On one of Israel Hayom’s podcasts, titled “Questions for the Rabbi,” Rabbi Eldad Zamir was asked a question that occupies many people: What exactly is the World to Come? Is it a physical place like the Garden of Eden? Is it a concept of reward and punishment? And how does it integrate with the idea of resurrection of the dead?
Rabbi Zamir responded that this is indeed a topic that intrigues many. “In the Torah itself, the Garden of Eden is mentioned only at the beginning of the book of Genesis – as a garden located in a place called Eden, not as the World to Come. When we talk about the Garden of Eden today, we are referring to what will be after a person dies, to reward and punishment. But it is surprising to know – in the Written Torah, in all five books of the Torah, there is not a single word about life after death. The Torah speaks only about how to live correctly here, in this world,” Rabbi Zamir said.
A man blows the Shofar ahead of Rosh Hashana at the Western Wall (Oren Ben Hakoon) Oren Ben Hakoon
According to the rabbi, the Torah is not a book about higher worlds or what happens after death, but rather “a book that guides us how to be better people and build a better world.” He emphasized that “the entire subject of the World to Come belongs to other realms of Judaism – the literal, the allegorical, the homiletical, and the mystical. These are ways to understand reality and our relationship with God, and also to touch on questions about what happens after life, but this is not part of the Written Torah.”
The rabbi concluded with a sober but faith-filled approach. “I leave this question open. Yes, I too am curious to know what will be, but the Torah teaches me how to live correctly here and now, and that is what I focus on,” Rabbi Zamir said.
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