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“Masterful.” —Publishers Weekly
Does death end life, or is it the passage
from one stage of life to another?
In The Death
of Death, noted theologian
Neil Gillman offers readers an original and compelling argument
that Judaism, a religion often thought to pay little attention
to the afterlife, not only presents us with rich ideas on this
subject—but delivers a deathblow to death itself.
Combining astute scholarship with keen
historical, theological and liturgical insights, Gillman
outlines the evolution of Jewish thought about bodily
resurrection and spiritual immortality. Beginning with the
near-silence of the Bible on the afterlife, he traces the
development of these two doctrines through Jewish history. He
also describes why today, somewhat surprisingly, more
contemporary Jewish scholars—including Gillman—have
unabashedly reaffirmed the notion of bodily resurrection.
In this innovative and personal synthesis,
Gillman creates a strikingly modern statement on resurrection
and immortality.
The Death of Death gives new and fascinating life to an ancient
debate. This new work is an intellectual and spiritual
milestone for all of us interested in the meaning of life, as
well as the meaning of death.
“Enables us to recover our
tradition’s understanding of the afterlife and breaks
through the silence of modern Jewish thought on immortality....
A work of major significance.”
— Rabbi
Sheldon Zimmerman President,
Hebrew Union College-
Jewish Institute of Religion
Jewish Institute of Religion
“With a unique blend of erudition
and clarity, Rabbi Gillman guides us through almost three
millennia of evolving thought.... He has endowed his readers
with a great scholar’s testament.... In a highly personal
way, this remarkable book serves as a convincing demonstration
that wisdom is not incompatible with passion, when they are
united by faith.”
— Dr. Sherwin B. Nuland
author, How We Die; Clinical Professor
of Surgery, Yale University
of Surgery, Yale University
“A model of using textual and
historical studies to provide new insights into contemporary
religious issues.’
— Dr.
Tikva Frymer-Kensky Professor of
Hebrew Bible, University of Chicago Divinity School; author, In the Wake of the Goddesses
“Why is it good for me as a
Christian to read The Death of
Death? … To read about such
matters in a Jewish key is to allow ‘like and
unlike’ to become a stimulant to my faith.”
— Rt. Rev. Krister Stendah former
Dean of Harvard Divinity School;
Bishop Emeritus of Stockholm
Bishop Emeritus of Stockholm
“Must reading. It will stimulate
your faith, no matter what it may be.”
—Bookviews
