Author Topic: In the future will the righteous grow wings?  (Read 1883 times)

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Offline edu

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In the future will the righteous grow wings?
« on: November 24, 2016, 04:15:43 PM »
Based on Soncino Translation Talmud , tractate Sanhedrin page 92
Tanna debe Eliyyahu [states]: The
righteous, whom the Holy One, blessed be He, will resurrect, will not revert to dust, for it is said,
And it shall come to pass. that he that is left in Zion and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be
called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem(Yishayahu/Isaiah 4:3): just as the Holy One
endures for ever, so shall they endure for ever.
And should you ask, in those years during which the Almighty will renew his world, as it is written,
And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day,(Yishayahu/Isaiah 2:11) what will the righteous do? — The Lord will make
them wings like eagles’, and they will fly above the water, as it is written, Therefore we will not fear
when the earth be removed and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea (Tehillim/Psalms 46:3) And should you
imagine that they will suffer pain — therefore Scripture saith, But they that wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and
they shall walk and not faint.(Yishayahu/Isaiah 40:31).

If you look further into the Talmud you will see that this scenario is not accepted by everyone.
However, according to those that do accept this scenario how can we explain the righteous growing wings?
If one wants to take this literally to the utmost, maybe sometime in the future there will be tremendous advances in Genetic Engineering and it will be possible to manipulate the body to grow wings that don't tire.
And before one rejects this as impossible I will point the reader to a recent news story
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/chinese-doctor-grows-human-ear-arm-ripped-off-car-crash-a7416791.html
A surgeon in China has grown a human ear on a man’s arm in a revolutionary advancement in cosmetic medicine.

The patient, known only as Mr Ji, was seriously injured in a car accident last year, which resulted in his right ear being torn from his face.

The man had multiple operations to repair damage to his face, however, doctors were unable to restore his ear.
After hearing about renowned plastic surgeon Guo Shuzhong, Mr Ji contacted him to ask for his help.

Mr Guo, who conducted China's first face transplant operation in 2006, agreed to perform a three-step procedure on the patient.

The Xi'an Jiaotong University doctor first stretched the patient’s skin on his arm with the use of a skin expander before taking cartilage from his ribs, which was cut into the shape of an ear, and placing it under the skin flap in his forearm.

He hopes to attach the organ to the right side of the man’s face in the coming months once the ear is fully grown.


The above story is not the exact same thing as growing wings. I am just using it to break the skepticism that maybe one day wings will become a scientific reality.
Another possibility is that the wings mentioned in the Talmud are some type of vehicle that flies - airplane?? that will transport the righteous through the sky until the Earth below will be restored.
It could be some third possibility that I haven't thought about. I am just analyzing the Talmud not predicting the future.

Offline edu

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Re: In the future will the righteous grow wings?
« Reply #1 on: November 27, 2016, 02:24:27 AM »
Someone asked me how this view in the Talmud could be explained in light of the promise by G-d not to bring a new world wide flood.
Breishit Rabba brings 2 rabbinic sages that contend that G-d left a loophole in his promise.
That it would not apply under the conditions according to one view that are described in Yishayahu/Isaiah 51:6 and according to a 2nd view under the conditions described in Zechariah 14:7

Another possible way to explain the Talmud is based on what Rabbi  Aryeh Kaplan brings in The Real Messiah, page 44 available for free download at
 http://jewsforjudaism.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/TheRealMessiah.pdf
Quote
The tradition may have even anticipated the tremendous destructive
powers of our modern technology. Thus, we have the teaching of Rabbi
Elazar that the Messianic Age will begin in a generation with the power to
destroy itself.
(He based his view on Pesikta Rabosi , end of No. 1. Cf. Shir HaShirim Rabbah 2:29)
Thus in theory man himself might bring about a future flood.
In addition if there was a certain area or areas that might be left out from a future flood this would be an additional "way out" for G-d if he desires to bring a new flood.
I must stress again I am not predicting the future just trying to make sense of the Talmudic Text.
Maybe someone will come up with a better answer or answers than the ones I provided.