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From: Moshiach.com
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T H E M O S H I A C H . C O M N E W S L E T T E R
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TECHIYAT HAMEITIM - OVERVIEW
by Mendel Green

The thirteenth and final principle of Maimonides' Fundamental Articles of Jewish faith is the belief in the resurrection of the dead. Jewish writings stipulate that forty years after the coming of Moshiach there will be a resurrection of the dead, and all who, are lying in dust will rise to new life. (Concerning great tzaddikim, saintly men, it is written that they will rise immediately after the Moshiach's arrival.)

Perhaps due to the natural human disposition to reject such a radical concept, Maimonides goes to great length to emphasize its importance: "Resurrection of the dead is one of the fundamental principles in the Torah of our master Moses. There is neither Jewish faith nor any attachment to the Jewish faith, for an individual who does not believe in this" (Introduction to Perek Chelek).

In his Mishneh Torah, too, Maimonides concludes that both the one who denies the concept of resurrection of the dead or the one who denies the coming of the Messiah are among those who have forfeited their share in Olam Haba-the Hereafter (Mishneh Torah Hilchot Teshuvah 3:6).

Some twenty-five years later, in his Treatise on the Resurrection of the Dead, Maimonides reiterates unequivocally that belief in Techiyat Hameitim is an integral and indispensable principle of Torah faith. Whereupon Maimonides cites two verses in Daniel concerning this matter, as follows:

"In truth, this Resurrection [principle], which entails the return of the soul to the body after death, was already mentioned, in no uncertain terms, by Daniel. Thus, he says, "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake..." And the Angel said to Daniel, "But you, go to the end of all flesh] and rest; and stand in your lot at the end of the days." [Daniel 12:2-13:1]

"And I will state that the resurrection of the dead-which is widely known and recognized among our people, which is accepted by all groups among us, which is mentioned on numerous occasions in the tefillot, Aggadot, and supplications that were composed by the Prophets and the great Sages, who fill the pages of the Talmud and the Midrashim-refers to the return of the soul to the body after it had departed. Concerning this, there has never been heard any disagreement in our nation, nor does it have any [allegorical] interpretation [other than its literal meaning]. Nor is it permissible to rely upon any individual who believes otherwise.

Further on in this essay, Maimonides concludes with a similar observation:

In conclusion, we have been informed prophetically [concerning Techiyat Hameitim], whether on one or on many occasions, and it has been mentioned countless times by Sages of Israel, both of earlier and of recent times, and it has become widely publicized in our nation, and there is universal consensus concerning this, that the human soul will return to the body. And this is the proper approach concerning the dead. 

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Can Moshiach himself be resurrected from the dead or does he have to be a man now alive?

Abarbanel, in his authoritative classic entitled Yeshuos Meshicho, clearly raises the possi-bility that Moshiach may be among those resurrected. He cites a passage from Tractate Derech Eretz Zuta: "Nine people entered the Garden of Eden alive ...Moshiach."

He explains that according to this view, a righteous individual deemed to be the Moshiach will live, then die on account of the sins of his generation, but will eventually be resurrected.

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