33. Midrash Hane'elam (Homiletical interpretations on the obscure). "And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son, Abraham begot Isaac" (Beresheet 25:19). Rabbi Yitzchak began the discussion with the verse: "The mandrakes give a fragrance..." (Shir Hashirim 7:14). The sages taught that in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will raise the dead and shake the dust off them. As a result, they will no longer be made of dust, as they were when first created from dust, which does not endure, as it is written, "And Hashem Elohim formed man of the dust of the ground" (Beresheet 2:7).
34. The instant they shake the dust from their bodily frames, they will have enduring frames, as it is written, "Shake yourself from the dust; arise, and sit down, Jerusalem" (Yeshayah 52:2). They will endure and rise from beneath the ground to receive their souls in the land of Yisrael. At that time, the Holy One, blessed be He, will pour upon them all the kinds of fragrances that are in the Garden of Eden, as it is written, "The mandrakes give a fragrance."
35. Rabbi Yitzchak said, Do not pronounce it dudaim ('mandrakes'), but rather dodim ('lovers'). They are the body and the soul, who are lovers and friends to each other. Rav Nachman said, They are real mandrakes. As the mandrakes bring love into the world, so they create love in the world. And they give off a fragrance, which is how they know and recognize their Creator.
36. The verse: "And at our gates..." (Shir Hashirim 7:14) refers to the gates of heaven, which are open to brings down souls for cadavers. "...all manner of choice fruits..." refers to the souls; "new and old" refers to those whose souls left them years ago and those whose souls left them only a few days ago. They merited, by their skillful deeds, to enter the World to Come. All of them are destined to descend simultaneously to enter the bodies that are prepared for them.
37. Rabbi Acha bar Jacob said that a divine voice resounded, proclaiming: "New and old, which I have laid up for you, O my beloved" (Shir Hashirim 7:14). "I have laid up for you" - in these same worlds. "...for you..." means because of you, because you are a holy and clean body. Another explanation is that these mandrakes are the Angels of Peace. "...Give a fragrance..." refers to souls, the fragrance of the world; "give" means to allow, as it is written, "and Sichon would not allow Yisrael" (Bemidbar 21:23).
38. Rabbi Yehuda said that three classes of ministering angels appear at the beginning of every month and on every Shabbat to escort the soul to its place of ascension. What does the verse, "And at our gates are all manner of choice fruits," refer to? Rabbi Yehuda said, These are bodies standing at the openings of the graves to receive their souls. And Dumah offers a note of reckoning, and proclaims, Master of the Universe, "old and new," those who were buried long ago, and those buried not so long ago, all these "I have laid up for you," to take them into account.
39. In the name of the Rav, Rabbi Yehuda said that in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will rejoice with the righteous, and will let His Shechinah dwell among them. Everybody will rejoice in that joy, as it is written, "Llet Hashem rejoice in His works" (Tehilim 104:31). Rabbi Yehuda said that at that time the righteous will create worlds and raise the dead. Rabbi Yosi said to him: We have learned that "there is nothing new under the sun" (Kohelet 1:9). Rabbi Yehuda responded, Come and hearken. While the wicked are in the world and multiply, the whole world does not endure, but when the Righteous are in the world, it does endure. And in the future they will raise the dead, as it is written, "Old men and old women shall yet again dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age" (Zecharyah 8:4).
40. At that time, the Righteous will attain complete knowledge, for as Rabbi Yosi said, When "Hashem rejoices in His works," then the Righteous are destined to grasp the Holy One, blessed be He, in their hearts. And wisdom will abound in their hearts, as if they are seeing Him with their eyes. This is the meaning of the verse: "And it shall be said on that day, this is our Elohim" (Yeshayah 25:9). And for their existence together, the soul shall delight in the body more than anything, and that they shall have knowledge and perception of their Master, and shall have the enjoyment of the splendor of the Shechinah. This is the goodness hidden for the Righteous in the future to come. Thus, "And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son," refers to the generations of gladness and laughter that will exist at that time. Abraham's son is the soul worthy of it and is perfect in its ascent; "Abraham begot Isaac," means that the soul sires joy and laughter in the world.
41. Rabbi Yehuda said to Rabbi Chiya: We have learned that the Holy One, blessed be He, will prepare a feast for the righteous in the future. What is this feast? He replied, Before you went before these holy angels, the sages of the Mishnah, I heard what Rabbi Elazar said. It set my heart at peace. For Rabbi Elazar said that the feast of the Righteous in the future is as it is written, "and they beheld the Elohim, and did eat and drink" (Shemot 24:11). Here it is written, "eat," but Rabbi Elazar noted that in one place it is explained as, "enjoy" and in another, "eat." What is the difference? He responded, Woe to the Righteous who do not have as much merit; they enjoy the splendor, though they do not understand everything. However, the Righteous who merit the divine splendor eat until they grasp it fully. Food and drink refers to this feast and eating alone. From whom do we know this? From Moses, as it is written, "He did neither eat bread, nor drink water" (Shemot 34:28). Why so? Because he ate another meal, which is the supernal splendor. The meal of the Righteous in the future will be in that manner.
42. Rabbi Yehuda said that the feast of the Righteous in the future is to partake of His joy, according to the verse: "The humble shall hear of it, and be glad" (Tehilim 34:3). Rav Huna said that it is understood from the verse: "But let all those that put their trust in You rejoice; let them ever shout for joy" (Tehilim 5:12). Rabbi Yitzchak said, Both will occur in the future. We were taught by Rabbi Yosi that cellared wine with its grapes, from the six days of Creation, contains the ancient matters that were not revealed to man from the day the world was created. These are destined to be revealed to the Righteous in the future; this is assuredly their food and drink.