The All-Spiritual Afterlife, the Torah, and Me. (Olam Haba in Judaism) Part Two

By Ari Faust, Jerusalem, Israel.

Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, the Rambam (12th Century CE), contends with this issue in several places in his writings. His is perhaps the most well-known and oft-studied opinion on the topic and supports the premise suggested above. Interestingly enough, the Rambam includes the discussion regarding “Olam HaBa” (,as he does other philosophic issues) in his great work on Halacha, the Mishneh Torah.


In section on the laws of Teshuva (see also Introduction to “Perek Chelek”) he writes:

“The goodness reserved for the righteous is life in the World to Come. Such life is life without death, and has goodness without badness. As it is written in the Torah, ‘...that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your life’. According to tradition, we learn that the words, ‘that it may be well with you’ refer to a world where all is good, and that the words, ‘and that you prolong your life’ refer to a world which is eternal, i.e. the World to Come. The reward of righteous people is that they will receive this pleasantry and goodness, whereas the punishment of the wicked is that they will not receive this life, but are cut off and die. Anybody who does not receive this life dies without receiving an eternal life (afterlife), and is cut off on account of his wickedness and is lost like an animal. This is the cutting-off which is mentioned in the Torah, such as when it is written, ‘...that soul shall be utterly cut off’. According to tradition we learn that the words, ‘cut off’ refer to being cut off from this world, and that the word, ‘utterly’ comes to include [being cut off from] the World To Come, i.e. that soul which was separated from its body in this world will not merit life in the World To Come, but is cut off from there as well.” (Hil. Teshuva 8:1)

Clearly, the Rambam is of the opinion that the reward granted to the righteous who abide to the Torah and Its Mitzvot is the “World to Come” – the all-spiritual afterlife.

Elsewhere (Introduction to “Perek Chelek”), the Rambam explains that the World to Come is the greatest pleasure that there is for the soul; there is no way of coming to terms with the great spiritual pleasure of the World to Come in physical terms, and all physical pleasures pale in comparison to it. It follows that man’s time in the (physical) world should be spent in pursuit of the all-spiritual afterlife by adhering to the Will of HaShem and performing His Mitzvot. However, the Rambam adds (based on the teachings of our sages), that to serve HaShem and perform the Mitzvot in order to receive the “prize” of Olam HaBa is a very lowly degree of servitude. Rather a person should follow the path set-out in the Torah because it is the truth, and out of love of HaShem.

This theory has sound foundations rooted in the teachings of our sages as we have seen above. What demands understanding according to this is, why, then are all the rewards mentioned in the Torah all-physical ones?

The Rambam answers (Teshuva 9:1):

“Once it is known that a reward is given for fulfilling commandments and that the goodness which we will receive if we follow the way of God as mentioned in the Torah is life in the World to Come … then what is it that is written in throughout the Torah, that if one listens, one will receive such-and-such, and that if one doesn't listen such- and-such will happen to one, whereas all are matters of this world such as plenty, famine, war, peace, monarchy, humility, living in Israel, exile, success, misfortune and other covenantal matters? All these matters were true and always will be. Whenever we fulfill the commandments of the Torah we will receive all good earthly matters, and whenever we transgress them, all the mentioned evils will befall us. Nevertheless, the goodness is not all that the reward for fulfilling commandments consists of, and the evils are not the entire punishment received by transgressors. This is how all matters are decided: The Holy One, Blessed Be He, gave us this Torah, which is a support of life, and anybody who does what is written in it and knows that everything contained in it is complete and correct, will merit life in the World To Come. He will merit [a portion] in proportion to the magnitude of his actions and to the extent of his knowledge. The Torah assures us that if we fulfill it with joy and pleasure and always act according to it, then all things such as illness, war, famine, et cetera, which could prevent us from doing so will be removed, and all things such as plenty, peace, richness, et cetera, which will aid us in fulfilling the Torah will be influenced to come our way so that we will not have to occupy ourselves all day in [obtaining] bodily needs, but that we will be free to sit all day, learn and gather knowledge and fulfill commandments, in order to merit life in the World To Come …”

The physical rewards listed in the Torah are not the ultimate reward for the spirit, rather they are means to attain a higher goodness. If we follow in the way of the Torah and perform Its Mitzvot, then HaShem will, in-force, provide us with the physical abundance needed to perform more Mitzvot thereby ultimately acquiring the greatest reward possible, the all-spiritual afterlife. Perhaps this is how “A Mitzvah brings about another Mitzvah”. (Avot 4:2)

As to why the Torah is utterly void of mention of Olam HaBa, the Rambam explains that it is because it is incomprehensible in physical terms. For this reason, he explains, our sages tell us that “All the prophets only prophesized to the days of Mashiach. But the World to Come – ‘No eye has seen God besides you’.” (Brachot 34b)
According to the Rambam, the greatest reward – the greatest pleasure – for the spirit who follows in the way of the Torah and performs Its Mitzvot is the all-spiritual afterlife. Its mention is omitted from the Torah because it cannot be spoken of in physical terms. The physical rewards discussed in the Torah are but a means to an end – a medium to ease the performance of the Mitzvot in order to ultimately acquire Olam HaBa.

The question that arises through this is: If Olam HaBa is beyond the scope of the prophets vision and thus all of Tanach (scripture) is void of its mention, how then could are sages (and all the more so us!) grasp the concept of the all-spiritual afterlife and discuss it?

Rabbi Bezalel Leow, the great Maharal of Prague, discusses this point (Gevurat HaShem, First Introduction). Prophecy, the Maharal explains, or the Torah which is given-over by the prophet, is attributed to the sense of sight; hence another name for prophet is “Chozeh”, seer. One can only see that which is in front of him, in the most superficial, impersonal manner.

“Therefore our sages said, ‘a sage is preferable to a prophet’ (Baba Batra 12a). And the explanation of this is that prophecy is comparable to the sense of eye-sight, which senses from the outside … And therefore the sage is preferable, for he can grasp and know things which are hidden, by extracting them with his own intellectual capabilities …”

The sense of sight is that which inputs a visual image into a person’s mind; after that, it is the task of the mind to analyze that image, grasp it, and understand it. When a person views an object or a scene, all he sees are insignificant details – colors and forms. The mind then translates these details into objects, scenes or even situations. For example: When a person looks at the scene of a city street, the sense of sight is only used to intake abstract information of color and form. Once that information is acquired, the person’s mind goes to work, analyzing every image he saw, deciphering what is a person, what is a dog, what is a car, et cetera. He can then derive what street it is by studying the buildings; he can understand what time of day it is by amount of light in the picture and how busy the traffic is. He can even analyze what people are walking, which are running, which are happy and which are nervous based on their facial expressions and mannerisms.

So too is the relationship between the prophet and the sage: The prophet is capable of in-taking the details of the image broadcasted by the Divine, but it is the sage who analyzes this and understands it and its ramifications. The prophecy is comparable to the great collective image, while the sage and his analysis is the breakup of this general message to individual details.

(This is not to say that the prophet was not a sage himself, after-all, he was the one to translate his own prophecy and transmit it to the Nation. Furthermore, our sages teach us that “Prophecy only befalls he who is smart, brave, wealthy and a man of stature.” (Shabbat 92a) The division made is not in the personality of the prophet or sage, but in the nature and purpose of his role. The prophet provides the general, collective message and the sage interprets that message into the endless details that are included in it.)

It is such that the concept of the all-spiritual afterlife is not accessible to the prophet: The prophet transmits the vision he receives as is, without communication the endless interpretations and ramifications that are hidden in the message of prophecy. The sage, however, derives one thing from the next, explains and expounds the messages of the prophecy and the ramifications thereof. Hence, when the prophet communicates a prophecy of “And I will walk amongst you” (VaYikra 26:12), then the sages can analyze this phrase and its ramifications, and understand that the message of “I shall journey with you in Gan Eden” (Rashi Ibid. based on Midrash) is incorporated in it.

The Rambam’s theory regarding the all-spiritual afterlife and its curious omission from the Torah, is the most well-known to most people. The Rambam basis himself on the logical premise that the material rewards promised in the Torah cannot be the ultimate reward for the soul who performs Mitzvot, for spiritual fulfillment is the greatest satisfaction for the spirit. All physical pleasure pales in comparison to the all-spiritual pleasure of the World to Come; it cannot be fathomed in humanistic terms and is therefore only hinted to in the Torah. This world is compared to a corridor before the palace – we must prepare ourselves in the corridor that we may be granted entry into the palace. The material abundance promised in the Torah as reward for honoring the Torah and abiding to Its Mitzvot is but a means to an end, to the ultimate reward, the all-spiritual afterlife, Olam HaBa.