Jewish Views of the Afterlife by Simcha Paull Raphael

Author:Simcha Paull Raphael
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780742566491
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2013-06-24T16:00:00+00:00

Perek Helek: Olam Ha-Ba and Divine Retribution

In the latter part of Perek Helek Maimonides presents the ethical basis of his philosophy of Olam Ha-Ba. Given that the World to Come is the ultimate good, what is the ultimate evil? For Maimonides, it is “the cutting off of the soul and its perishing so that it does not become perpetual [i.e., live eternally].”64 This ultimate punishment is what is meant by the biblical concept of karet—or cutting off—as in the verse “That soul shall be utterly cut off” (Numbers 15:31). For those who do not live righteously, their soul shall be cut off both in this world and in the World to Come:

It follows that if a person has deliberately and regularly chosen physical delights, has despised the truth and loved falsehood, he will be cut off [excluded] from that high level of being and remain isolated [cut off, unconnected] matter [homer nihrat].65

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