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Alma 40 - 42

(1.) IN JUDAISM, IS THERE LIFE AFTER LIFE? Alma teaches that there is no resurrection until after the coming of the Messiah. Judaism, nowadays, has virtually no belief in resurrection or life as such after death. To the Jews, the Messiah has not come; consequently, it is understandable that they do not have an active belief in the resurrection. There are, however, benedictions and other statements with words that seem to connect to a former belief in Resurrection. ". . . Barukh mehayyeh ha-metim (`Blessed be . . . He Who revives the dead') is therefore also known as Tehiyyat ha- Metim (`Resurrection of the Dead') . . ."

(2.) PHYSICAL OR SPIRITUAL RESURRECTION? "Some rabbis believed in resurrection. That is that at a certain point in time God will bring everybody back to life and then the world will be a perfect place and physical life will go on indefinitely. This doctrine poses some obvious difficulties: the body actually decomposes after burial so how can it be reconstituted; furthermore what about overpopulation of the world? Those who believe in resurrection claim that anyway the whole process will be miraculous and the miracle will solve all the problems. Other rabbis however denied physical resurrection entirely and understood the afterlife to be a completely spiritual experience." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

(3.) WITHOUT REVELATION, UNDERSTANDING OF TRUE DOCTRINES CHANGE: "In modern times most Jewish theologians do not subscribe to the doctrine of physical resurrection and movements such as Reform Judaism do not consider it to be a necessary belief for the Jew."   (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

(4.) BIBLICAL TEACHING OF RESURRECTION DENIED: "The whole subject of (an) afterlife is not explicitly stated in the Bible and many scholars are of the opinion that belief in (an) afterlife was adopted by Jews during the Babylonian exile after the destruction of the First Temple when they came into contact with eastern religions such as Zoroastrianism." "The Sadducees also rejected the Pharisaic belief in the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body, claiming that there is no basis for these beliefs in the Torah." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

(5.) JUSTICE AND MERCY: "The word zedakah literally means `righteousness' or `justice'; by their very choice of word the rabbis reveal a great deal of their attitude to the subject, for they see charity not as a favor to the poor but something to which they have a right, and the donor, an obligation." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) "The Hebrew word for justice is zedek, and indicative of Judaism's attitude is the fact that another form of the same root  zedakah, means `charity.' For justice must be tempered with mercy and indeed the main attribute of God is His integration of justice and mercy. Yet another Hebrew word derived from the same root is  zaddik, which means `righteous.' The righteous man is one who is both just and merciful." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

(6.) Justice and Mercy Are Attributes of God: ". . . God, as depicted by the rabbis, embodies a combination of justice and mercy, of strict judgment and lenient compassion. This combination of justice and mercy in God is represented by the two names of God --- Elohim and YHWH. The former stands for justice and the latter for mercy. Though they may seem contradictory, one actually complements the other and, when there is a conflict between the two, God usually favors mercy." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) For the Latter-day Saint, God the Father is Elohim (Justice) and His begotten Son is Jehovah, (Mercy). 

(7.) WHAT DO THE CHERUBIM REPRESENT? I want to suggest a possible physical parallel with justice and mercy. "The Ark of the Covenant stood inside the Holy of Holies and contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments which were given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Hovering over the Ark were two cherubim, each 16-foot high, made of olive wood.  Archaeologists believe that each of the cherubim was formed with a lion-like body, a man-shaped head, and two wings. The cherubim were believed to be servants of God whose main task was to guard the Ark." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)