Our Sages have indeed referred to a Temple in the World to Come, and they did so making use of the d'rash, the remez and the sod Torah levels. But concepts must not be confused, and we must certainly not confuse precepts, which we are obligated to perform in this world, with a spiritual Temple in the World to Come.
The following are excerpts from midrashim and from books of the Zohar and the Kabbala, referring to the Temple and its characteristics in the World to Come.
Rashi's opinion of the future Temple, "built and completed" -- refers to the World to Come.
Yalkut Shim'oni, D'varim 956, contains a midrash which appears to be the source for Rashi's opinion. The midrash reads: 'matches him' in this world. 'all the day' -- relates to the messianic era. And 'rests between his shoulders' -- built and completed for the world to come." The words 'built and completed' prove clearly that this is the source of Rashi's commentary mentioning 'the future Temple which will appear, built and completed, and come from Heaven.' However, our Talmudic sages stress that such a Temple will appear in the world to come.
It would seem superfluous to state that the concepts "this world" and "the world to come" must be distinguished from one another. This world is a world of Torah observance, whereas the world to come is a world of reward, a world devoid of precept observance, as the sages have said: "Today [in this world] -- to observe them, and tomorrow [in the world to come] -- to receive their reward" (Eruvin 22, v. ibid.). We have already adduced the Talmudic saying (Nidda 61b), "Precepts are invalidated in the world to come," and the opinion of our Sages as brought down by Maimonides: "In the world to come there is neither eating nor drinking . . . but rather the righteous sitting . . . and enjoying the radiance of the Divine Presence" (B'rakhot 17). It is thus a world devoid of Torah precepts. It is self-evident that nothing concerning our real world can be learned from this midrash.
Zohar sources: the descent of Temple and Jerusalem in a spiritual sense -- is in the world to come.
The Zohar also speaks of the descent of a Temple from Heaven, but there, too, we find that such a Temple is supposed to be in the world to come. V. Zohar, III (220b): "Up until now the Almighty's primeval structure (the Temple) has not been in this world. And in the world to come it is said: 'Hashem is the builder of Jerusalem' -- Hashem will bring down both the first and second Temples together from Above."
The Zohar speaks of a spiritual Temple that existed prior to the creation of the world, that is to be found in Heaven and that is made up of two "houses", i.e., two stories, which the Almighty will bring down from Heaven in the world to come. V. ibid., that this will take place if the Jewish people is "like the holy angels in Heaven."
Similarly v. Zohar, Midrash HaNe'elam, B'reshit 113, where we read: "the Almighty will renew His world [in the world to come] and build Jerusalem and bring the entire city down, rebuilt, from Above. . . . Thus the righteous receive their souls [during the resurrection of the dead] only in a place of eternal existence [in Jerusalem], so that the soul, too, will exist forever." This is an explicit excerpt from the Zohar discussing the period of the world to come, when the world is to be renewed and souls will enjoy an eternal existence. There Jerusalem will descend from Above. All this clearly is irrelevant to our present world.
A careful reading of the Zohar results in a clear feeling that the Zohar is discussing -- in hints, secrets and parables -- concepts beyond human reality, and the "ancient Temple" that will descend, together with 'Jerusalem' that will come down from Above, are spiritual concepts, from which nothing at all can be learned about the precept of rebuilding the Third Temple in this world.
M. H. Luzatto: the Temple in the world to come will extend to the Heavenly Throne.
In M. H. Luzatto's kabbalistic writings we find a description of the period of the future world, where it says that the Temple will descend to this earth. Furthermore, Luzatto writes that there also exists an aspect of the Temple ascending into Heaven.
V. Ginzei RaMHaL (p. cccxxv) where we read: "When the Almighty takes the sun out of its bag in order to dispatch all darkness from this world, . . . in that fire will the entire rebuilt Temple exist, the Temple of Above which will descend at that time. . . . At the time of the sacrifice which will be offered up in the Temple, all parts of the Holy Temple will be seen illuminating one another and ascending up to the Heavenly Throne and all the holy beasts will stand and sing. And the fire we mentioned will burn fiercely within the wicked so as to turn them into ash."
Luzatto is talking of a period of the 'future world' in the world to come, when the Almighty 'removes all darkness from the world.' The entire description is a parable, for the Temple of Above is said to be 'within that fire.' The description of the Temple ascending into Heaven, too, is only a parable relating to the superior quality of the Temple and the Temple ritual here below, up to the Heavenly Throne, but the writer makes no reference whatever to human life in its present form on earth in this world.
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# pgs: 1 + article index, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Volume I, Number 1
