What is the significance of recent seismic events in Syria and Damascus? What might we expect for the region in light of ancient prophecies? Find out in this class as we explore Damascus in Tanakh, Midrash, and Kabbalah. Also: What is the etymology of the name “Jerusalem”? Who was the mysterious Melchizedek? And what is Zedekiah’s Cave?
For the entire playlist on the “Star of Jacob” prophecy, see here.
For the essay on ‘End of Days Secrets from Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’, see here.
This week we conclude the fourth book of the Torah with a reading of the last two portions. In parashat Masei, “Journeys”, we are given a summary of the Israelites’ travels in the Wilderness. There are a total of forty-two trips and stops along the way. The Baal Shem Tov famously taught that these 42 journeys actually allude to the 42 journeys of every soul. His grandson wrote in Degel Machane Ephraim that “one’s birth and emergence from the mother’s womb is like the Exodus, as is known, and one henceforth goes from journey to journey until arriving at the supernal world…” The journey begins here on Earth with a person emerging from the waters of the womb, much like the Israelites emerged out of the waters of the Red Sea. It continues until the soul returns to its place in the supernal worlds. What do these supernal worlds look like and how long do journeys through those worlds take?
The Talmud outlines the supernal worlds, and states that the distance between each one is a “five hundred-year’s journey” (Chagigah 12b-13a). The first of the “Seven Heavens” is called Vilon, literally a “curtain”. The Talmud describes this simply as the atmosphere above Earth’s surface, and it has no particular spiritual significance. Then comes the Rakia, often poorly translated as “firmament”. The Talmud repeats what the Torah says in the account of Creation that within the Rakia are the sun, moon, stars, and constellations. In other words, Rakia is outer space. When the Sages used the term “fixed” (kevu’in) it does not mean that the stars are “fixed” into a solid firmament, but rather that the stars are all “fixed” in their orbits. (The same word is used when telling us to “fix” specific cyclical times for Torah study.)
AI-generated image of Seven Heavens
The third level is Shechakim, the “millstones” that grind manna. This region can be thought of as the interface between the “physical” world and the “spiritual” world. Indeed, when Rabbi Akiva led three other rabbis into the spiritual worlds of Pardes (recounted in the following pages in the same tractate Chagigah), he tells the others that they will pass by “pure marble stones” along the way. It is appropriate that manna would come from here specifically, as manna was a substance part physical and part spiritual, a blend of both dimensions.
The fourth Heaven is called Zevul, and this is where the “Heavenly Jerusalem” is found. The kohen gadol in its Temple is the angel Michael, who brings offerings upon the Heavenly altar. Most of the other angels dwell above in the fifth Heaven called Ma’on. The next Heaven is called Machon, the realm of the primordial elements. Apparently, here is found snow, hail, dew, rain, and fire, together with storms and whirlwinds. The Talmud then asks what any of us would ask: aren’t these elements here on Earth? The conclusion is that their original (spiritual) source is up in Machon. One might understand this place as God’s own “laboratory”, where He set forth the very foundations of the cosmos. This can be likened to the mystical dimension of Beriah, which serves as the “programming” and “back-end” for the universe. Similarly, the first two lower Heavens of Vilon and Rakia—typically described in very physical and mundane terms—would parallel the lowest realm of Asiyah, while the angelic Ma’on would parallel Yetzirah (perhaps Shechakim is in between, or bridges both).
Finally, the Seventh Heaven is called ‘Aravot. This is the place of souls and spirits, the source of all blessings, as well as the Dew of Resurrection that will revive the dead in the World to Come. Here are the highest classes of angels like Ofanim and Seraphim. And here, too, is the Throne of God. This region parallels the dimension of Atzilut. The Talmud then says there is one more Rakia above, an “eighth” Heaven, but it is so mysterious and sublime it is forbidden to speak of it at all. The source for it is Ezekiel 1:22, which speaks of a Rakia of “terrible ice”. This takes us right back to the beginning of the passage, where there is one opinion stating there are actually two types of Rakia, a lower and higher one (based on Deuteronomy 10:14). This neatly corresponds to the mysterious and highest mystical dimension of Adam Kadmon.
The Deuteronomy verse above mentions both hashamayim and shmei hashamayim, hence the implication of two distinct Rakias. Based on the word hashamayim (השמים), the numerical value of which is 955 (when counting with the mem sofit as 600), it is said that the Heavens are further divided up into 955 levels or compartments. The verse starts with the word hen (הן), “behold”, which has a value of 55, from which is derived that the top 55 levels are reserved for God alone, while the bottom 900 are accessible to souls, spirits, angels, and the like.
The Talmud (Chagigah 13a) states that the distance from Earth to the Rakia is a “five hundred-years’ journey”, that the Rakia itself is five hundred years-long, and that the distance between each level of Heaven thereafter is five hundred years. (The Talmud rightly excludes the atmospheric Vilon, which we know scientifically doesn’t extend so far away from Earth’s surface). So, with seven domains (including the upper eighth Rakia, but excluding the Vilon), each five hundred years large, and six spaces between them of five hundred years, that gives us a total size to the cosmos of about 6500 “years”. These are not light years, of course, so how big is the cosmos according to the Talmud?
In Talmudic parlance, a day’s journey (derekh yom) is equivalent to ten parsa, or parasangs. A parsa is four mil, and a mil is two thousand amot, or cubits. In other words, a parsa is 8000 cubits. There are varying definitions to the length of a cubit, the common answer being two feet. In that case, we are looking at 16,000 feet per parsa, or just about five kilometres. However, the Talmud (Pesachim 94a) states that the circumference of the Earth is 6000 parsas, and we know today that the Earth’s circumference is 40,075 kilometres. That would mean a parsa is about 6.68 kilometres, which actually makes more sense because the Sages define a parsa as the distance a person walks in 72 minutes (typical walking speed is about five to six kilometres an hour.) Putting it all together, a derekh yom would be about 67 kilometres, the maximum distance a person could cover if they walked an entire day at average speed.
We can take that number and convert it to “five hundred years” as follows: 67 kilometres per day x 365 days x 500 years = 12,227,500 kilometres. This would be the size of each Heaven, as well as the distance between each Heaven. At first glance, that works out to a total of about 159 million kilometres for the size of the cosmos around Earth, according to the Talmud. Intriguingly, this is roughly the same as a scientific Astronomical Unit (AU), which is about 150 million kilometres, based on the average distance between the Earth and the Sun.
However, the Talmud then goes on to state that each aspect of the angels and the Throne of God is so vast it is equivalent in distance to all of the Seven Heavens combined! The Talmud lists eleven items, so doing the math (159 million x 11) brings one to a cosmos nearly 1.8 billion kilometres wide. As mind-boggling as that is, it is still significantly less than the scientific estimate for the size of the Solar System at 287 billion kilometres. Meanwhile, the whole universe is estimated to be at least 93 billion light years wide (a light year is about 9.5 trillion kilometres).
Perhaps the Sages did not mean that the distances are exactly a five hundred-years’ journey (and maybe not a walking journey), but just that the distances are so vast they are impossible for a human to traverse in one lifetime. Indeed, the Talmud here brings up the case of Nimrod, who sought to build the Tower of Babel to ascend to the Heavens. He was told that a human lifespan is only about 70 years, so how could he even think of attempting to travel to the highest Heavens when there are multiple distances of 500 years’ length?
It is interesting to point out that today we know the edge of our Solar System appears to be a “bubble” of ice comets referred to as the Oort Cloud. This region may be related to the “millstones” (or “pure marble stones”) of the third Heaven, Shechakim, or perhaps the “terrible ice” of the mysterious eighth Heaven, the upper Rakia. Whatever the case, both Talmud and science describe vast distances that would be impossible for humans to journey through (at least with current technology). Angels, on the other hand, can traverse such distances. For example, the Talmud recounts Eliyahu once traveling four hundred parsas in one instant to save Rav Kahanah (Kiddushin 40a), while the Zohar (I, 4b-5a) describes Samael as traveling 6000 parsas in one instant. The angelic Merkavah “chariots” are said to regularly journey through 18,000 worlds (Avodah Zarah 3b; Zohar I, 24a; and based on Chagigah 12b, one can understand all of these 18,000 worlds as being within ‘Aravot, the seventh Heaven).
Then there’s Enoch, who went to “walk with God” (Genesis 5:24) and journeyed through the Heavenly worlds, as described in the apocryphal Book of Enoch and referenced many times throughout the Zohar. And we can’t forget the sages led by Rabbi Akiva who went up to Pardes, with Rabbi Akiva reminding them that they will pass through the “pure marble stones” (of the third Heaven), after which they saw various Heavenly beings and angels (most notably Metatron, identified as that selfsame Enoch) in the fourth, fifth, and sixth Heavens. Finally, in the World to Come, each righteous person will be able to traverse the cosmos, with a reward of 310 worlds (Uktzin 3:12) or perhaps even 400 worlds (Zohar I, 127b) to explore and delight in.
May we merit to see that day soon!
Lots More Information:
The Four Who Entered Pardes (Video)
Metatron & the Book of Enoch (Video)
Kefitzat HaDerekh: Wormholes in the Torah
For those who liked the essay on ‘The Strings That Hold the World’ from several weeks ago, there is an updated, revised, and expanded version here.
And since it’s that time of year, please review ‘The Right Way to Observe the Three Weeks’ here.
‘The Vision of the Valley of the Dry Bones’ by Gustav Doré
One of the fundamental principles of Jewish belief is in Techiyat haMetim, a future Resurrection of the Dead. The Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, 1138-1204) enumerated it among the 13 Principles of Faith that every Jew must believe in. He based it mainly on the famous Mishnah that opens the tenth chapter of the tractate Sanhedrin. It begins by stating that every member of the nation of Israel has a share in the World to Come, and then goes on to give several exceptions to the rule—those who forfeit their share. The first is anyone who holds “there is no Resurrection of the Dead from the Torah”. In other words, a person who argues that the Resurrection of the Dead is not a legitimate Torah principle. Such a person is a heretic and forfeits their share in the World to Come. The big question is: do we actually see anywhere in the Torah that there is a reference to the Resurrection of the Dead? The Talmud (starting on Sanhedrin 90b) gives numerous possibilities, most of them indirect derivations, before giving us one place in the Torah that does directly allude to the Resurrection of the Dead. This special verse is in this week’s parasha, Ha’azinu.
In the song of Ha’azinu, Moses quotes God as declaring: “See now that I, I am the One; There is no god beside Me. I deal death and give life; I wounded and I will heal: None can deliver from My hand.” (Deuteronomy 32:39) The order of words is significant: God did not say that He gives life and then puts to death, but rather that He puts to death and then He gives life! Thus, those that have died will be resurrected back to life. Some in the past disputed this interpretation, including the ancient Sadducees who did not believe in any afterlife. Recall that the Sadducees held strictly to the Law of Moses, to the Written Torah, and rejected the Oral Torah. They pointed to places in Tanakh that speak of She’ol, a repository for the lifeless dead, and quoted verses like “the dead do not praise God!” (Psalm 116:17) in support of their position. Interestingly, the Samaritans also believe only in the Torah, and reject even the Prophets and Ketuvim, yet they do believe in a Resurrection of the Dead based on our verse in Ha’azinu!
Once we look into the Prophets, we see numerous references of the future Resurrection. The first that is typically cited is Ezekiel’s Vision of the Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37). In this episode, God took Ezekiel to a valley and raised up skeletons, asking the prophet if they could come back to life. Ezekiel replied that only God knows such things, and God proceeded to bring the bones back to life. In Rabbinic tradition, it is believed that these revived skeletons were a segment of the Tribe of Ephraim. Back in Egypt, the Israelites desperately awaited their salvation, and many believed the time of Redemption had come and gone. They miscalculated by 30 years, and a group of Ephraimites decided to take matters into their own hands and flee. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it and ended up dying (or being killed) in the Wilderness. It was these Ephraimites that God resurrected before Ezekiel’s eyes. This description is found in multiple places in Midrash (such as Yalkut Shimoni I, 226), and in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 92b). The same page of Talmud does offer an opinion that the Vision of the Dry Bones might only be metaphorical, or that it doesn’t necessarily imply a literal future resurrection of all the dead. It could just be highlighting God’s power to revive the dead in general, or even just an allegory for the restoration of Israel after destruction and exile. The contradiction is resolved by saying both are true: the Vision had metaphorical meaning, but it was also literally true!
Another place in Tanakh that is a clear source for Resurrection is Daniel’s statement that “Many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, others to reproaches, to everlasting abhorrence.” (Daniel 12:2) Similarly, Isaiah stated “Oh, let Your dead revive! Let corpses arise! Awake and shout for joy, you who dwell in the dust. For Your dew is like the dew on fresh growth; You make the land of the spirits come to life.” (Isaiah 26:19) Here, Isaiah refers to a “dew” of resurrection, and mystical texts have much to say about this dew. One of the early Kabbalistic works, Sefer haPeliyah, says that it is the same dew that was used to revive the Israelites when they briefly “died” from the overwhelming Sinai Revelation. The Talmud (Chagigah 12b) says God keeps this special dew locked up in the highest of the Seven Heavens, the realm of ‘Aravot, alongside His Throne and chief angels like Seraphim and Ofanim. Elsewhere, the Talmud (Ketubot 111b) reads the verse above not as “dew on fresh growth” but as “dew of light”, since the exact words are tal orot. What is this light? It is the light of Torah, and therefore “Anyone who engages with the light of Torah, the light of Torah will revive him; and anyone who does not engage with the light of Torah, the light of Torah will not revive him.”
The Talmud here continues to say that all the righteous dead will resurrect specifically from Jerusalem, since it says in Psalms 72:16 that they shall “blossom out of the city like the grass of the earth”—and the city is none other than Jerusalem. The Zohar (II, 28b) adds that the future resurrection will begin from the indestructible luz bone. This bone will absorb the dew and become like dough, from which God will reform the body. Is there such a non-decomposing bone in the human body? As explored in depth before, scientifically speaking there is no such bone, and “luz” may actually refer to other things. It may even refer to Jerusalem itself, based on Jacob’s Vision in Genesis 28 which says the original name of the place was Luz. So, resurrecting from “Luz” may just mean that everyone will resurrect in Jerusalem!
Intriguingly, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan suggested that luz may be referring to DNA, and the Zohar might be saying that resurrection will be possible by taking a small remaining DNA sample and reviving from it the entire body. Today, scientists have indeed made major advances in DNA biotechnology, organ printing, and cloning that may make it possible. In fact, in another place the Zohar (I, 135a, Midrash haNe’elam) actually suggests this might be the case: “In the future time, the Holy One, blessed be He, will rejoice with the righteous, and will rest His Presence upon them, and all will rejoice with great joy… Said Rabbi Yehuda: the righteous are destined in that time to create worlds and resurrect the dead.” So, it will be the Tzadikim in the Messianic Age who will have the power to revive the dead! It remains to be seen whether this will be an entirely spiritual power, or whether it might involve the use of DNA technology.
Relatedly, advances in modern medicine and health are allowing us to dramatically increase lifespans. Isaiah prophesies that a time will come when a centenarian will be considered a “youth” (Isaiah 65:20). The ancient Book of Jubilees (Ch. 23) speaks of a time when man’s lifespan will return to that of Adam and the first generations, who lived nearly a millennium. In the future, each person will enjoy a thousand-year lifespan. This is probably related to the Talmudic and Midrashic statement that the Messianic Age will conclude by the year 6000, after which there will be a cosmic thousand-year Sabbath (see, for instance, Sanhedrin 97a). Based on Psalm 147:2-3, the Zohar (I, 139a, Midrash haNe’elam) gives a more detailed timeline: first Jerusalem will be rebuilt (arguably this has already happened), and then the Temple will be rebuilt, followed by the Ingathering of the Exiles, and only forty years after this will the Resurrection of the Dead begin.
Initially, all will be resurrected, including the wicked, except the pre-Flood generation (Yalkut Shimoni II, 429). Once everyone is resurrected, they will be judged and receive their due reward or punishment. This is also affirmed in the Talmud, in the famous discussion between Rabbi Yehuda haNasi and the Roman emperor Antoninus (Sanhedrin 91a-b). The latter questioned how God could judge a soul—which is pure and righteous—for the sins of the body, and how God could judge a body—which is just a hunk of matter and otherwise lifeless—for actions driven by the soul. Using a clever parable, Rabbi Yehuda explained how God will bring souls back into bodies and judge both together. (See also the Ramban in his Discourse on Rosh Hashanah, where he explains how Judgement Day will follow the Resurrection.)
The righteous will go on to enjoy their reward, as supported by another passage in Kiddushin 39b, which states the true reward for all mitzvot will be bestowed in the Era of Resurrection. This is the real definition of Olam HaBa, the “World to Come”, that our Sages speak of. While the term Olam HaBa is often used more ambiguously or in reference to other realms, it is really the era of reward here on Earth, when body and soul reunite. This is further supported by the Talmud in Ketubot 111b which says that in Olam HaBa, the yields of fruits and vegetables will multiple dramatically, and making wine will be effortless, with a single grape or cluster of grapes able to “produce no less than thirty jugs of wine”. This teaching is based on a verse in this week’s Ha’azinu, too.
Modern harvesting and winemaking technologies have already automated much of the process and simplified winemaking significantly, in fulfilment of Talmudic prophecy.
Another verse in this week’s parasha states that God’s Holy Land “atones for its people” (Deuteronomy 32:43). And so, there is a belief that those buried in the Holy Land have all their sins automatically wiped out. Rabbi Elazar takes it one step further and says only those buried in Israel will merit to be resurrected! The other Sages counter that this cannot be the case, and that anyone who at least “walked four cubits in the Land of Israel is assured a place in the World to Come”. However, we know that Resurrection can only take place in the Holy Land, so what will happen to all the bodies buried outside of Israel? God will miraculously make the corpses from all over the world “roll” through underground tunnels to Jerusalem! (Ketubot 111a)
The Talmud further tells us (both in Ketubot 111b and in Sanhedrin 90b) that people will be resurrected fully clothed. Rabbi Meir used a parable to explain this to Queen Cleopatra, saying that just as a “naked” kernel of wheat is buried in the ground and sprouts new wheat grains with several layers of chaff, so too will the righteous be resurrected covered up. Reish Lakish, meanwhile, uses two Scriptural verses to prove that people will initially be resurrected in the same state in which they died (blind, lame, etc.) but will then be miraculously healed. Since Adam and Eve were created as twenty-year-olds in the Garden of Eden (Beresheet Rabbah 14:7), it seems people will similarly take on the youthful bodies of a twenty-year-old.
The Zohar’s Midrash HaNe’elam cited above suggests that the process of Resurrection may last something like 200 years until all the righteous return. First will be revived the generation of the Exodus (Zohar III, 168b), along with the great Patriarchs and Prophets of old. Then all those who “drew water” from the wellsprings of Torah. Everyone else will follow, and all will eventually enjoy a millennium of peace and prosperity, with the ability to explore the farthest reaches of the universe and the highest heavens, and to truly marvel at all of God’s creations in the vast cosmos. It isn’t clear what will happen after that. Some envision a totally spiritual existence entirely devoid of the physical, perhaps for eternity (which is really hard to fathom). Others believe God will simply hit “reset” and a new Sabbatical cycle will begin, with civilization starting from the beginning all over again. Whatever the case, we must first usher in Mashiach and the Messianic Age, followed by the Era of Resurrection, and a millennium of Shabbat peace and reward. May we merit to see it soon.
Gmar chatima tova!