Aligned sentence by sentence
, ,
As for the transmitted proofs, the matter is too extensive to encompass in its entirety; we shall mention some principal items from it.
" " ,
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 —
,
in which one should prepare oneself with what is fitting before entering the palace into the presence of the sovereign —
.
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"].
, ,
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 —
, ,
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 —
, .
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"].
, ,
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 —
, .
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"].
Aligned sentence by sentence
,
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 —
" .
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"].
,
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 —
, , .
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.
" " ,
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 —
,
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" —
.
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."
,
After having explained what the three sources — rational, scriptural, and transmitted — articulate concerning reward and punishment in the World to Come, I say:
, .
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.