurrection of the dead),

it is stated in the Mishnah:1

"All Israel have a portion in the World to Come,"

and it is known2

that the meaning of "World to Come" in this Mishnah is the World of Resurrection,

as is evident from the continuation of the Mishnah: "And these have no portion in the World to Come: one who says there is no resurrection of the dead from the Torah,"

for the reason for this is as stated in the Gemara:3

"He denied the resurrection of the dead, therefore he will not have a portion in the resurrection of the dead... measure for measure."

And this is [the meaning of] "All Israel have a portion in the World to Come,"

for regarding Gan Eden

[which is sometimes also called by the name "World to Come",4

even though it also exists now,5

because it comes to a person after his service in this world6]

it is written:7

"Who may ascend the mountain of Hashem... one with clean hands and a pure heart...,"

indicating that there are several conditions required to merit Gan Eden,8

but not so regarding the World of Resurrection

(which is the primary referent of the term "World to Come")

—they said: "All Israel have a portion in the World to Come."9

And it must be understood:

Behold, it is known that the revelation that will be in the World of Resurrection is vastly superior to the revelation of Gan Eden,

as is also understood from the fact that Gan Eden exists even now, whereas the revelation of the World of Resurrection will only be in the future,

and moreover, the revelation of the World of Resurrection will be

(also)

after the days of Moshiach,

from which it is understood that the revelation that will be then is above even the revelation that will be in the days of Moshiach

[for this is what is said:10

"There is no comparison to You... in this world, and there is none besides You... for the life of the World to Come, there is nothing but You... for the days of Moshiach, and there is none like... for the resurrection of the dead,"

for these four matters are in an ascending order from below to above,

[such that] the revelation of the World to Come

(where the intent of "World to Come" here is Gan Eden11)

is higher than the revelation that can be in this world,

and higher still is the revelation of the days of Moshiach,

and after that is the revelation of the resurrection of the dead, which is higher even than the revelation of the days of Moshiach],

and nevertheless, to merit the revelation of Gan Eden several conditions are required,

yet the revelation of the resurrection of the dead, which is higher than the revelation of Gan Eden, will be for all Israel.

B)

And one point of explanation in this is,

as explained in several discourses,

that the reward of the Garden of Eden is for the occupation with Torah,

and the reward of the Resurrection of the Dead is for the fulfillment of the mitzvos.

And this is that the Garden of Eden is the world of souls

(souls without bodies)

and in the world of Resurrection there will be souls in bodies,

because the occupation with Torah pertains primarily to the soul, and the fulfillment of mitzvos to the body.

And since the fulfillment of mitzvos is in all of Israel,

for even the transgressors of Israel are full of mitzvos like a pomegranate,

therefore all of Israel have a share in the World to Come.

And it may be said,

that this is also what the Mishnah continues with the verse,

"And Your people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever..."

It may be said,

that the intention of the Mishnah in citing the verse is not only to bring a proof that all of Israel have a share in the World to Come, but also to explain the reason for this.

For one who fulfills mitzvos is called by the name "righteous"

[for all mitzvos are called by the name "tzedakah" (righteousness/charity),

and those who fulfill the mitzvos are called by the name "tzadikim" (righteous ones)],

and since "Your people are all righteous,"

that all of Israel

(even the transgressors among them)

fulfill mitzvos,

and moreover they are full of mitzvos,

for the mitzvos they fulfill fill their entire existence,

therefore "they shall inherit the land forever,"

the land of life,

which refers to the life of the World to Come.

However,

based on this, one must understand why the Mishnah also brings the continuation of the verse, "the shoot of My planting, the work of My hands, in which to take pride,"

for that Israel are "the shoot of My planting" and "the work of the hands" of the Holy One, blessed be He, is from the aspect of their essential existence

(even before they fulfill mitzvos),

and in the Mishnah "All of Israel have a share in the World to Come," it also brings the conclusion of the verse, "the shoot of My planting, the work of My hands, in which to take pride,"

from which it is implied,

that this—that all of Israel have a share in the World to Come—is

(also)

from the aspect of the virtue that is in them from their own essence.

C)

And it may be said,

that in the revelation that will be at the Resurrection of the Dead there are two matters.

The reward for the service of fulfilling mitzvos

(and "Your people are all righteous"),

that the influences that Israel drew down through the mitzvos they fulfilled will then be revealed,

and through this they will ascend

(afterwards)

to a more elevated level,

that the virtue of Israel from their own essence will be revealed,

that they are "the shoot of My planting, the work of My hands, in which to take pride,"

which is a level higher even than the influence drawn down through the fulfillment of mitzvos.

And it may be added,

that the primary innovation and elevation of the Resurrection of the Dead is that then the virtue of Israel themselves will be revealed.

For the revelation of the influence drawn down through the mitzvos,

will also be in the days of Moshiach

(before the time of the Resurrection),

and as explained in Tanya,

that through our actions and service now we draw down the Ein Sof below, and the revelation of this drawing down will be in the days of Moshiach and in the Resurrection of the Dead

(except that in the Resurrection of the Dead,

even the revelation of this drawing down will be in a more elevated manner),

and the primary innovation and elevation of the Resurrection of the Dead is that then the root of Israel will be revealed, as they are rooted in the Awtsmoos.

And it may be said,

that what is stated in several discourses

(cited above)

that in the Resurrection of the Dead there will be a revelation of the influence drawn down through the fulfillment of mitzvos,

is,

because there it speaks of the reward for Israel that will be in the World to Come for their service in Torah and mitzvos in this world,

and the perfection of the reward is that the influence they drew down through the fulfillment of mitzvos will shine for them in revelation.

And therefore it is explained in these discourses that the reward of souls in the Garden of Eden is that they attain the G-dliness of the Torah they studied in this world,

for Torah is the wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He,

the light that fills,

and the reward of the Resurrection of the Dead is that then our eyes will see the revelation of His G-dliness that transcends the worlds,

drawn down through the fulfillment of mitzvos,

His will, blessed be He,

(which is above His wisdom),

the light that surrounds.

However,

all this is the reward for Israel for their service in Torah and mitzvos.

And the primary innovation and elevation that will be in the World to Come is the revelation of the virtue of Israel themselves,

"the shoot of My planting, the work of My hands, in which to take pride."

4)

And the explanation of the matter

(of these three levels,

Gan Eden and the two levels of Techiyas HaMeisim),

is that it is stated in the Gemara26

All the prophets, all of them, only prophesied concerning the days of Moshiach, but concerning the World to Come, “No eye has seen, O God, besides You.”27

“No eye has seen, O God, besides You.”

And in the continuation of the matter there: “What is ‘No eye has seen’? This is Eden, over which no eye of any creature has ruled.”

Lest you say: Where was Adam HaRishon? He was in the Garden, etc.

The Garden is one thing and Eden is another.

And this is that the innovation and superiority of the World to Come

(Techiyas HaMeisim)

over the days of Moshiach is that then there will be the revelation of the aspect of Eden,

“No eye has seen.”

And from this it is understood

that this [revelation] which will be in the World to Come—the revelation of the drawing down that was drawn down through the fulfillment of the mitzvos—

since this revelation will be

(in general)

also in the days of Moshiach,

is not the true essence of the matter of the World to Come.

And the main matter of the World to Come is the revelation of the aspect of Eden,

and it is the essential delight that delights in Yisrael,

which is above even the delight that delights in Torah and mitzvos28.

And to note,

that in many places29

the distinction between Torah and mitzvos is explained,

that in Torah, which is His wisdom, the illumination of delight is clothed, and in mitzvos, which are His will, the essence of delight is clothed

(the aspect of Eden).

And this is that regarding Gan Eden it is written30

“And a river went out from Eden to water the Garden,”

that the delight drawn to the souls in Gan Eden

(in the comprehension of Torah)

is only a contracted drawing from the aspect of Eden, drawn through the river that separates between Eden and the Garden,

but in the World to Come, which is the reward of the mitzvos, it is the revelation of the aspect of Eden itself.

And it can be said

that this is in general.

But in particular,

since the revelation of the mitzvos will be

(in general)

also in the days of Moshiach, and nevertheless they said that in the days of Moshiach there will not be the revelation of the aspect of “No eye has seen”

(the aspect of Eden),

and the revelation of this aspect will be only in the World to Come,

it is proven from this

that the main aspect of Eden that will be in the World to Come is that then the essential delight that delights in Yisrael will be revealed,

which is above even the essential delight in the mitzvos.

5)

And the explanation of the superiority of Techiyas HaMeisim over the days of Moshiach

(and likewise the distinction between the two levels within Techiyas HaMeisim itself),

will be understood by first explaining the superiority of the days of Moshiach over Gan Eden31.

For the revelation of Gan Eden is specifically to souls without bodies,

but the revelation of the days of Moshiach will be also below, in this physical world

(and as [it says]: “In the future, Eretz Yisrael will produce fine cakes”32).

And the reason for this is,

because in Gan Eden it is the revelation of the Or HaMemaleh,

a limited light,

and therefore it does not extend below,

but in the days of Moshiach there will be the revelation of the unlimited Ein Sof,

and therefore the revelation will be also below.

And another distinction:

In Gan Eden there are, in general, two aspects,

Lower Gan Eden and Upper Gan Eden,

and in each of them there are numerous levels without end33,

as our sages said34

“Torah scholars have no rest, etc., they go from strength to strength”35,

that they always ascend from level to level.

And the explanation of “they have no rest” is that their ascent from level to level is through avodah.

For in the ascent, one must first immerse in the River of Fire to forget the comprehension and delight of the lower level36,

and also the ascent itself is through the pillar37

that is between level and level,

that through this as well he is nullified from his previous comprehension,

except that the nullification through immersion in the River of Fire is the nullification from the side of the lower [level], and the nullification through the pillar is that he is nullified from the side of the revelation of the light of the upper level that shines upon him38.

And this is that the ascent from level to level is through avodah

(“they have no rest”),

the avodah of nullification,

similar to the avodah below in this world,

whose entirety is to refine the creations39,

purification and nullification,

avodah from the term “processing of hides”40.

And it should be added,

that just as the avodah below is in two lines,

“turn from evil and do good,”

so too is it regarding the nullification in the ascents of Gan Eden,

that it is in these two lines.

The nullification through the River of Fire—analogous to the avodah of “turn from evil,” so to speak,

and the nullification through the pillar,

from the side of the revelation of the upper light—analogous to the avodah of “and do good.”

All this is in Gan Eden.

But regarding the revelation that will be in the days of Moshiach,

although there will also be many ascents then,

the ascents that will be then will not be in the manner of “they go from strength to strength,”

that in order to reach a more elevated level one must go

(leave and be nullified)

from the previous level,

but rather, even while he is in his previous level, he can ascend to the upper level

(by himself).

6)

And it can be said the explanation of this,

that the drawing down of the Or HaMemaleh to enliven and bring into being the creations is in a manner of hishtalshelus from above to below.

That initially it is clothed in the spiritual creations,

and afterwards it is clothed in the creations that are below them,

which are only like a parable to the upper creations,

and afterwards it is clothed further below41,

and as is known regarding the matter of “and he spoke three thousand parables”42.

And it can be said

that this is the reason that the ascent in Gan Eden

(for in Gan Eden it is the revelation of the Or HaMemaleh,

as above)

from level to level is through being nullified from the lower level,

for just as the drawing down from above to below is through being clothed in yet another garment and yet another garment,

so too is it regarding the ascent from below to above,

that the ascent is through the stripping away of the garment,

nullification of the previous level43.

[And it can be said,

that this is also what is brought in several discourses44

that even the Avos and Moshe Rabbeinu, who sit in the Upper Gan Eden for more than three thousand years, will come to be clothed in bodies,

because the revelation that will be in Techiyas HaMeisim is much more elevated than the revelation that shines in Gan Eden,

even in the Upper Gan Eden.

For this that they are precise “who sit in the Upper Gan Eden for more than three thousand years,”

it can be said

that three thousand years are analogous to the three thousand parables,

which correspond to the three worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah,

for in each world there are a thousand levels.

And this is that they are precise “who sit in the Upper Gan Eden for more than three thousand years,”

that during the course of three thousand years they strip off all the garments

(the parables)

of the three worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah,

and when they sit in Gan Eden for more than three thousand years they also ascend in Atzilus, etc.,

and nevertheless they will come to be clothed in bodies,

because the revelation of Techiyas HaMeisim is above the revelation of Gan Eden,

even when the revelation of Gan Eden is after stripping off all the garments].

But the ascents that will be in the days of Moshiach will be in a manner that one will not need to leave his state and level,

since then there will be the revelation of the unlimited Ein Sof,

and the revelation will be also below.

7)

However,

even the revelation of the days of Mashiach is only a revelation of the Surrounding [light],

and therefore there will be distinctions of levels within it

(as above),

but the revelation of the Resurrection of the Dead will be

(in its generality)

equal for all of Israel,

because in the Resurrection of the Dead there will be a revelation of the Essence of Ein Sof, which is above division.

And within this itself there will be two matters.

The revelation of the Essence of Ein Sof that they drew down through the fulfillment of the mitzvos,

and through this Israel will ascend to a higher level,

that the virtue of Israel themselves will be revealed,

"the shoot of My planting, the work of My hands, in which to take pride,"

for this virtue in Israel is loftier than that which draws down a revelation of G-dliness through the study of Torah and the fulfillment of mitzvos.

For the root of the souls is in His Essence, blessed be He,

(above the root of Torah and mitzvos),

and even in the body of Israel there is the choice of the Essence.