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Resurrection of the Dead
Rolling through Underground TunnelsThough all dead people will eventually be resurrected, those in the Land of Israel will be resurrected first, and those outside the Land of Israel will roll there and be resurrected there.
The first to be resurrected will be those in the Land of Israel:
Rabbi Yohanan said: “The dead of the Land of Israel will come to life first. This is the meaning of what is written: ‘Your dead will live’ (Isaiah 26:19).
Corpses located outside the Land of Israel will receive their souls only in the Land of Israel:
The dead who are outside the Land of Israel will have their bodies reconstructed. Then they will roll underneath the ground until the Land of Israel; they will receive their souls there and not outside the land. This is the meaning of what is written: “Therefore, prophesy and say to them: So said the Lord God: Behold, I am opening your graves, and I will take you up from your graves, My people, and I will bring you to the soil of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:12). What is written afterward? “I will put My spirit into you and you will live” (Ezekiel 37:14).
Further reading: For more on prayer, see A Concise Guide to the Sages, p. 457; A Concise Guide to Halakha, p. 483.