the Sages, and from scriptural texts which in their outward interpretation agree with their claim, or a portion of it.
The third class is of opinion that the desired good will consist in the resurrection of the dead. This implies that man will live after his death; that in the company of his family and relatives he will once again eat and drink, and never more die. But the evil will mean that he will not again come to life. These thinkers also point for proof to the remarks of the Sages, and to certain verses[1] of the Bible, whose literal sense tallies with their view.
The fourth class is of opinion that the good which we shall reap from obedience to the Law will consist in the repose of the body and the attainment in this world of all worldly wishes, as, for example, the fertility of lands, abundant wealth, abundance of children, long life, bodily health and security, enjoying the sway of a king, and prevailing over the oppressor. The evil which will overtake us when we act in opposition [to the Torah] will mean the reversalof the afore-mentionedconditions, a state of things such as we now have in this the time of our exile. The holders of this view point for proof to all the texts of Scripture which speak of blessings and curses and other matters, and to the whole body of narratives existing in Holy Writ.
The fifth set of thinkers is the largest. Its members combine all the afore-gone opinions, and declare the objects hoped for are the coming of the Messiah,the resurrection of the dead, their entry into the Garden of Eden, their eating and drinking and living in health there so long as heaven and earth endure.
But with regard to this strange point—I mean the world to come—you will find very few who will in any way take the matter to heart, or meditate on it, or adopt this or that principle, or ask to what these names[2] (the world to come) refer, whether the last-mentioned view constitutes the object to be aimed after, or whether one of the preceding opinions rightly expresses it. And you will rarely come across any one who will distinguish between the end desired and the means which lead to it. You will not by any means find any one to ask about this, or speak of it. What, however, all people ask, both the common folk and the educated classes is this:—In what condition will the dead rise to life, naked or clothed? Will they stand up in those very garments in which they were buried,
- ↑ (
Hebrew characters) The Arabicized plural form of the Hebrew word (Hebrew characters). Maimonides often uses these Arabic forms.
- ↑ (Hebrew characters). As Holzer points out, this form of the word (Hebrew characters) (a name) is not to be found in the Arabic dictionaries. He thinks it an incorrect form of the plural (Hebrew characters) (names).
