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Chapter 3: Having mentioned these six arguments, it is fitting to follow them with the seven further scriptural ones.
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I say: there are seven principal categories, each with a hint and allusion in the Torah and fuller explanation in the other prophetic books.
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The first category: the designation of what wisdom and the Law earn the human being as 'life,' as in אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה אֹתָם הָאָדָם וָחַי בָּהֶם ["which the person shall do and live by them"] —
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and the designation of what the fool incurs through ignorance as 'death,' as in הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַחֹטֵאת הִיא תָמוּת ["the soul that sins shall die"], כִּי מֹצְאִי מָצָא חַיִּים ["for my finder finds life"], and אֹרַח חַיִּים לְמַעְלָה לַמַּשְׂכִּיל ["the path of life is upward for the wise"].
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לֹא תַעֲזֹב נַפְשִׁי לִשְׁאוֹל ["You will not abandon my soul to Sheol"], תּוֹדִיעֵנִי אֹרַח חַיִּים ["You will make known to me the path of life"] etc.
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Since these cannot be interpreted as referring to the life of this world — for in that, the righteous and the wicked are alike — they must be interpreted as referring to the life of the World to Come.
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The second category: the indication that a good remembrance endures before God for the righteous, and an evil remembrance for the wicked —
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as it says: זֵכֶר צַדִּיק לִבְרָכָה וְשֵׁם רְשָׁעִים יִרְקָב ["the memory of the righteous is for blessing, but the name of the wicked shall rot"] —
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and Nehemiah said: זָכְרָה לִּי אֱלֹהַי לְטוֹבָה ["Remember me, O my God, for good"], and regarding the wicked: זָכְרָה אֱלֹהַי לְטוֹבִיָּה וּלְסַנְבַלַּט כְּמַעֲשָׂיו אֵלֶּה ["Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their deeds"].
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The third category: the indication that God has books and registers in which the deeds of the righteous and the wicked are recorded —
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as Moses our Teacher (peace be upon him) said: אִם אַיִן מְחֵנִי נָא מִסִּפְרְךָ אֲשֶׁר כָּתָבְתָּ ["if not, blot me out of Your book which You have written"], and: יִמָּחוּ מִסֵּפֶר חַיִּים וְעִם צַדִּיקִים אַל יִכָּתֵבוּ ["let them be blotted from the Book of Life, not written with the righteous"] —
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and also: אָז נִדְבְּרוּ יִרְאֵי ה' ... וַיִּכָּתֵב סֵפֶר זִכָּרוֹן לְפָנָיו לְיִרְאֵי ה' וּלְחֹשְׁבֵי שְׁמוֹ ["then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another ... and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and honor His name"].
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The fourth category: the warning that God (mighty and exalted) has a station in which He recompenses everyone who did good or evil —
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as it says: הֲלוֹא אִם תֵּיטִיב שְׂאֵת וְאִם לֹא תֵיטִיב לַפֶּתַח חַטָּאת רֹבֵץ ["surely if you do well, you shall be lifted up; but if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door"], and: כִּי עֵת לְכָל חֵפֶץ וְעַל כָּל הַמַּעֲשֶׂה שָׁם ["for there is a time for every matter and for every deed — there"].
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The fifth category: the breadth of the scriptures' testimony that God (mighty and exalted) is a just judge who recompenses every person for what he does —
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as it says: הַצּוּר תָּמִים פָּעֳלוֹ כִּי כָל דְּרָכָיו מִשְׁפָּט ["the Rock — His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice"], and: צַדִּיק ה' בְּכָל דְּרָכָיו ["the Lord is righteous in all His ways"],
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and: ה' לְעוֹלָם יֵשֵׁב כּוֹנֵן לַמִּשְׁפָּט כִּסְאוֹ וְהוּא יִשְׁפֹּט תֵּבֵל בְּצֶדֶק ["the Lord sits enthroned forever, He has established His throne for justice, and He will judge the world in righteousness"], and: לָתֵת לְאִישׁ כִּדְרָכָיו כִּפְרִי מַעֲלָלָיו ["to give to each person according to his ways, as the fruit of his deeds"].
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The sixth category: the warning of an appointed Day belonging to God, prepared for recompense —
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as it says: קָרוֹב יוֹם ה' הַגָּדוֹל ["near is the great Day of the Lord"] etc., יוֹם עֶבְרָה הַיּוֹם הַהוּא ["that day is a day of wrath"] etc., גַּם כַּסְפָּם גַּם זְהָבָם לֹא יוּכַל לְהַצִּילָם בְּיוֹם עֶבְרַת ה' ["neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord's wrath"] etc.
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The seventh category: the designation of reward as 'good,' and that the wicked are barred from it —
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as it says: לְמַעַן יִיטַב לָהֶם וְלִבְנֵיהֶם לְעוֹלָם ["that it might go well with them and their children forever"], and: מָה רַב טוּבְךָ אֲשֶׁר צָפַנְתָּ לִּירֵאֶיךָ ["how great is Your goodness which You have stored for those who fear You"] etc.,
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and also: כִּי גַּם יֹדֵעַ אֲנִי אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה טּוֹב לְיִרְאֵי הָאֱלֹהִים ... וְטוֹב לֹא יִהְיֶה לָרָשָׁע וְלֹא יַאֲרִיךְ יָמִים ["I know well that it shall go well for those who fear God ... and it shall not go well for the wicked, nor shall he prolong his days"].
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If someone thinks these verses can bear other interpretations that undermine their value as proof for the World to Come,
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we clarify for him that the matter is not as he thinks, for reason has necessitated recompense in the World to Come,
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so every interpretation that agrees with reason is sound, while every one that departs toward what contradicts reason is the rejected and corrupt one.
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These are, in brief, the proofs of the explicit scriptural text.
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As for the transmitted proofs, the matter is too extensive to encompass in its entirety; we shall mention some principal items from it.
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Our ancestors (of blessed memory) transmitted from the prophets (peace be upon them) that this world in relation to the World to Come is like an anteroom before a king's palace —
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in which one should prepare oneself with what is fitting before entering the palace into the presence of the sovereign —
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and this is explicit in their saying: הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה דּוֹמֶה לְפְרוֹזְדוֹר בִּפְנֵי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא הִתְקַן עַצְמְךָ בַּפְּרוֹזְדוֹר כְּדֵי שֶׁתִּכָּנֵס לַטְּרַקְלִין ["This world is like an anteroom before the World to Come; prepare yourself in the anteroom so that you may enter the banquet hall"].
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They also said: one hour of repentance in this world is more beneficial than all of the World to Come, since there is no repentance in it —
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and one hour of tranquility in the World to Come is better than all the life of this world, since the souls have never ceased to aspire toward it —
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יָפָה שָׁעָה אַחַת בִּתְשׁוּבָה וּמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה מִכָּל חַיֵּי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא ["One hour of repentance and good deeds in this world is more beautiful than all the life of the World to Come"]; יָפָה שָׁעָה אַחַת קוֹרַת רוּחַ בָּעוֹלָם הַבָּא מִכָּל חַיֵּי הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה ["One hour of tranquility in the World to Come is more beautiful than all the life of this world"].
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They also transmitted that in the World to Come life is sustained by light, and alongside that there is neither eating nor drinking nor marital relations nor propagation nor buying nor selling —
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rather, the reward is from the light of the Creator (mighty and exalted) — as they said: הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא אֵין בּוֹ לֹא אֲכִילָה וְלֹא שְׁתִיָּה וְלֹא פְּרִיָּה וּרְבִיָּה אֶלָּא צַדִּיקִים יוֹשְׁבִין וְעַטְרוֹתֵיהֶן בְּרָאשֵׁיהֶן וְנֶהֱנִים מִזִּיו הַשְּׁכִינָה ["In the World to Come there is no eating, drinking, propagation, or commerce; rather, the righteous sit with their crowns on their heads and delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence"].
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And as a corollary of this noble state, they transmitted that one who does not believe in the reward of the World to Come, the divine origin of the Torah, and the truthfulness of the transmitters has no share in the World to Come —
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as they (of blessed memory) said: וְאֵלּוּ שֶׁאֵין לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא הָאוֹמֵר אֵין תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים וְאֵין תּוֹרָה מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶפִּיקוֹרוֹס ["These have no share in the World to Come: one who says there is no resurrection of the dead, one who says the Torah is not from Heaven, and the Epicurean"].
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They also enumerated seven individuals who have no share in the World to Come because they led communities astray and removed them from obedience to God —
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as they said: שְׁלֹשָׁה מְלָכִים וְאַרְבָּעָה הֶדְיוֹטוֹת אֵין לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא ["Three kings and four commoners have no share in the World to Come"]: the three kings are Jeroboam son of Nebat, Ahab, and Manasseh; the four commoners are Balaam, Doeg, Ahitophel, and Gehazi.
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Furthermore, when they translated the Torah for us from the prophets (peace be upon them), they stated explicitly in that translation the revival of Moses our Teacher (peace be upon him) and his leadership —
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for they translated וַיַּרְא רֵאשִׁית לוֹ ["He saw the first for himself"] as [Aramaic:] "received in his primacy, for there Moses the great scribe of Israel was buried" —
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and they also stated explicitly the life of the World to Come in their translation of יְחִי רְאוּבֵן וְאַל יָמֹת ["Let Reuben live and not die"], rendering it as [Aramaic:] "May Reuben live in the life of the World and not die a second death."
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After having explained what the three sources — rational, scriptural, and transmitted — articulate concerning reward and punishment in the World to Come, I say:
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that our nation has transmitted a consensus regarding this — transmitted by words that admit of no other interpretation in the most binding manner possible, as I stated concerning the copy of the Law.