It states in the Mishnah: “All Israel have a share in the World to Come.” However, this week’s Torah portion speaks about the punishment of koreis, which seems to imply that certain individuals will not merit the World to Come. How do we reconcile the two ideas? A compilation of sources on this complicated subject.

The punishment of koreis, literally “excision” or “cutting off,” is mentioned several times in this week’s Torah portion, Acharei Mos. For example, in reference to a person who eats blood the Torah states, “I will set My face against that soul who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people” (Vayikra 17:10). Similarly, toward the end of the Torah reading, after a long list of forbidden relationships, it states (Vayikra 18:29): “For whoever will commit any of these abominations, the souls who commit them shall be cut off from among their people.”

There are many explanations as to the exact definition of koreis. In general, koreis means the destruction of the soul. The soul is cut off from its Divine Source and is (ostensibly) obliterated forever. As the Rambam writes (Hilchos Teshuvah, beginning of Chapter 8): “The concealed good reserved for the righteous is life in the World to Come. This is life without death, goodness without evil. Tzaddikim will be rewarded with meriting this pleasantness and goodness. The wicked will be punished by excision and destruction.

    “He who does not merit life in the World to Come is dead forever, cut off as a result of his wickedness, as lost as a beast. This is the Torah’s punishment of koreis, as it is written, ‘That soul shall be cut off, utterly cut off (hikareis tikareis).’ According to tradition, the first ‘cutting off’ means removal from this world; the second ‘cutting off’ refers to the World to Come. That is to say, once the soul has departed the physical body, it does not merit the World to Come but is excised from there as well.”

    According to the Rambam, while the general rule is that “All Israel have a share in the world to Come,” there will be some exceptions. Indeed, the Mishnah in Chapter 11 of Sanhedrin concludes, “And these are the ones who do not have a share in the World to Come…”

    As the Talmud relates (Rosh Hashanah 17:a) about those who transgress certain prohibitions, most notably the sexual prohibitions enumerated in this week’s Torah portion: “They descend to gehinom, where they are judged for twelve months. After twelve months the body is destroyed and the soul is burned, and a wind scatters them under the feet of the righteous.” These individuals presumably do not merit to be resurrected in the World to Come.

“As Full of Mitzvos as a Pomegranate”

    Chasidus, however, approaches things quite differently. As the Previous Rebbe writes in Sefer Hamaamarim, Kayitz 5700:

“It states, ‘All Israel have a share in the World to Come.’ This refers to the resurrection of the dead. …A distinction must be made between Gan Eden and the world of the resurrection. Concerning Gan Eden the Torah states, ‘Who shall ascend the mountain of the L-rd…he who has clean hands, and a pure heart,’ as there are several conditions that must be met before a person can ascend to Gan Eden. …Also, some people merit only the lower level of Gan Eden but do not merit the higher level. The world of resurrection, by contrast, is for all Jews: ‘All Israel have a share in the World to Come.’ Every Jew will experience the revelation of the resurrection of the dead…for whoever observes Torah and mitzvos will be resurrected, whereas not everyone who observes Torah and mitzvos will merit entry into Gan Eden…”

According to the above, the only criterion for being resurrected is the performance of mitzvos. Even the worst transgressions cannot prevent a Jew from being resurrected, for it is impossible that a Jew hasn’t fulfilled at least one mitzvah in the course of his lifetime.

In a famous letter (Igros Kodesh, Volume 1) the Rebbe addresses the seemingly contradictory statements of our Sages on this topic. As the letter is very long and replete with footnotes and cross references, what follows is the gist of its content:

The first point the Rebbe makes is that the Chasidic approach to the resurrection is firmly rooted in our holy sources. The prophet Yirmiyuhu stated: “And the L-rd showed me a vision…and behold, two baskets of figs placed before the Temple of the L-rd…one basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe, and the other basket had very bad figs, which were so bad that they could not be eaten” (Yirmiyahu 24:1-2). According to our Talmudic Sages (Eiruvin 21b), the basket of good figs is symbolic of Jews who are completely righteous; the basket of bad figs is symbolic of the completely wicked. Nonetheless, the Rabbis concur that all Jews are destined to do teshuvah “and emit a pleasant fragrance.” The reason, as Rashi notes on Shir Hashirim 7:14, is that even the worst sinners of Israel “are as full of mitzvos as a pomegranate is full of seeds.”

Every Jew is thus assured of resurrection and eternal life simply by virtue of having observed mitzvos. This is true even if one has committed the gravest sins, G-d forbid.

Many Kabbalistic writings take this one step further, explaining that even completely wicked Jews contain a spark of holiness, “a veritable part of G-d” that cannot be destroyed. The Jewish soul, which is metaphorically “blown” into the physical body, always retains an “impression” of G-d’s Essence, according to the dictum, “He who exhales, exhales from within him.” Moreover, Jews are “the work of My hands in which I take pride.” The very fact that G-d created them renders them eternal, “incapable of being nullified” (Eimek Hamelech).

Purification and Refinement

In a similar vein, the Arizal explains in Likutei Hashas (Avos) that every Jewish soul is holy and eternal. “All Israel have a share in the World to Come…the only difference is that some individuals need a shorter period of time to rectify themselves while others take longer. In the end, however, all will be numbered among the tzaddikim, which explains why G-d ‘troubles’ Himself with sinners…as ‘the branch of My planting’ all Jews are eternal, permanently imprinted with the light of G-d’s Essence, as it is said: He who exhales, exhales from within him.”

A question is asked: How can all Jews be resurrected, in light of the numerous Torah sources excluding certain categories of people because of their sins?

The answer involves the process of purification and refinement a sinner must undergo after death as punishment for his misdeeds. For example, it states in the Jerusalem Talmud (Kilayim 89) that even Yeravam ben Nevat and his accomplices, who are specifically mentioned as having no share in the World to Come, will eventually be resurrected. This is due to their merit of having been buried in Israel, plus the fact that their physical bodies were burned after death.

In general, there are three ways a person’s destiny can be changed for the good, even if he is deserving of punishment:

1.If the person does teshuvah before he dies, even in secret, he merits the World to Come. As the Rambam writes in Hilchos Teshuvah: “The Torah’s exclusion of certain individuals from the World to Come applies only if they do not repent before death. However, if they give up their evil ways and die as baalei teshuvah, they are enumerated among those having a share. For there is nothing that stands in the way of repentance.”

2.Even if the person dies without doing teshuvah, his son can secure him a share in the World to Come, as it states (Sanhedrin 104a), “A son earns merit for his father [after his death].” In fact, anyone can pray on behalf of the deceased, not just sons or daughters or other relatives. As an example, the Gemara (Chagigah 15b) relates that the prayers of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai enabled Elisha ben Avuya (“Acher”) to enter Gan Eden.

3.In the event that the person dies without doing teshuvah and there is no one to pray on his behalf, he can still be resurrected if he is punished for his sins, as the punishment itself acts as atonement.

Temporary “Koreis”

But what about someone who doesn’t fall into any of the above three categories? In such a case, the physical body is denied a portion in the World to Come. Yet even so, the eternal soul, as a “veritable part of G-d above” that can never be destroyed, will be invested in a different body in the resurrection.

The Arizal explains how it works in his Sefer Hagilgulim: “If a person commits a sin for which the body is punished by being destroyed and is excluded from the resurrection of the dead, that Divine spark becomes incarnated in a second body, which will then arise in the resurrection with all facets of that spark.” Thus even in the worst-case scenario only the physical body ceases to exist, whereas the soul continues to live forever.

The Rebbe offers another explanation in Igros Kodesh Volume 2, attributed to Midrash Talpiyos: Although people in the category of “not having a share in the World to Come” do not have their own portion, “they will nevertheless receive sustenance from the storehouses of tzedakah reserved for those who do not possess their own merit.” Again, according to this interpretation, every Jewish person without exception will merit the World to Come.

Now that we’ve determined what happens to the physical body, what happens to the soul when the Torah specifically prescribes koreis for certain transgressions? What is the meaning of the Talmudic statement, “The soul is burned, and a wind scatters them under the feet of the righteous”?

To explain:

When a soul is subjected to koreis, G-d forbid, it is indeed “cut off” from the Creator, as it were, but only for a specified period of time, during which it must undergo a special process of refinement and purification. At the end of this period, even the “worst” soul is guaranteed a place in the World to Come, although the totally wicked must wait for the fulfillment of the prophecy “No one will be rejected.” One way these souls can be purified is through the process of repeated reincarnation (Eimek Melech).

Nonetheless, even though the wicked will ultimately be resurrected, they will be relegated to a lower spiritual level than those who never sinned, as the Ramban comments: “’The soul is burned, and a wind scatters them under the feet of the righteous.’ This means that the soul is metaphorically turned into dust, its previous form altered and nullified. The Holy One, Blessed be He, will then ‘scatter them under the feet of the righteous,’ i.e., they will not experience the same level of tranquility and Divine pleasure as true tzaddikim.”

“All Israel” Without Exception

To sum up, every Jewish soul will be resurrected and merit a share in the World to Come. Even the very worst sinner, whose soul is subjected to koreis, will ultimately be “rehabilitated” and merit eternal life, albeit incarnated into a different body.

As the Rebbe has explained, this is why the Mishnah is very specific in its wording, “All Israel have a share in the World to Come,” which is then followed by the statement, “And these are the ones who do not have a share in the World to Come.” Why, the Rebbe asks, doesn’t the Mishnah simply state, “All Israel have a share in the World to Come, except for those who do such and such?”

The answer is that “All Israel have a share in the World to Come” is a valid and true statement in its own right, without any conditions or reservations. In fact, this is why the second part of the Mishnah is omitted from the introduction to Pirkei Avos, as every Jewish soul has an undeniable and inalienable “share in the World to Come,” as it states (Yeshayahu 60:21): “And Your people are all righteous.”

Every Jew will thus merit the World to Come in one form or another – the only variable being that some will not be resurrected in their original bodies.