222. More About Olam HaBa

Teshuvah 8:3

“Soul” as used here refers to the nefesh. This is not the neshama, which needs a body. Rather, it refers the knowledge that it understands according to its ability; it also understands abstract concepts and certain other things. This is the soul we are talking about here.

Life in the Next World is not succeeded by death because death is an event of the body and there are no bodies in the Next World. Therefore, the Next World is referred to as “the bond of life” as in I Samuel 25:29, “May the soul of my master be bound up in the bond of life.” This is the highest possible reward and the greatest possible goodness.

Teshuvah 8:4

Many metaphors have been used to describe the Next World, including “the mountain of God” (Psalms 24:3), “His holy place” (ibid.), “the path of holiness” (Isaiah 35:8), “the courtyards” of God (Psalms 65:5 and 92:14), “the pleasantness of God” (Psalms 90:17), “the tent” of God (Psalms 15:1), “the temple” of God (Psalms 5:8), “the house of God” (Psalms 27:4), and “the gate of God” (Psalms 118:20). The Sages called it “the good that is prepared for the righteous” and used the metaphor of a banquet. It is generally called olam haba – “the World to Come.” (Editor’s note: Your current author prefers to render olam haba as “the Next World.”)