The new body
And Hashem G-d formed [וַיִּ֩יצֶר֩] the man (Genesis 2:5)
The word "formed" contains an exciting deviation with two yuds (יי). This double yud is believed to allude to the two forms of man created. First, man is given a body of dust, and then G-d breathes into him - giving him a body of spirit. The two yuds also have yet another layer to emphasize this point; one yud is silent, and the other yud is audible. Just as man has a physical element that is pronounced and a spiritual element that is silent and invisible. Paul has a similar statement as well:
So also is the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption! Sown in dishonor, raised in glory! Sown in weakness, raised in power! Sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body! If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:43-44)
Paul takes the understanding even further. Not only is there a spiritual and physical side of man (in this world), but also a body that is more physical than spiritual and then one that is more spiritual than physical. Man was created with a body of dust first and then breathed a body of spirit (breath of G-d) in Genesis 1; this also sets the precedence for the future. We will then have a spiritual body and put into a physical one.
However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is of the earth, made of dust; the second man is from heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:46-47)
We could expound Paul considering the rabbinic teachings of his day to include his method of applying the past to the future:
However, the spiritual is not first [for the breath of G-d did not enter man first], but the natural [for it was the dust of the earth that formed man first); then the spiritual [as the breath of G-d entered him afterward]. The first man is dust [for he started as dust and] is of the earth, made of dust; the second man [started as the spirit and] is of the heavens, [because he's made from the breath of G-d]. (1 Corinthians 15:46-47 ESV (Expounded))
Just as man's initial creation was dust and then spirit, so too is the overall formation of man; first, a man who is born from creation (from dust), and then a man who is born from heaven (from breath).
This follows in suit with the teachings of Hillel and Shammai
And Hashem G-d formed [וַיִּ֩יצֶר֩] the man [Genesis 2:5] -- “Formed” [Vayitzer] – there were two acts of formation [involved in the creation of man], a formation for [his life in] this world and a formation for [his life in] the World to Come. (Bereshit Rabbah 14:5)
What will this 2nd formation be like? We have some hints to what this state of being might be like through the prophets.
Moses
In Exodus 34:28, Moses stayed on the mountain with G-d for 40 days and nights without eating or drinking. However, it does not say he fasted. Instead, it just says he did not eat bread or drink water. How was Moses able to survive without the physical needs of food and water? It was a temporary miracle in which G-d Himself sustained Moses through His Divine Light. Having come down from Sinai, Moses still had the Divine Light penetrating his very being for a short while³.
Elijah
This takes the position that Elijah was taken up to heaven instead of just relocating. In 2 Kings 2:11, Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, not departing from his body. Ramban asserts that Elijah the prophet is sustained eternally even today. Elijah had refined his physical existence (reached a point of sinlessness) that it transformed from physical to spiritual⁴. Thus, he does not need to eat or drink and lives eternally sustained only by the Divine energy from G-d⁵. Being granted eternal life isn't just an isolated event but something attainable to everyone and something we will all reach in the world-to-come.
You could argue that Moses' ascension was only temporary and thus it he retained his body while Elijah's ascension was permanent and thus it didn't need a body later. However, we are told specifically to expect Elijah's arrival prior to the day of the L-rd.
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the L-RD comes. (Malachi 4:5-6 ESV)
The Lubavitcher Rebbe believed that the connection of the physical and spiritual would actually strengthen. Siding with the transfiguration of Moses serving as an example of the future:
The concept of the resurrection of the dead is that there will be a physical body with intestines and a stomach [for food consumption] yet it will exist and live forever without eating and drinking. Because there will be a revelation of the lofty level of G-dliness. In that level, the spiritual and physical existence are equal. Therefore the physical will be able to live [being sustained by the spiritual alone]. (Torah Or p20a)
Jesus, the one like Moses
There exists a concept within Judaism that the Messiah would be "a prophet like Moses." The idea originates in Deuteronomy 18:15 when Moses himself says so:
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen" (ESV)
There are many ways in which Yeshua is a prophet like Moses, but for our purposes here, we will only address one particular similarity found in Mark's Gospel:
After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. (Mark 9:2-4 NIV)
Yeshua, like Moses, has a transfiguration occur, and he is not only standing among Moses and Elijah in the physical sense but also in the sense that he is now just like them. In a "new body," so to speak, being wholly sustained by the spiritual alone, as we demonstrated above. These give us a shadow (or expectation) of what will come. Another point of interest in this verse is the direct callout that it was "after six days" (a nod to the six days of creation, with the 7th day representing the millennia) when Jesus led his disciples up a high mountain, and only after leading them was there a transfiguration.
The sages speak on what happens during this "7th day" in a similar manner of being sustained only by the Divine:
He finished all of His works, and then rose above them and sat up in the heights of the world. What is recited on the seventh day? “A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day” (Psalms 92). For on it, there is no eating or drinking, no buying or selling. The righteous just sit, with crowns on their heads, and bask in the radiance of the Divine Presence, as it says (Exodus 24:11), “And they beheld God, and they ate and drank,” like the angels who serve God (and the angels are sustained not by food or water, but by the Divine Light). (Avot D'Rabbi Natan 1:6)
Health, Wealth, & Knowledge
Jacob arrived intact in the city of Shechem, which is in Canaan, arriving from Padan Aram. (Genesis 33:18)
Rashi (on Gen 33:18) explains that the word "intact" implies a threefold meaning. In the first sense, Jacob is safe, whole, unimpaired in health, and cured of his bodily issues sustained during life - despite his encounters with Esau, the angel, and Laban. Second, he was not short of possessions. Everything he had given was given back to him. Lastly, all his knowledge of the Torah, while in Laban's house (the world of corruption), was not forgotten.
Regarding this, the Lubavitcher Rebbe expounds the future implications of this statement:
Jacob's travels, travails, and safe return to the Promised Land presage our historical journey through exile and our imminent redemption. Just as Jacob arrived with his health, wealth, and knowledge of the Torah intact, so too will we ultimately arrive in the Holy Land, when the Messiah comes, intact with these three things. (Daily Wisdom (vol 3 p28))
Follow the Light
God called the light, Day, and to the darkness He called Night. It was evening and it was morning, one day. (Genesis 1:5)
While all other days of creation use ordinal numbers (second, third, fourth, fifth...), the first day doesn't say "first"; instead, it uses the word "one day". It's almost a hint at a future day. There was evening, and then the morning light will come, one day.
The light that was created during the six days of Creation cannot illuminate by day, because it would make the orb of the sun seem dim [by comparison], nor can it [illuminate] at night, as it was created to illuminate only during the day. Where is it, then? It was stored away, and is designated for the righteous for the future, as it is stated: “The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of the seven days” (Isaiah 30:26). [...] (Bereishit Rabbah 3:6)
So what will happen when this "light" is revealed again?
The orb of the sun has a sheath, as it is stated: “In a tent within, He placed the sun” (Psalms 19:5), and there is a pool of water before it. When it emerges [from the sheath], the Holy One blessed be He mitigates its strength through that water so that it should not emerge and incinerate the world. But in the future, the Holy One blessed be He will strip it of its sheath and burn the wicked with it, as it is stated: “The day that is coming will burn them” (Malachi 3:19). Rabbi Yanai and Rabbi Shimon both say: There will be no Gehenna [in the future]; rather, there will be a [scorching] day that will burn up the wicked. What is the source? “For, behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace…” (Malachi 3:19)[...] Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai says: There will be neither a [scorching] day nor a Gehenna, but rather, a fire that emerges from the body of the wicked themselves and burns them. What is the source? It is as it is written: “Conceive stubble, give birth to straw, your spirit is a fire that will consume you” (Isaiah 33:11). (Bereishit Rabbah 6:3)
This implies that the light will one day be unsheathed and destroy all of the wicked from the outside inward while also noting their souls will burn them from the inside outward. Gehinnom's purpose is to purify the soul from stains of sin.
The righteous will be healed by the sanctifying rays of the rejuvenated sun Nedarim 8b
Their work will be shown, the day will expose it, it will be revealed by fire, and fire will test each man's work. 1 Corinthians 3:13
This brings us to the final detail we must explore: the "second death." In part 4, we will begin by detailing the second death and conclude our exploration of the Messianic Kingdom and the World to Come.
Footnotes
³ Exodus 34:29-35
⁴ Commentary to Aggados, Bava Basra 74b
⁵ Ramos Gilad (vol 1, p 105ff)
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