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HIDDEN
LDS/JEWISH INSIGHTS #30
Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Supplement by Daniel Rona
Weekly E-mail Reminder
<< THE GREAT PLAN OF
HAPPINESS >>
Alma 40 - 42
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(1.) IN JUDAISM, IS THERE
LIFE AFTER LIFE?
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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') . . ."
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(2.) PHYSICAL OR SPIRITUAL
RESURRECTION?
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"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.)
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(3.) WITHOUT REVELATION, UNDERSTANDING OF TRUE DOCTRINES CHANGE:
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"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.)
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(4.) BIBLICAL TEACHING OF
RESURRECTION DENIED:
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"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.)
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(5.) JUSTICE AND MERCY:
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"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.)
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(6.) JUSTICE AND MERCY ARE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD:
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". . . 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).
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(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.)
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