The final principle of the thirteen principles of faith that the Rambam sets out is the belief in the resurrection of the dead (known as techiyat hameitim). We sing a version of this principle in Yigdal every day in davening:
ืึตืชึดืื ืึฐืึทืึถึผื ืึตื ืึฐึผืจื ืึทืกึฐืึผื, ืึธึผืจืึผืึฐ ืขึฒืึตื ืขึทื ืฉึตืื ืชึฐึผืึดืึธึผืชื
โThe Almighty will revive the dead because of His abundant kindness: Blessed forever is His praised Name.โ
The Rambam based this principle of faith on the Mishnah (Sanhedrin 10:1) which states that a person who says there is no resurrection of the dead has no share in the World to Come.
Where Do We Find it in the Torah?
The pasuk (Devarim 32:29) states:
ืจึฐืึฃืึผโื ืขึทืชึธึผึื ืึดึผึฃื ืึฒื ึดึคื ืึฒื ึดืึ ืึืึผื ืึฐืึตึฅืื ืึฑืึนืงืื ืขึดืึธึผืึดึื ืึฒื ึดึงื ืึธืึดึฃืืช ืึทืึฒืึทืึถึผึื ืึธืึทึืฆึฐืชึดึผืึ ืึทืึฒื ึดึฃื ืึถืจึฐืคึธึผึื ืึฐืึตึฅืื ืึดืึธึผืึดึื ืึทืฆึดึผึฝืืื
โSee, then, that I, I am the One; There is no God beside Me. I deal death and give life; I wounded, and I will heal: None can deliver from My hand.โ
Various commentators comment on the order of words in this pasuk – โI deal death and give life.โ We would think that these two things should be the other way around since death follows life. They explain that this alludes to a future life – that of resurrection when the dead will be brought back to life.
In addition, it says (Yeshaya 26:19):
ืึดึฝืึฐืึฃืึผ ืึตืชึถึืืึธ ื ึฐืึตืึธืชึดึื ืึฐืงืึผืึืึผื ืึธืงึดึจืืฆืึผ ืึฐืจึทื ึฐึผื ึืึผ ืฉึนืืึฐื ึตึฃื ืขึธืคึธึืจ ืึดึผึฃื ืึทึคื ืืึนืจึนืชึ ืึทืึถึผึืึธ ืึธืึธึืจึถืฅ ืจึฐืคึธืึดึฅืื ืชึทึผืคึดึผึฝืืื {ืค}
โOh, let Your dead revive! Let corpses arise! Awake and shout for joy, You who dwell in the dust! – For Your dew is like the dew on fresh growth; You make the land of the shades come to life.โ
When Will it Take Place?
Rambam explains that techiyat hameitim could happen in the lifetime of Mashiach, before him, or after he dies. There is also a debate between the Rambam and the Ramban as to whether the resurrection will be a temporary or permanent one. The Rambam is of the position that the resurrected dead will live a short while and die again, leading to an eternal spiritual Olam Haba (i.e., without the body). On the other hand, the Ramban is of the position that the resurrection will be an eternal one – which in and of itself is Olam Haba.
Who Will be Brought Back to Life?
The Gemara (Taโanit 7a) explains that techiyat hameitim will benefit only the righteous, and we further know (Berachot 18b) that the wicked are even considered dead during their lifetimes.
The idea of the dead, especially those who have been dead for hundreds or thousands of years, coming back to life is difficult to relate to, but in the wonder of the natural world, Hashem has given us something that we can use, almost as an analogy, to picture the possibility of this taking place. This thing is the process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly
There is, however, another opinion that everyone, both righteous and wicked, will be brought back to life for Hashem to judge each person as one complete unit. In a famous dialogue between Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and Antoninos (Sanhedrin 91a-b), the latter posed the following problem to the former:
The body and the soul are able to exempt themselves from judgment for their sins. How so? The body says: The soul sinned, as from the day of my death when it departed from me, I am cast like a silent stone in the grave, and do not sin. And the soul says: The body sinned, as from the day that I departed from it, I am flying in the air like a bird, incapable of sin.
Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi answered him:
The Holy One, Blessed be He, brings the soul on the day of judgment and casts it back into the body, as they were when they sinned, and He judges them as one.
The Butterfly
The idea of the dead, especially those who have been dead for hundreds or thousands of years, coming back to life is difficult to relate to, but in the wonder of the natural world, Hashem has given us something that we can use, almost as an analogy, to picture the possibility of this taking place. This thing is the process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly in the pupal stage, which is when the caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis inside a protective covering known as a chrysalis (for butterflies) or a cocoon (for moths).
During this stage, it is keโilu – almost like – the caterpillar dies and then comes back to life again. To put it in scientific terms, the caterpillar undergoes a process called histolysis, where its tissues and organs are broken down into a kind of cellular soup. This mass of cells then undergoes histogenesis, where new tissues and structures are formed. The butterfly that emerges is not the same individual caterpillar, but the genetic information carries over.
Although the process that the butterfly undergoes isnโt technically considered death and rebirth, it is nevertheless still a โhintโ that Hashem put in creation, alluding to a similar process that will one day take place with techiyat hameitim.
More can be learned from the fact that the caterpillarโs tissues and organs are broken down into a kind of cellular soup. The Zohar (Pinchas 29:161) writes:
Look at what is written (Iyov 10:9): โKnow that You have made me like clay, and You will bring me back to dust.โ What is written afterward? (10:10-12) โDid You not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? You clothed me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews. You granted me life and favor, and Your visitation guarded my spirit.โ The Holy One, blessed be He, intends to embellish that bone in the future…. Just as that bone will be mixed and it will shine like milk, and afterward, it will curdle into cheese, and afterward, it will congeal into pure fat, and it will become solid like milkโฆ and afterward, it will draw out on its skin and flesh and bones and sinews.
Thus, the Zohar explains that the remains have to be liquefied, and the liquid will then โcurdleโ into an embryo, which will, in turn, grow to form a new body.
As we have discussed, Techiyat hameitim means that body and soul will be reunited once again. There are various possibilities as to when exactly the resurrection of the dead will take place and what it will look like. The exact mechanisms are not something that can be known to us, but we do know to believe in it as one of the core principles of our faith.
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