Questions and Answers about Israel – Death and Burial (part 12 of 14)

1. A fundamental belief in Judaism is that in the future Jews will experience a resurrection and the dead will come back to life, תחיית המתים. Will this revival of the dead occur in Chutz LaAretz (outside of Israel)?

No. Only Israel is called the “Land of the living” ארץ החיים.

Maharsha, Chiddushei Aggadot, Kesuvot 111a

Eretz Yisrael is called the Land of the Living ארץ חיים for that is the place where souls descend and ascend…

2. Every Jew buried in Israel will one day rise from the dead. What will occur to the Tzadikim buried in Chutz LaAretz?

The Tzadikim in Chutz LaAretz will roll underground in tunnels and arrive in Israel. Revival of the dead ONLY occurs in Eretz Yisrael.

BeReishis Rabbah 96:5

…Rav Chelbo: “Why did the forefathers [Avraham, Yitzchak, Yakov and Yosef] cherish burial in Eretz Yisrael? Because the dead of Eretz Yisrael will come to life first in the days of Moshiach and they will enjoy the years of Moshiach.” Rav Chanina said, “One who dies outside the Land and is buried there undergoes two deaths…This is why Yakov says to Yosef, Please do not bury me in Egypt (Bereishis 47:29).” Rav Shimon said, “If so, the righteous צדיקים  who are buried in  Chutz LaAretz lose out! Rather, what does Hashem do? He creates tunnels for them in the ground, making them like caves, and the righteous roll along until they reach Eretz Yisrael, where he places in them a spirit of life and they stand up. How do we know this? It says, “Behold, I will open your graves and lift you out of your graves, My people, and I will bring you to the Land [of Israel]” (Yechezkel 37:12)…”I will put My spirit into you, and you will come alive (Yechezkel 37:14).

3. Will the Jews of Israel and Chutz LaAretz be resurrected at the same time? Will all the Jews buried in the Diaspora be revived from the dead in Israel?

No. There will be a forty-year delay between revival of the dead in Israel versus the Tzadikim from Chutz LaAretz. In addition, there will be an advantage for those buried in the Diaspora to have family living in Israel.

Nechmad LeMar’eh (commentary on Bereishis Rabbah 96:5)

…In order to understand the words of Rav Chelbo…the Chesed Le Avraham z”l wrote…”Regarding the secret of the resurrection in Eretz Yisrael, we have an accepted tradition that the resurrection of the dead will occur in Eretz Yisrael forty years [!] before the resurrection of Chutz LaAretz. However, anyone who died in Chutz LaAretz and has a familial relative in Eretz Yisrael…that relative who is in Eretz Yisrael has the power to bring those in Chutz LaAretz to life. This secret is hinted to in Chapter Tamid Nishchas (Talmud Pesachim 68a): “In the future, the righteous will resurrect the dead…”Furthermore, in Chapter Cheilek (Talmud Sanhedrin 99a), Rav Eliezer says that the era of Moshiach will last forty years…Consequently9, the dead of Eretz Yisrael have two advantages over those of Chutz LaAretz: 1) they come to life forty years earlier and they enjoy the days of Moshiach, which are the forty years mentioned.

4. Who will come back to life during the time of resurrection of the dead?

Only those buried in Eretz Yisrael will be resurrected from the dead.

Talmud Bavli Kesuvos 111a

Rav Elazar said, “The dead of Chutz LaAretz will not come back to life”…i.e. the dead of the Land that I desire will live, but the dead of the land that I do not desire will not live…Rav Abahu said, “Even a Canaani maidservant שפחה כנענית in Eretz Yisrael may rest assured that she deserves the World to Come העולם הבא“…Rav Yirmiyah bar Abba said in the name of  Rav Yochanan, “Anyone who walks four cubits  ארבע אמות in the Land of Israel may rest assured מובטח that he deserves the World to Come.”

…the righteous buried outside the Land will not come back to life? Rav Ilea said They will migrate to Eretz Yisrael by way of rolling through the ground…Rashi until they reach Eretz Yisrael where they will sprout forth and emerge.

5. Were our forefathers Yosef and Yakov confident that they were righteous צדיקים and thus worthy of being guaranteed to roll under the ground and come back to life during the Resurrection of the dead?

No! Yosef and Yakov were not confident that they were worthy to roll under the ground and be resurrected in Israel. Therefore, they insisted in being buried only in Israel so they could be assured of being resurrected at the time of The Resurrection תחיית המתים . One can thus deduce, that if Yosef and Yakov were not confident in their merits , how could any Jew today be worthy and confident that they will be resurrected and not chose to be buried in Israel?

Talmud Bavli Kesuvos 111a

…Yakov Avinu knew that he was completely righteous צדיק גמור , (Rashi) and that he did not need the merit לזכות of Eretz Yisrael. Therefore, if the dead of Chutz LaAretz come back to life, why did he burden his children?

He did so because he feared that he may not be privileged to receive tunnels.” Similarly, Yosef made the children of Israel vow…bring up my bones from here (Bereishis 50:25). Rav Chanina said, “There is something inside: Yosef  knew about himself that he was completely righteous. Therefore, if the dead of Chutz LaAretz come back to life, why did he burden his brothers to carry him four hundred parsangs?

He did so because he feared that he may not be privileged to receive tunnels.”!

6. Is the Zohar (Kabbalah) supportive of Jews who die in Chutz LaAretz to be buried in Israel?

No. The Zohar states that this body actually defiles that Land of Israel.

Zohar, Parshas Teruma, page 141

When the souls of the non-Jews who dwell in the Land leave this world, the Land does not accept them…they leave the entire Holy Land. But ALL the Jews who pass away there in Eretz Yisrael ascend heavenward …and they enter a state of utmost sanctity קדושה עלאה , because every type gravitates to its own type.

Regarding the souls of Jews who pass away in Chutz LaAretz, in the domain of that hard shell קליפה תקיפא, every one of them goes around and around and wanders until it returns to its place and enters its appropriate location.

Fortunate is the lot of one whose soul DEPARTS him in the domain of holiness [Israel] at that opening that exits in the Holy Land. The spirit of impurity does not rest at all upon one whose soul departs him in the Holy Land, provided that the body is buried that same day…

One whose soul departs him outside the Holy Land, and his body perforce becomes defiled by that spirit of impurity, that spirit of impurity becomes absorbed within him until he turns into dust. And if people bring that body, which has absorbed that spirit of impurity , up to the Holy Land for burial the pasuk says about him, “you come and defile My Land and you made My heritage into an abomination לתועבה ” (Yirmiyahu2:7)…you are defiling My Land and causing it to become impure.

The only remedy is IF the Holy One blessed is He, heals the Land, for once that body rots in the ground, the Holy One blessed is He, causes a wind to blow from above, which pushes the spirit of impurity out because he pities the Land.

7. What is so bad, according to the Zohar, if a Jew choses to stay in the USA and then be buried in Eretz Yisrael.

A Jew who chooses to live in Israel connects to Olam Haba and G-d. This is because choosing to live in Israel creates a bond דביקות with Hashem in this world and in the next. Choosing not to live here creates an actual ultimate spiritual distance between a Jew a Hashem. This is also called Ruach HaKodesh, which does not exist in Chutz LaAretz. This is why Jews in Israel are connected to G-d and those in Chutz LaAretz n are considered like worshiping a non-Godly power i.e. Avoda Zarah.

    Zohar, Parshas Acharei Mot pg.72b

Rav Yehuda said, “Fortunate is the lot of one who is privileged during his lifetime to make his dwelling in the Holy Land…And whoever is privileged to connect to this Holy Land during his lifetime is also privileged, afterwards, to connect to the supernal Holy Land קדישא עלאה. Whoever is not privileged to dwell in the Holy Land during his lifetime, but is brought to be buried there, concerning him the verse states, “You made My heritage into an abomination (Yirmiyahu 2:7)…He has made as it were, the holy mundane and the mundane holy. But whoever is privileged to part with his soul in the Holy Land is forgiven of sin and is privileged to connect to G-d under the wings of the Shechina…if one is privileged to live in Israel, he is privileged to have Ruach HaKodesh רוחא קדישאconstantly extended upon him   . But anyone who dwells in a foreign domain [USA] has a different foreign spirit רוח אחרא  extended upon him.”…We learn from this that all those who are not privileged to live in Israel return their Masters “deposit” [their soul נשמה] to another power סיטרא אחרא  [also known as Avoda Zarah].

8. Is it a legitimate excuse for one to refuse Aliyah because his wife/husband does not want to leave her/his family in the USA?

The Torah observant answer is –no.

Sefer HaKuzari, Second Essay, 22

They [the Rabbis Kesubos 110b] similarly ruled that a woman who does not wish to immigrate to Eretz Yisrael with her husband may be divorced with receiving the compensation of her Kesuba. Conversely, if the husband does not wish to immigrate along with his wife, we force him to divorce her and pay her the amount of her Kesuba.

They further said” It is always better for one to live in Eretz Yisrael, even in a city which is mostly non-Jewish, than to live outside of Eretz Yisrael, even in a city which is mostly Jewish. For anyone who dwells in Eretz Yisrael is like someone who has a G-d and anyone who dwells outside of Eretz Yisrael is like someone who has no G-d.

…it is forbidden to return from Eretz Yisrael to Egypt (Devarim 17:16); how much more, then, does this apply to other lands (Sifrei Devarim 17:16).

9. Does the Kuzari permit a Jew chose to live in Chutz LaAretz and died in the USA to be buried in Israel? Can a Jew sell Eretz Yisrael land to a non-Jew? Can areas of Israel (like the Galil, Negev, Yehuda, Shomron) be left barren?

The answer to all these questions is clearly – no! Prior to the year 1948, Jews were not able or allowed to make Aliyah. Since 1948, Jew chose not to make Aliyah; everyone had their reasons. Chazal does not mention leniencies on this topic if one has “legitimate” reasons. Those who chose not to live in Israel are making a choice that has real spiritual consequences.

Sefer HaKuzari, Second Essay, 22

…the Rabbis nevertheless stated that in the case of someone who HAD the opportunity to live in Eretz Yisrael during his lifetime but opted not to, it is forbidden to transport such a person to Eretz Yisrael after his death. They said, that G-d declares “During your lifetimes you placed My inheritance as an abomination (Yirmiyah 2:7) and during your deaths you have come and defiled my Land” (Yerushalmi Kesubos 12:3).

…The Rabbis forbade the selling of land/houses in Eretz Yisrael to non-Jews (Talmud Avoda Zarah 20b-21a). Nor may the Land of Israel be left in a state of barrenness (Talmud Bava Kama 79b).

10. Is there a leniency ,התר to bury Diaspora Jews in Israel?

Yes, within certain parameters and conditions.

Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 363:1

…it pleases a person to rest near his forefathers. Similarly, it is permissible to move a corpse in order to reinter it in Eretz Yisrael. And if they originally put the deceased in the grave with the intention of moving him, it is permissible to do so under all circumstances. And if he is not safe in his grave, for there is a fear that heathens may unearth him…it is a mitzvah to move it…

Gesher HaChayim 27:9 (Rav Tikochinsky)

It is a great privilege to be buried in Eretz Yisrael…And if one is not fortunate enough to come during his lifetime, there is a merit in being brought for burial in Eretz Yisrael…1) The resurrection will take place in Eretz Yisrael… 2) one who is buried there is spared the beatings of the graveחיבוט הקבר  [pain after burial] 3) he does not turn to maggots and worms, 4) his soul ascends directly through the gate of heaven…

It is true that Chazal greatly denigrate those who die in Chutz LaAretz and are brought to be buried in Eretz Yisrael…”You have come and defiled my Land” (Zohar Teruma p72b, 141)…Nevertheless, Rebbe son of Kirya  (Yerushalmi Kilayim 9:3) said this is ONLY concerning those who had the ability to ascend to Eretz Yisrael during their lifetimes, but failed to do so…

We also find that they brought the bodies of many great rabbis to be buried in Eretz Yisrael, like Rav Huna (Moed Kattan 25a)…

Therefore, the authors of the Tur and Shulchan Aruch determine that one IS permitted רשאיםto evacuate a grave in order to bury the deceased in Eretz Yisrael…Kabbalistic gaon, Rav Natan Shapiro wrote in his work Tuv HaAretz pg.31, it is proper to exhume the body only after its flesh has decomposed. That is, they should bring his bones to Eretz Yisrael, as Yosef commanded his brothers to do…

…This applies even to a visitor from Chutz LaAretz, who comes to Eretz Yisrael for just a few days. If he dies in Eretz Yisrael, he is buried there…