So perhaps you can help me think this through? The Rambam in hilchot tshuva
(8:1) seems to imply that the punishment for the wicked is that they will
cease to exist - meaning to me that they will not participate in the world
to come. If this is so, it seems to me that Pascal's wager seems less of a
challenge. It would seem that the player could take enjoyment in this world
and only risk nonexistence (and thus not know what he missed out on) and
take his chances that reward in the world to come would be more pleasurable
but he'll never really feel that loss. Since he’ll never be aware of the
downside, how would you convince him not to take the immediate gain?
Perhaps this is the reason that other commentaries read into the Rambam
elsewhere that he did believe in eternal damnation?
Thoughts?
KT
Joel Rich
First, there aren't too many if any shitos in which fear of eternal
punishment is realistic. After all, the list of people in Sanhedrin 10:1
who have no cheileq le'olam haba are heretics not likely to embrace any
traditional hashkafah. And mishnah 2 adds all of 7 people; mishnah 3 --
Noach's generation, the 5 cities around Sodom & Amora, the generation the
left Mitzrayim (!). And mishnah 4 is back to heretics (like mishnah 1),
the residents of an ir hanidachas.
All in all, it seems that it's someone who doesn't believe there is an
olam haba or a Dayan who doesn't get there. So, they're not worried.
Or, someone you don't have to worry about being because they lived
millennia ago.
So, whether this mishnah here is discussing who gets revived (Bartenura,
or the Ramban's take on "olam haba") or who gets reward in the post-death
existence (whether that reward is in opposition to punishment or to
cessation), normal people have some portion of reward. Eternal torment
is for exceptional cases. (Again, most of whom wouldn't be worried about
it.)
Second, I think more people are more afraid of not existing than of
existing in torment.
Tir'u baTov!
-Micha