Does a Non-philosophical Person Gain Rights to the World To Come (Olam Haba)? Nomenclature(Part 5 in a series)

Rambam in Hilchot Teshuvah 8:4 lists the different terms the prophets used when referring to Olam Haba.

ד] וכמה שמות קראו לה דרך משל: הר ה', ומקום קדשו, ודרך הקודש, וחצרות ה', ואוהל ה', ונועם ה', והיכל ה', ובית ה', ושער ה'

If we look at the verses where these terms for Olam Haba are used, we find that the term refer to different types and levels of apprehension and knowledge. The first two in the above Halacha are found in Tehilim 24:3.

ג מִי-יַעֲלֶה בְהַר-יְהוָה; וּמִי-יָקוּם, בִּמְקוֹם קָדְשׁוֹ.

3 Who shall ascend into the mountain of the LORD? And who shall stand in His holy place?

ד נְקִי כַפַּיִם, וּבַר-לֵבָב
אֲשֶׁר לֹא-נָשָׂא לַשָּׁוְא נַפְשִׁי; וְלֹא נִשְׁבַּע לְמִרְמָה.

4 He that has clean hands, and a pure heart; who has not taken My name in vain, and has not sworn deceitfully.
　
Ethical behavior allows entry into “God’s mountain and holy place”.

The next term, way of holiness, is found in Yeshayahu 35:8, in the context of not being impure but at the same time even fools have a place in it; they will not stray on that path.

ח וְהָיָה-שָׁם מַסְלוּל וָדֶרֶךְ, וְדֶרֶךְ הַקֹּדֶשׁ יִקָּרֵא לָהּ--לֹא-יַעַבְרֶנּוּ טָמֵא, וְהוּא-לָמוֹ; הֹלֵךְ דֶּרֶךְ וֶאֱוִילִים, לֹא יִתְעוּ.

8 And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those; the wayfaring men, yea fools, shall not stray therein.

The next term is found in Tehilim 92:14. All these terms seem to be referring to a level of Olam Haba that is attained through ethical and moral behavior.

The next grouping of three is found in Tehilim 27:4.

ד אַחַת, שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת-יְהוָה-- אוֹתָהּ אֲבַקֵּשׁ:
שִׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית-יְהוָה, כָּל-יְמֵי חַיַּי;
לַחֲזוֹת בְּנֹעַם-יְהוָה, וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלוֹ.

4 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the graciousness of the LORD, and to visit early in His temple.

Here theological excellence seems to be the theme. It would take many posts to analyze thoroughly each term and its uses in Tanach and seeing how consistent they are when the same term is used in more than one place. But I think this will suffice to establish that the terms relate to different kinds and levels of apprehension.

Reading the famous parable Rambam uses in MN 3:51 to describe the different levels of apprehension and knowledge that are needed in the search for God, I was struck how similar the parable is to this Halacha. Here is the parable with my interpolations from the above Halacha in parentheses. Note that I am just suggesting the comparisons and have not done so with a rigorous analysis.

“A king is in his palace, and all his subjects are partly in the city, and partly outside the city [הר ה', מקום קדשו]. Of the former, some have their backs turned towards the ruler’s habitation, and their faces in another direction. And some are desirous and zealous to reach the ruler’s habitation,[היכל ה'] seeking "to inquire in his temple," [ וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלו ] and to minister before him, but have not yet seen the wall of the habitation. Of those that desire to go to the palace, some reach it, and go round about in search of the entrance gate [שער ה']. Others have passed through the gate, and walk about in the antechamber [אוהל ה']; and others have succeeded in entering into the inner part of the palace, and being in the same room with the king [בית ה'] in the royal palace. But even the latter do not immediately on entering the palace see the king, or speak to him; for, after having entered the inner part of the palace, another effort is required before they can stand before the king--at a distance, or close by--hear his words, or speak to him [נועם ה' ]. I will now explain the simile which I have made. The people who are abroad are all those that have no religion, neither one based on speculation nor one received by tradition… Those who desire to arrive at the palace and to enter it, but have never seen it [דרך הקודש] are the mass of religious people, the multitudes that observe the divine commandments but are ignorant. Those who arrive at the palace, but go round about it, [חצרות ה'] are those who devote themselves exclusively to the study of the practical law. They believe traditionally in true principles of faith, and learn the practical worship of God, but are not trained in philosophical treatment of the principles of the Law, and do not endeavor to establish the truth of their faith by proof. Those who undertake to investigate the principles of religion have come into the antechamber [אוהל ה]; and there is no doubt that these can also be divided into different grades. But those who have succeeded in finding a proof for everything that can be proved, who have a true knowledge of God, so far as a true knowledge can be attained, and are near the truth, wherever an approach to the truth is possible, they have reached the goal, and are in the palace in which the king lives.
My son, so long as you are engaged in studying the Mathematical Sciences and Logic, you belong to those who go round about the palace [חצרות ה'] in search of the gate[שער ה'] . Thus, our Sages figuratively use the phrase: "Ben-Zoma is still outside." When you understand Physics, you have entered the hall; and when, after completing the study of Natural Philosophy, you master Metaphysics, you have entered the innermost court, and are with the king in the same palace. You have attained the degree of the wise men, which include men of different grades of perfection.”

Clearly, a person committed to the search for God, though not yet in the innermost chambers, partakes in some form of Olam Haba. Once a person points himself in the right direction, he is on the path towards developing his inborn Sechel in potentia. A small step in that direction immediately creates a nefesh that can remain forever. The search for HKBH must be focused on His ways, the only real trace of Hashem that we humans can apprehend, and emulating those ways. Torah and Mitzvot are some of those ways of HKBH given to us through tradition as a marker on the way to a deeper and personal understanding.

True that Rambam bases his understanding of the soul on Aristotelian thought, he however invests it with the Torah thinking where the wish alone to purify oneself starts the process of Olam Haba. The key to understanding Rambam’s Olam Haba I believe is the same as his explanation of creation ab nihilo. There are things that the Torah and Neviim tell us that scientific investigation cannot ever prove. These traditions have to be evaluated in light of the scientific reality we know and only accept them if they do not violate or contradict that reality. Whether the world is eternal or created from nothingness will never be proven by science. Nevuah teaches that it was created at the will of God. It does not contradict scientific facts. It must therefore be accepted. Olam Haba cannot be proven scientifically. The body-mind connection conundrum cannot be solved by science. Abstract knowledge has no physical existence but affects greatly the physical world we live in. That knowledge however exists and can be made personal when discovered and understood. What happens to that personal knowledge after the person’s passing is a matter of speculation which will never be resolved by science. The Neviim tell us that it remains. We will never understand what that means while in this physical existence.

הטובה הגדולה שתהיה בה הנפש בעולם הבא, אין שם דרך בעולם הזה להשיגה ולידע אותה, שאין אנו יודעין בעולם הזה אלא טובת הגוף, ולה אנו מתאווין

It is impossible to apprehend and know the great good that the nefesh will experience in Olam Haba, while we are in this world. For in this world we know only material good and it is what we crave. (Hilchot Teshuvah 8:11)

These last Halachot in the chapter that discusses Olam Haba are I believe the key to how Rambam understands it. See them here .

Before I end this series I want to expand a little on this last point in future posts.