Jewish tradition grapples with this very question, imagining a reality beyond our comprehension, a concept called the Olam Ha-Ba (עולם הבא), "The World to Come." It's not just about what happens after we die, but what happens after everything dies.
According to some accounts, when the entire creation – everything visible and invisible – comes to its ultimate conclusion, each and every one of us will face judgment. Not a pleasant thought, I know. But it's also a moment of profound reckoning. And for those deemed righteous? Well, that's where the story gets truly extraordinary.
These righteous souls, so the story goes, will be gathered together into what's called the "great age," an era unlike anything we can currently fathom. It will be, as 2 Enoch 65:6-11 tells us, eternal.
Think about that for a moment. Eternity. But not just endless time as we understand it. No, this "great age" transcends even the very framework of time itself. All time, zman (זמן), will perish. No more years, no more months, no more days. Even the counting of hours will cease. Instead, there will be a single, timeless, unending age.
It's almost impossible to wrap our minds around, isn't it?
But what will it be like?
The tradition teaches that those who have been judged righteous will possess the "great indestructible light of Paradise." This light, almost beyond imagining, will serve as the shelter for their eternal residence. A constant, radiant, protective presence. And it gets even more vivid. We are told that the faces of the righteous will shine forth like the sun.
Imagine that. A world illuminated not just by an external source, but by the very essence of goodness radiating from within each person.
Even after existence, as we know it, has ceased, this light of Paradise will continue to shelter the righteous. Paradise, with all its attendant rewards, will endure when everything else is gone. It is a powerful promise, a testament to the enduring nature of goodness and righteousness.
So, what are we left with? A vision of a reality beyond time, beyond our current comprehension, where the righteous are bathed in eternal light. Is it a literal depiction of what awaits us? Or a powerful metaphor for the enduring nature of goodness and the ultimate triumph of the spirit?
Perhaps, it's both. Perhaps it's a reminder that even in the face of ultimate endings, there is a promise of something more, something eternal, something… radiant. What do you think?