A. The Resurrection: When, Who, and Where
Timing:
The redemption will happen in three stages: (a) The construction of the third Holy Temple, (b) The ingathering of the exiles, and (c) The resurrection of the dead. The Zohar provides the proof for this sequence (Sources 1) and the Rambam rules accordingly as a matter of law. (Source 2).
The Order of Resurrection:
Opinion 1:
(a) The dead buried in Eretz Yisrael will rise first, followed by (b) those buried in the diaspora, and finally (c) the generation that died in the desert after the Exodus. The Zohar provides the proof for this sequence (Sources 3 and 4).
Opinion 2:
(a) The dead buried in Eretz Yisrael will rise first, followed by 2\(b) those buried in the diaspora, and finally (c), our forefathers, so that they rise joyfully (Source 5).
Opinion 3:
First the righteous and then all the rest. First the scholars and then those who engaged in mitzvot (Source 6).
Opinion 4:
Everyone will rise in alphabetical order, aside from the humble who will rise before everyone else (Source 7).
Place:
Where will it happen? The bodies will come back to life in Eretz Yisrael. Righteous people buried in the diaspora will be brought to the Land of Israel through tunnels, and the rest of the Jews will roll there (Source 8). The angel Gabriel will bring the bodies to Israel (Source 9).
B. Reincarnations
Old souls and their bodies:
The Arizal explains that when a soul came to this world in multiple incarnations, each body elevated another part of the soul. At the time of the resurrection, each body will come to life with part of the soul it elevated (Source 10). The Rebbe explains the souls will not be handicapped because each part of the soul is a complete soul as well.
The living at the time of resurrection:
According to the Zohar, all those who are alive at the time of the resurrection will momentarily die and then come back to life (Source 11).
C. How exactly?
How?
The dead will rise with all their blemishes and illnesses, and then G-d will heal them, because otherwise they would be unrecognizable (Sources 12-14). They will rise in the same clothing they wore during their lifetime (Source 15). Tosafot relates that Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi requested his sons bury him in simple shrouds because at the resurrection the dead will rise wearing the clothing they wore during their lifetime, not the ones they were buried in (Source 16).
More details:
The body contains one bone that never disintegrates. At the time of resurrection, G-d will dampen it with special dew and rebuild the body from it (Source 15). Some say this bone is located at the spot where the knot of the head Tefillin is placed. Others say it is the lowest vertebrae of the spine.
D. What kind of life?
Life after the resurrection:
The Rebbe quotes the Talmud that in the World to Come, after the resurrection, we will no longer eat or drink and the righteous will bask in the glory of the Divine Light. How does this comply with the well-known teachings of the Sages about the special feast that will be prepared for the righteous at the time of resurrection (Sources 18 and 19)? The Rebbe explains that we will no longer eat for the purpose of nurturing our bodies, but rather for other purposes.
