וּפְדוּיֵ֨י יְהוָ֜ה יְשׁוּב֗וּן וּבָ֤אוּ צִיּוֹן֙ בְּרִנָּ֔ה וְשִׂמְחַ֥ת עוֹלָ֖ם עַל־רֹאשָׁ֑ם שָׂשׂ֤וֹן וְשִׂמְחָה֙ יַשִּׂיג֔וּן נָ֖סוּ יָג֥וֹן וַאֲנָחָֽה׃ (ס)
И возвратятся искупленные Господни, и придут с пением Сиону, и радость вечная будет на головах их; Они получат радость и радость, И горе и вздохи исчезнут.
Mishneh Torah, Repentance
The World to Come harbors neither body nor aught of a concrete form, save only the souls of the righteous divested of body as are the ministering angels. Inasmuch as it harbors no concrete forms there is no need there for eating, drinking, or other of the bodily necessities of the sons of man in this world; neither will any of the many things which happen to bodies in this world come to pass there, as, for instance, sitting down, standing up, sleep, death, sadness, mirth or the like. Thus did the ancient sages say: "In the World to Come there is no eating, no drinking, and no family life, save that the righteous are sitting, graced with garlands upon their heads, and indulge in feasting upon the luminousness of the Shekinah".4Berakot, 17a. C. Herefrom, 10, it is clear to you that no body exists there, seeing that there is neither eating nor drinking. That expression of "sitting" herein employed, is figurative, as if saying that they are there without effort or fatigue, and the phrase they employed, saying: "graced with garlands upon their heads", means that they have conscious knowledge of the reason why they have merited to be in the World to Come, and this is their crown of garlands, as, for example, Solomon said: "The crown wherewith his mother hath crowned him" (Songs. 3.11). Moreover, it was said: "And everlasting shall joy be upon their heads (Is. 35.10); now joy is not a body to rest upon one's head, even so the crown spoken of by the sages refers to knowledge. But what is the meaning of the phrase, "and indulge in feasting upon the luminousness of the Shekinah"? It is that by which they know and attain part of the Truth of the Holy One, blessed is He! something they do not know while in the dark, low body.5Ibid. G.