Resurrection of the Dead and the Quest for Immortality in Jewish Thought

Our story begins in the Garden of Eden, the cradle of human existence. After God created Adam, He commanded him: “But of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it, for on the day you eat of it you shall surely die” (Bereishit 2:17). As is well known, our primordial father did not withstand the command. He sinned and was punished. “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Bereishit 3:19) was decreed upon him.

Later, when the sins of the generation of the Flood filled the measure, God returned and imposed death once again: “My spirit shall not contend with man forever, for he too is flesh, and his days shall be one hundred and twenty years” (Bereishit 6:3). The first arrival of death set the very fact of our mortality; its second arrival shortened our stay in this world even further.

“The born are destined to die,” concludes the Mishnah in Pirkei Avot (4:22), and this stark statement accompanies us from the day of our birth until the day of our death. Death is part of life, and for that reason we are called mortal beings. And yet Judaism struggles against this reality. In the Torah, a clearly negative attitude toward death is evident. Our first and formative encounter with death appears as threat and punishment: “You shall not eat of it, for on the day you eat of it you shall surely die.”

One does not threaten a person except with something he fears, and one does not wave a sword except with a stick. The verses of the Torah proclaim again and again a clear message that death is evil. This attitude is expressed practically by distancing life from unnecessary proximity to death through the laws of ritual impurity associated with the dead and their stringencies.

But the words of our Sages have a hopeful continuation: “The born are destined to die, and the dead are destined to be brought to life.” From the revulsion toward death emerges the light of redemption, the resurrection of the dead. The belief that death is not the final word is an integral part of the Jewish conception of time, which sees history as flowing toward a final purpose and redemption, unlike pagan conceptions that move in a closed cycle.

What, then, is the resurrection of the dead? Are we promised eternal life afterward? Who will resurrect the dead? Are we permitted to do so ourselves? Hold tight, dear readers. We are diving together into the deepest black hole in the universe, hoping that when we emerge we will discover that Yeshayahu’s prophecy, “He will swallow up death forever” (Yeshayahu 25:8), has already become our lived reality.

“And the Dead, to Be Brought to Life”

Life after the resurrection is described as exalted life, a state to which one should aspire, life free of the oppressive fear of sin. How will this happen? Who will resurrect the dead? What will happen to them afterward? What halakhic questions will the resurrection raise? Will the resurrected require purification from the impurity of death?

These are questions for which it is difficult to find definitive answers. I turned to Rabbi Yoḥai Makbili, a rabbi and high tech professional known for founding the “Mishneh Torah Project,” a monumental undertaking in which he republished Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, all fourteen volumes and one thousand chapters, in a single carefully edited and beautifully produced volume. Rabbi Makbili is currently working on a commentary to Guide of the Perplexed and on making Maimonides’ teachings accessible to the public. He is a student of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, making him uniquely suited to clarify the issue of resurrection according to Maimonides.

Is the Resurrection a Miracle or a Natural Process?

According to Rabbi Makbili, Maimonides had no problem with miracles, but miracles are not the foundation of faith. A miracle may appear to be a deviation from nature, yet who says we truly know nature in all its details? What appears miraculous to one generation may be entirely natural to another. For Maimonides, the more natural and comprehensible something is, the greater it is.

Maimonides affirmed the resurrection of the dead and ruled that belief in it is a commandment. Yet he did not elaborate on it extensively, leading some to mistakenly claim that he denied it. In truth, Maimonides held that resurrection would occur, but he did not view it as the central or ultimate goal.

What Happens After the Resurrection?

According to Maimonides, the resurrection is a temporary event. Afterward, people will live longer lives and then die again. This differs from the view of the mystics, who understood resurrection as eternal life with no subsequent death.

To understand this, one must ask: what is life? Maimonides defined life as correct perception. Biological life is merely the foundation upon which true life unfolds. What ultimately matters is not physical existence, but the essence one attains through knowledge and moral clarity. Resurrection, then, is not the ultimate purpose. The real question a person must ask is not whether he will merit resurrection, but whether he is truly alive now.

This idea is beautifully reflected in the blessing recited upon seeing a Jewish cemetery: “Blessed are You… who formed you in judgment, sustained you in judgment, and will one day resurrect you in judgment for the life of the World to Come.” The complete resurrection is the spiritual life of the World to Come.

The Pursuit of Immortality

Resurrection has not yet arrived, but humanity continues to seek escape from death. Throughout history, even the greatest righteous figures tried to evade death, yet none succeeded. Today, however, modern technology has revived this ancient dream.

One such attempt is cryonics, from the Greek word for “ice cold,” involving the preservation of humans at extremely low temperatures immediately after death, in the hope that future technology will revive them. While intriguing, this practice remains speculative, expensive, and controversial.

Currently, only two cryonics facilities operate worldwide, both in the United States, preserving more than 250 individuals, including one Israeli Jew. In Israel, an organization promotes research into longevity and cryonics.

A Halachic Perspective on Cryonics

Rabbi Yaakov Roza, chairman of the Council for the Dignity of the Dead of the Chief Rabbinate, explains that cryonic preservation of Jews violates the Torah obligation of burial. The commandment “You shall surely bury him” applies at every moment. Preservation outside the earth negates this obligation and deprives the deceased of the atonement burial provides.

For non Jews, the situation differs, as they are not commanded in burial, though in the Land of Israel even non Jewish dead must be buried to avoid defiling the land.

Reviving someone on the brink of death is permissible, but attempting to revive someone who is definitively dead is a different matter. If future technology were truly capable of restoring life long after death, Rabbi Roza believes this would reflect God’s will and would require renewed halachic discussion.

“The Righteous Will One Day Revive the Dead”

Although resurrection is ultimately in God’s hands, human aspiration toward it is not entirely misplaced. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook wrote that human wisdom, when joined with moral sanctity, may one day find a path even to eternal life. Still, technological advancement must be accompanied by spiritual refinement.

Yet even without advanced machines, a form of immortality is already within reach. A famous Midrash tells of a peddler who sold the “elixir of life,” revealing that it was simply guarding one’s tongue from evil speech, as taught in Psalms.

Eternal life, then, does not require sophisticated devices. A simple book of Tehillim and devotion to God and His Torah are enough.

This article was published in the magazine “LaNeshama.”