Editing Techiyat HaMeytim - Resurrection of the Dead (section)

== Details of the Resurrection ==
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In a long holy letter, the Rebbe explains the matter of the resurrection of the dead and its details as brought in the words of our Sages, in Kabbalah, and in Chassidus:

==== Its Time ====
Expanded topic - '''[[Olam Haba - The World to Come]]'''

The resurrection of the dead will occur after the building of the third Beis Hamikdash and after the ingathering of the exiles. According to Rambam's approach that the resurrection of the dead is not the time of the ultimate reward, but rather part of the Messianic era - it will take place in the second period of the Messianic era. In the Zohar it is explained that the ingathering of exiles precedes the resurrection of the dead by forty years. However, the Rebbe determined that one can merit this immediately at the beginning of the redemption, and regarding the words of the Zohar, he expressed that the forty years can also turn into forty moments. He also expressed that the question about the need to wait forty years will be resolved by Eliyahu Hanavi.

However, this time of resurrection is for all of Israel; and from the words of our Sages: "When Aharon and his sons come, and Moshe with them," it is proven that tzaddikim rise immediately at the beginning of the Messianic era. The Rebbe adds that this includes all of Israel who are called "and all Your people are tzaddikim."

==== Its Order ====
The dead of Eretz Yisrael will live first, then the dead outside the Land, and then the generation of the desert, and some say the Patriarchs. Rabbi Shimon says the dead of Eretz Yisrael will live first, then the dead outside the Land, and then those who sleep in Chevron. The reason for this is so that they will awaken and arouse joy upon seeing their children who have risen from their graves and the land is filled with many tzaddikim and chassidim.

Tzaddikim rise first and then the rest of the people. Masters of Torah and then masters of mitzvos. And in the Midrash it is said that they will rise and they will be called by their names according to the order of the alef-beis letters, but whoever has the attribute of humility will stand first.

==== Its Manner ====
That very same body itself will rise to life, and a new body will not be created. This is through the luz bone that remains from the body, and at the time of resurrection, the Holy One Blessed be He softens it with the dew of resurrection, and the bone becomes like leaven to dough, and from it the entire body is built.

The dead will rise exactly as they were buried, and in the same clothes in which they were buried. Those who have a defect (blind, deaf, etc.) will rise with their defect, and only after rising will the Holy One Blessed be He heal them by bringing out the sun from its sheath, and it will warm and heal them.

==== Another Opinion - That the Resurrection is After Even the Luz Bone Decays ====
In Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer, it is written that the body will be created from (a "spoonful of") decay that remains from the body. Therefore, he concludes "and brings up the entire body without defect," but there are those who explained this is the same as the luz bone.

And in the Hadran on Tractate Niddah, the Rebbe explains at length the Braisa "Three questions of ignorance the people of Alexandria asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya, etc." The Rebbe explains at length the depth in each of the questions of the people of Alexandria and the responses of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya, and finally explains the last question: "Will the dead in the future require sprinkling on the third and seventh days? He said to them... when Moshe Rabbeinu comes with them":

He explains that their last question was only regarding the generation of the desert (since regarding most of the Jewish people, we hold that they will rise from the "luz bone"). Their question was whether the generation of the desert will also rise from the "luz bone" or if for them the rising will be through the decay of the body like a new body (similar to what is explained in clarifying the dispute between Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer whether the generation of the desert has a portion in the World to Come, where both agree they have a portion in the World to Come, only that according to Rabbi Akiva their luz bone will decay and after they turn to "a spoonful of decay" they will rise in the resurrection). If they rise from the "luz bone," then the entire body will become impure through their contact with the "luz bone" and they will be obligated in sprinkling (like the rest of the Jewish people), but if they rise as a new body, they will not need sprinkling? To this Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya answered "when Moshe Rabbeinu comes with them," since Moshe Rabbeinu will raise them in the future to come as explained in the Midrash, he will certainly raise them in the same manner that he himself will rise (meaning in their first body from the "luz bone").

And he concludes in the talk that although all Israel will rise from the luz bone, nevertheless through Torah study they will not need the sprinkling of the waters of purification because "the dew of Torah" will revive them.

=== The Revival Process Through Luz Bone ===
<blockquote>Adrianus asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya, "From where will the Holy One, blessed be He, cause man to sprout forth in the future?" He replied, "From the luz bone of the spine." He asked, "How do you know this?" He said, "Bring it to me and I will show you." They ground it in a mill, but it was not ground; they burned it in fire, but it was not burned; they put it in water, but it was not dissolved; they placed it on an anvil and began striking it with a hammer - the anvil split and the hammer broke, but the bone was not damaged at all. 

— Bereishit Rabbah, Chapter 28:3</blockquote>The reason for this is explained in Kabbalah: because the "luz" did not benefit from the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. This is further explained in Chassidus that in truth, the inner essence of the entire body was not damaged by the sin of the Tree of Knowledge; only the external aspects of the body derived pleasure from it, but the "luz," which is the essence of the body, did not benefit even in a revealed way.

It is explained elsewhere that the luz bone has an eternal nature, like the Ark that was hidden in the Holy Temple and constitutes an eternal continuation of the Holy Temple.

==== The Revival Characteristic in the Rest of the Body (Not Just the Luz Bone) ====
In Shu"t Halachot Ketanot, it is explained that the resurrection of the dead is a natural phenomenon, as our Sages said, "If those who never lived will live, then those who have already lived, how much more so!" Based on this, Rabbi Chaim Palagi explains the language of the verse "Your dead shall live" rather than "Your dead shall rise," because it is the nature of the body to rise.

Many books have noted this (see at length in the book "Yemot HaMashiach B'Halacha," Part 1), but the Rebbe explains it in a different style—that the miracle of resurrection is not like other miracles where the nature of the world is not inherently obligated to the miracle. Rather, the body was initially created in such a way that it must rise to life (since resurrection is a fundamental principle of faith).

The Rebbe explains based on this principle why the question of the "people of Alexandria" in the Talmudic discussion of 'sprinkling the dead' was specifically regarding those who rise in the resurrection and not regarding the miracle of the revival of the Shunamite woman's son. This is because for the Shunamite's son, the revival occurred through a miracle, and consequently his body was considered a new body. However, in the future, the resurrection of the bodies of the Jewish people will occur in a (natural) manner connected to their old bodies (that died).

==== The Nature of Revival from the Perspective of the Divine Essence's Choice ====
For resurrection, the Holy One, blessed be He, will draw down the aspect of "abundant mercy" that comes from the Essence of the Infinite Light (as hinted in the blessing of reviving the dead with the words "revives the dead with abundant mercy"). This level can cause the dead to live because from the perspective of the Divine Essence, there is no distinction between life and death.

Since the Divine Essence's choice of Israel is in the physical body, and the flow that comes from the Essence—for which "death and life are equal"—relates to the body and its inner nature, the life of the body comes from the body's own nature and not just from a supernal power.

==== Response to the Evil Inclination ====
Based on the explanation that the "luz" (which is the essence of the body) is eternal, the Rebbe resolves a claim that the evil inclination might make: "Why should I toil to refine the body when ultimately the body is not a true (and eternal) reality, since it will return to dust? Even though it will later rise for resurrection, nevertheless, the definition of the body (according to Torah) is 'dust you are (therefore) and to dust you shall return'?"

The answer is that on the contrary, since "the main Divine Presence was in the lower realms" and therefore "You have chosen us" specifically in the physical body, the body is a true reality that has no destruction or loss. The change caused by the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, which results in "to dust you shall return," is only external and not in its essential nature. This is because human actions cannot change, Heaven forbid, the choice of the Divine Essence that chose the Jewish body. This explains why the luz bone, which did not benefit from the Tree of Knowledge, is never destroyed, as it is the essence of the body, and in this essence, sin and destruction are impossible.

==== People Living at the Time of the Resurrection ====
There are several opinions about what will happen during the resurrection to those people who will then be alive in this world.

Rav Saadia Gaon presents three opinions: (1) They will remain alive in their bodies and transition to the World to Come together with those who rise. (2) They will live for a short time, die, and then live again with those who rise. (3) They will live for a long time and then die. Rav Saadia Gaon favors the third opinion, arguing that all those who rise will do so in order to see the time of redemption with their own eyes, but those who have already seen it will not need to rise again.

In Igrot Kodesh, the Rebbe decides according to the Zohar's view, that the Holy One, blessed be He, will cause them to die for a brief moment and then they will rise for resurrection. Through this, the verse "and to dust you shall return" is fulfilled in them as well, from which the Gemara learns that the righteous return to their dust "one hour before the resurrection of the dead." However, in a later talk, the Rebbe determines that one can fulfill the obligation of "and to dust you shall return" spiritually—through self-nullification, "and may my soul be as dust to all," and in actuality, souls will remain in bodies in eternal life.