http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm
Jewish afterlife beliefs for you.
Well, there are some pleasant surprises here. Thank you.
The Torah indicates in several places that the righteous will be reunited with their loved ones after death, while the wicked will be excluded from this reunion."
The Torah speaks of several noteworthy people being "gathered to their people." See, for example, Gen. 25:8 (Abraham), 25:17 (Ishmael), 35:29 (Isaac), 49:33 (Jacob), Deut. 32:50 (Moses and Aaron) II Kings 22:20 (King Josiah). This gathering is described as a separate event from the physical death of the body or the burial.
Now that correlates nicely with Malachi's last words.
Certain sins are punished by the sinner being "cut off from his people." See, for example, Gen. 17:14 and Ex. 31:14. This punishment is referred to as kareit (kah-REHYT) (literally, "cutting off," but usually translated as "spiritual excision"), and it means that the soul loses its portion in the World to Come.
Certain sins are punished by the sinner being "cut off from his people." See, for example, Gen. 17:14 and Ex. 31:14. This punishment is referred to as kareit (kah-REHYT) (literally, "cutting off," but usually translated as "spiritual excision"), and it means that the soul loses its portion in the World to Come.
That bolded section (all emphasis is mine for clarity of discussion) loses me.
What is the soul's "portion"?
Dan 12:2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
"the messiah comes to initiate the perfect world of peace and prosperity,"
in·i·ti·ate verb
- 1. cause (a process or action) to begin.
"he proposes to initiate discussions on planning procedures"
synonyms: begin, start (off), commence;More: institute, inaugurate, launch, instigate, establish, set up, start the ball rolling on; originate, pioneer;
informalkick off, spark "the government initiated the scheme"
antonyms: finish
- 2. admit (someone) into a secret or obscure society or group, typically with a ritual.
"she had been formally initiated into the sorority"
So, the Anointed One institutes, inaugurates, instigates (?) the preliminary Olam Ha-Ba (what we Christians call the Millennium)? He admits us into the society of God?
LoAmmi, that's pretty special for somebody who isn't. Your characterization of Jewish thought as considering the Messiah as just somebody who almost happens to be there - not anyone worth considering - that's hard to understand.
In the
Mishnah, one rabbi says, "This world is like a lobby before the Olam Ha-Ba. Prepare yourself in the lobby so that you may enter the banquet hall." Similarly, the Talmud says, "This world is like the eve of
Shabbat, and the Olam Ha-Ba is like Shabbat. He who prepares on the eve of Shabbat will have food to eat on Shabbat." We prepare ourselves for the Olam Ha-Ba through
Torah study and good deeds.
So your statement that you do not waste your time looking for the Messiah and dreaming what will happen after death, I guess, means you focus on doing good, and leave it to a just God to reward you as His lovingkindness dictates, "the awe of Heaven"?