The men of Sodom will neither come to life [in the hereafter] nor be brought to judgment,1The eschatological doctrines assumed here are that some time in the future, after the Messianic era, the dead will come to life again. This will be followed by the Day of Judgment, and all who will be acquitted will then enjoy the world to come. It would seem that all, the wicked as well as the righteous, will be resurrected, with the exception only of the very wicked who, as enumerated here, will not come back to life and consequently will not stand in judgment. For a comprehensive study of this subject, cf. the chapters on ‘The Hereafter’ in G. F. Moore, Judaism, II, Part VII and A. Cohen, Everyman’s Talmud, chap. XI. The Talmudic source is Sanh. 107b ff (Sonc. ed., pp. 737ff). for it is stated, Now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against the Lord exceedingly:2Gen. 13, 13. they were wicked towards one another, sinners by incest, against the Lord refers to the profanation of the Name, exceedingly implies that they deliberately set out to sin. This is the view of R. Eliezer; but R. Joshua said: They will be brought to judgment, as it is stated, Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous:3Ps. 1, 5. they will not stand in the congregation of the righteous, but they will stand in the congregation of the wicked. R. Nehemiah said: They will not even enter into the congregation of the wicked [for judgment], as it is stated, Let sinners cease out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more.4ibid. CIV, 35.The children of the wicked5i.e. the young children of wicked parents in Israel who died in infancy and have not sinned; what will be their future? Cf. Sanh. 110b (Sonc. ed., p. 760). will neither come to life [in the hereafter] nor be brought to judgment, as it is stated, For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; [and all the proud, and all that work wickedness shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall set them ablaze, saith the Lord of hosts], that it shall leave them neither root not branch.6Mal. 3, 19. This is the view of R. Eliezer but R. Joshua said: They will enter [the world to come], and concerning them Scripture declares, He cried aloud, and said this: Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit;7Dan. 4, 11. but it also states, Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even in a band of iron and brass.8ibid. 12. Now the word root is mentioned here and also in the former verse: as here9In Daniel. the word root refers to the stock of the tree,10i.e. it speaks of the preservation of the stock of the tree. so there11The passage in Malachi dealing with the destruction of the wicked. the word root refers to the stock of man.12i.e. the preservation of the stock which is man’s posterity. Thus the wicked will be annihilated but their young children will be resurrected in the world to come. How then am I to explain the words, That it shall leave them neither root nor branch? No merit will be found for them13viz. the wicked parents. upon which they can rely. Other Sages said: They will enter [the world to come], and concerning them Scripture states, One shall say: I am the Lord’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.14Is. 44, 5. Cf. Rashi ad loc. One shall say: I am the Lord’s: these are the perfectly righteous; another shall call himself by the name of Jacob: these are the children of the wicked;15Who, being entirely free from sin, have never forfeited the name of ‘Jacob’. another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord; these are the wicked who abandoned their ways, reformed and repented; and surname himself by the name of Israel; these are the proselytes from among the nations of the world.16Another reading is ‘these are the true proselytes’.
Korah and his company will neither come to life [in the hereafter] nor be brought to judgment, as it is stated, And the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the assembly.17Num. 16, 33. This is the view of R. Eliezer; but R. Joshua said: They will be brought to judgment, and concerning them Scripture declares, The Lord killeth, and maketh alive; He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.181 Sam. 2, 6. Now here [in connection with Korah] the word grave is mentioned, So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the grave,19Num. ibid. E.V. pit. and there also the word grave is mentioned: as in the latter verse [Scripture speaks of] bringing down to the grave and also bringing up, so here too they went down but will come up in the hereafter. R. Eliezer said to him, ‘How then am I to explain the words, And the earth closed upon them and they perished from among the assembly?’ He replied, ‘They perished from among the assembly, but they did not perish from [entering into] the world to come’.
The generation of the wilderness will neither come to life [in the hereafter] nor be brought to judgment, as it is stated, In the wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die;20ibid. XIV, 35. and it also declares, Wherefore I swore in My wrath, that they shall not enter into My rest.21Ps. 95, 11. The psalmist speaks of the generation of the wilderness. This is the view of R. Eliezer; but R. Joshua said: They will be brought to judgment, and concerning them Scripture states, Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.22ibid. L, 5. The phrase My saints refers to the generation of the wilderness who made a covenant with God by sacrifices; cf. Ex. 24, 5-8. R. Eliezer said to him, ‘How then am I to explain the words, Wherefore I swore in My wrath?’ He replied, ‘They refer to the spies and all the wicked of that generation’. R. Joshua said to him, ‘And how am I to explain the words, Gather My saints together unto Me?’ He replied, ‘They refer to Moses, Aaron, the pious of that generation and the tribe of Levi’.23This passage, enclosed in brackets, is undoubtedly out of place and should be inserted at the conclusion of the view of R. Jose the Galilean. It is against his argument that this objection is raised. (They objected to his argument: Is it only of the wicked that the expression there is used and not of the righteous? Surely it is stated, There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife;24Gen. 49, 31. and also, In my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there thou shalt bury me;25ibid. L, 5. and also, And Miriam died there and was buried there;26Num. 20, 1. and it is also stated, And Aaron the priest went up … and died there;27ibid. XXXIII, 38. and also, So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.)28Deut. 34, 5. R. Jose the Galilean said: They will not be brought to judgment, as it is stated, In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die;29Num. 14, 35. and it is also stated, And they shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley:30Deut. 21, 4. The comparison is made on the strength of the common word there, mentioned in both verses. as the word there used in connection with the heifer means that it will die and not be moved from its place,31The beheaded heifer had to be buried in the place where the ceremony took place. Cf. Sifrë ad loc. so the word there used in this passage means that they will die and not be moved from their place.32Here follows logically the objection against the argument, viz. the bracketed passage above. Many verses are adduced which contain the word there and allude to the righteous. Other Sages said: They will be brought to judgment, and concerning them Scripture declares, Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: … I remember for thee the affection of thy youth.33Jer. 2, 2. The generation of the wilderness are here praised for their loyalty to God, and the prophet declares that this act of faith will stand future generations in good stead so that they will be worthy of a place in the world to come. And if descendants will enter the world to come in their merit, surely they themselves will enter! Cf. Sanh. 110b (Sonc. ed., pp. 758f).
The ten tribes will neither come to life [in the hereafter] nor be brought to judgment, as it is stated, And the Lord rooted them out of their land … and cast them into another land, as it is this day.34Deut. 29, 27. R. Simeon b. Yoḥai35In some texts: R. Simeon b. Judah. said: As this day (in which they rebelled)36The bracketed words are deleted by GRA and are missing in several MSS. has passed never to return, so they will never return. R. ‘Aḳiba said: As the day darkens and then becomes light, so their darkness will be followed by light in the hereafter.Rabban Gamaliel said: It is stated, That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children,37ibid. XI, 21. and it also declares, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children:38ibid. XXIV, 16. when the father prolongs his days the son also prolongs his days, and when the father does not prolong his days the son also does not prolong his days.39This statement of Rabban Gamaliel is, according to the commentators, out of place here. It would seem that he is expressing a favourable view with regard to the future of the generation of the wilderness. In the first verse he notes that the days of the parents and the days of the children are equated, and he argues therefrom that since the days of the children are prolonged, because they did not sin in the wilderness, and will merit life in the hereafter, so the parents’ days will also be prolonged and they too will be deemed worthy of the hereafter on account of their children. The second verse adds force to his view that the children’s virtue will stand in good stead for the parents.R. Jose the Galilean supports the view of R. Eliezer, and Rabban Gamaliel supports that of R. Joshua.40Rabban Gamaliel and R. Joshua both hold a favourable view for the generation of the wilderness, while R. Eliezer is supported by R. Jose the Galilean in denying them life in the world to come.
Seven have no portion in the world to come,41If they do not conduct their affairs with the utmost caution and sincerity. viz. a scribe,42A writer of sacred texts such as Torah scrolls, and for Tefillin and Mezuzoth. Cf. ‘Erub. 13a (Sonc. ed., p. 81) where the scribe is admonished to be meticulous in his work lest by the addition or omission of one letter he destroy the world by writing blasphemous matter. a writer,43A writer of deeds and documents who can do untold harm by careless writing, and even by forging documents. Some translate sofer as ‘a teacher of young children’, and refer to Mishnah Ḳid. 82a (Sonc. ed., pp. 421f). the best [32a] of doctors,44A doctor who considers himself the ‘best’, and refuses in his conceit to consult others could be responsible for the patient’s death; or one who is at the height of his profession and refuses to attend poor patients. Cf. Ḳid. loc. cit. (Sonc. ed., p. 423, n. 9). a city judge,45One who sits alone as judge. This is strongly condemned by the Rabbis; cf. Aboth 4:10 (Sonc. ed., IV, 8, p. 48). Such a man is too sure of himself and lacks the qualities essential in a judge: humility and responsibility. Some interpret the term as referring to judges in general; for their condemnation, cf. Shab. 139a (Sonc. ed., p. 700). a diviner,46He misleads people by his prognostications. A variant, adopted by GRA, is ‘a shopkeeper’. His trade is described in Ḳid. loc. cit. as the trade of robbers, because he frequently resorts to fraudulent practices. a communal official47Either the officer of the court who carries out its sentences and can inflict vindictive punishment upon the condemned, or the precentor of the Synagogue who renders the service not in a spirit of devotion but to display his vocal ability. and a butcher.48On account of monetary loss he is prepared to declare fit for consumption an animal about which there is a doubt. Cf. Ḳid. loc. cit. This passage [cf. Soferim XV, 10, below p. 287] has long been a perplexing problem to scholars, and much learning has been displayed to justify the severe condemnation of the seven types. Cf. the commentaries. An ingenious interpretation of the passage has been put forward by Rabbi Moses Kunitzer in his Hammaẓref, Part I, pp. 74f. He suggests that the seven occupations are merely a mnemonic for the seven names of persons listed in the following paragraph (and also in Sanh. 90a, Sonc. ed., pp. 602f) who have no portion in the world to come. Much ingenuity is exercised to find the link whereby the occupation is connected with the respective name. E.g. the ‘writer’ represents Ahab who, as reported in Sanh. 102b (Sonc. ed., p. 697), wrote on the gates of Samaria ‘Ahab denies the God of Israel’; the ‘diviner’ represents Balaam who is described in Josh. 13, 22 as the soothsayer.
Three kings and four commoners have no portion in the world to come. 49Cf. Mishnah Sanh. 90a (Sonc. ed., pp. 602f).The three kings are: Jeroboam, Ahab and Manasseh. The four commoners are: Balaam, Doeg, Ahithophel and Gehazi. R. Judah said: Manasseh had since repented, as it is stated, And he prayed unto Him; and He was entreated of him, [and heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom].502 Chron. 33, 13. The Sages said to him: Had the verse merely stated And brought him back to Jerusalem and no more, we should have agreed with your view; but since the verse adds into his kingdom, this signifies that He brought him back to his kingdom only, but not to life in the world to come.R. Meir said: Absalom had no portion in the world to come.51For this and the next paragraph, cf. Sanh. 103b (Sonc. ed., p. 702).R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: Jeroboam, Ahab, Manasseh, Baasa, Ahaziah, and all the kings of Israel who acted wickedly, have no portion in the world to come.R. Joḥanan b. Nuri said: Also he who pronounces the Name by its letters52i.e. he pronounces the Tetragrammaton as it is spelt. Cf. Mishnah Sanh. 90a (Sonc. ed., p. 602). has no portion in the world to come.He used to say: He who renders the Song of Songs in a warbling manner,53lit. ‘he trills with his voice’; cf. Tosiftha Sanh. XII, 5. According to Sanh. 101a (Sonc. ed., p. 684) the meaning is that he treats the verses of the Song of Songs as a secular poem. According to Rashi ad loc. he recites it not in agreement with the traditional cantillation. and he who utters a charm over a wound, expectorating upon it,54Before uttering the charm; cf. Sanh. 90a (Sonc. ed., p. 602). and says, I will put none of the diseases upon thee, which I have put upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord that healeth thee,55Ex. 15, 26. have no portion in the world to come.The Sages said: Any scholar who once studied the Torah and abandoned it has no portion in the world to come, as it is stated, Because he hath despised the word of the Lord,56Num. 15, 31. and it also declares, What unrighteousness have your fathers found in Me, that they are gone far from Me?57Jer. 2, 5.R. Meir said: Whoever has a House of Study in his town and does not attend there has no portion in the world to come.R. ‘Aḳiba said: Also he who does not minister to the Sages has no portion in the world to come.