zaksmummy
16th June 2008, 03:20 PM
Another thread got me thinking. In the NT it says that the Pharisees of the second Temple period believed in the resurrection of the dead on the day of judgement, what is the current Jewish belief about this?
cyberlizard
16th June 2008, 03:56 PM
The resurrection of the dead is a basic principle of the Torah of Moses. Anyone who does not believe it has no connection with the Jewish Nation. But [resurrection] is only for the righteous, as it states in Bereishit Rabbah: "Rain is for both the righteous and the wicked but resurrection is for the righteous alone." For how can the wicked be brought back to life when even during their lives they are considered dead? But the righteous, even when they die, are considered alive.
-- Maimonides, 13 Principles of Faith