Glossary · Torah Ohr · Likkutei Torah
Techiyas hameisim
תחיית המתים
The Resurrection of the Dead (techiyas hameisim)
Souls rising in their bodies in the Time to Come, a reward above Gan Eden: sovev, drawn down by mitzvos done with physical things, will then be revealed to the body too.
Where it’s explained
- Likkutei Torah, Behar 2, ¶16“The reward of the righteous is in the Time to Come” must mean the resurrection, since Gan Eden exists already now: the resurrection is the main reward and ascent of the souls, and Gan Eden is only for a time, until then. The paragraph asks why the main reward comes to souls in bodies, and begins the answer from sovev and memalei.
אלא בודאי קאי על תח״ה לפי שזהו עיקר השכר ועליית הנשמות, וג״ע אינו אלא לפי שעה עד התחיי׳
- Torah Ohr, Yisro 9, ¶17The delight of the lower Gan Eden is from Binah of Malchus and so is revealed only to souls; at the resurrection sovev will be revealed, where soul and body are equal. This comes through the mitzvos, the 620 pillars of light in Keser, made from mitzvos clothed in physical action.
אבל לע״ל בתח״ה יתגלה בחי׳ סוכ״ע. ושם הנשמה והגוף הם שוין
- Likkutei Torah, Pekudei 2, ¶21In Gan Eden the revelation is only from the river that goes out from Eden, Chochmah and Binah, so it reaches only the soul; at the resurrection light from above the chain of worlds will be revealed, and so it can reach further down, to the body.
אך לעתיד בתחה״מ שיהיה הגילוי גם לגוף כמ״ש ועצמותיך יחליץ
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 14, ¶18This delight is from the essence of delight, above contraction and division, and it is drawn down by practical mitzvos (“their end is wedged in their beginning”); therefore it will be revealed in the body, while the delight of Gan Eden is for souls without bodies.
שהגוף דוקא יקום ויתענג כא׳ עם הנפש
- Likkutei Torah, Reeh 7, ¶32To be “absorbed into the body of the King” is to be included in the Ten Sefiros of Atzilus, in which the encompassing lights will be revealed: the union of Or Ein Sof with the soul in the body at the resurrection, through the ascent of the worlds then; the body will be refined according to the soul.
וה״ז יחוד אור א״ס ב״ה עם נשמת האדם שבגוף כשיקום בתחה״מ ע״ד יחוד עליון דאיהו וחיוהי חד
Stated differently
Whether the resurrection is the main reward and the purpose of creation, or a stage of ascent with the seventh millennium above it, where the main reward and the completion of all ascents are
דהנה נודע דעיקר קבול השכר הוא בזמן תחיית המתיםThe main receiving of reward is at the time of the resurrection; Gan Eden is only for a time, until the resurrection.
שעיקר השכר עוה״ב הוא בתח״ה שמעלת תח״ה היא יתירה מג״ע העליוןCiting the Ramban: the main reward of the World to Come is at the resurrection, which is higher than the upper Gan Eden.
בכדי שאח״כ בתחה״מ שהוא תכלית הבריאה יהי׳ גילוי זה לנשמות שבגופים דוקאThe Torah was clothed in physical matters so that at the resurrection, the purpose of creation, the revelation of sovev will be to souls in bodies.
וכן עד״ז בעליות הגופות לימות המשיח ותחה״מ. אבל וחד חרוב הוא אלף השביעי שבו תכלית השלימות של כל העליותThe days of Mashiach and the resurrection are ascents of the bodies; but the seventh millennium is the ultimate completion of all ascents, with no ascent above it.
כמו עוה״ב ותחה״מ ואלף הז׳ יום שכולו שבת ומנוחה לחיי העולם שהוא עילוי אחר עילויThe World to Come, the resurrection and the seventh millennium are levels one above the other, all of them radiance.
דהנה ידוע שג״ע הוא רק לפי שעה ועיקר הגמול הוא רק באלף השביעי למחר לקבל שכרםGan Eden is only temporary; the main reward is only in the seventh millennium.
Main sources
Likkutei Torah, Behar 2, ¶16Torah Ohr, Yisro 9, ¶14Torah Ohr, Yisro 9, ¶15Torah Ohr, Yisro 9, ¶17Likkutei Torah, Shelach 14, ¶18Likkutei Torah, Shelach 16, ¶14Likkutei Torah, Pekudei 2, ¶21Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 2, ¶3
Where it appears
In 50 paragraphs of 37 maamarim.
- Likkutei Torah, Behar 2 ¶16
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 9 ¶27
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 6 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 7 ¶32
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 33 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan 6 ¶27
- Likkutei Torah, Vayikra 5 ¶11
- Torah Ohr, Ki Sisa 1 ¶21
- Torah Ohr, Shemos 8 ¶12
- Torah Ohr, Toldos 3 ¶26
- Torah Ohr, Yisro 9 ¶14 ¶15 ¶17 ¶18 ¶22
- Likkutei Torah, Matos 1 ¶6
- Likkutei Torah, Pinchas 2 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 42 ¶12
- Likkutei Torah, Haazinu 1 ¶25
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 41 ¶24 ¶30
- Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei 2 ¶21
- Likkutei Torah, Pekudei 2 ¶14 ¶21 ¶23
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 15 ¶2 ¶3 ¶6
- Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 2 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Eikev 1 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Pinchas 1 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 16 ¶14
- Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther 9 ¶2 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 5 ¶4 ¶6
- Torah Ohr, Noach 1 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, Emor 6 ¶11
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 6 ¶2
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 14 ¶1 ¶2 ¶18
- Likkutei Torah, Behaaloscha 7 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Bechukosai 2 ¶32
- Torah Ohr, Va’eira 4 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 4 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Tzav 8 ¶8
- Torah Ohr, Vayishlach 5 ¶2
- Torah Ohr, Vayeishev 4 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 3 ¶5
Written with AI from the paragraphs of Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah, each entry checked by a second AI reader and every Hebrew quote checked by code; not yet reviewed by a person. Our English: CC BY-NC 4.0.