RaMBa”N). Sha’ar HaGemul [“The Gate of Reward:” A Treatise on the Afterlife]

Sha’ar HaGemul is but a single section (the thirtieth chapter) of Nachmanides’ comprehensive halachic work on death and mourning, Torath Ha’Adam. Because of its philosophical significance, this section merited a separate edition, printed almost thirty years before the remainder of the work in Constantinople, 1519 (See Kestenbaum & Company, Important Hebrew Printed Books, October 2004, Lot 42). In Sha’ar HaGemul, Nachmanides takes exception to Maimonides’ portrayal of the Afterlife. In Maimonides’ view, the Messianic era (yemoth ha-mashiach), which is very much this-worldly, is followed by a wholly spiritual Afterlife. Nachmanides’ scheme is diametrically opposed, with “olam ha-ba,” the World to Come, posing a temporary reality, followed by the ultimate Messianic state of affairs, which as said, constitutes a harmonious balance of body and soul. Chasidic philosophy, especially the teachings of Chabad Chassidism, opted for Nachmanides’ eschatology. See EJ, Vol. XII, cols. 781-2