Many faiths have definitive teachings about the afterlife. But in answer to the question "What happens after we die?" the Torah, our most important religious text, is surprisingly silent. Nowhere does it discuss the afterlife in detail.
Over the centuries a few possible descriptions of the afterlife have been incorporated into Jewish thought. However there is no definitively Jewish explanation for what happens after we die.
Why Doesn’t the Torah Discuss the Afterlife?
No one knows exactly why the Torah doesn't discuss the afterlife. Instead, the Torah focuses on "Olam Ha Ze," which means "this world." Rabbi Joseph Telushkin believes that this focus on the here and now is not only intentional but directly related to the Israelite exodus from Egypt.
According to Jewish tradition God gave the Torah to the Israelites after their journey through the desert, not long after they fled a life of slavery in Egypt. Rabbi Teluskhin points out that Egyptian society was obsessed with life after death. Their holiest text was called "The Book of the Dead," and both mummification and tombs like the pyramids were meant to prepare a person for existence in the afterlife. Perhaps, suggests Rabbi Telushkin, the Torah does not talk about life after death in order to distinguish itself from Egyptian thought. In contrast to "The Book of the Dead," the Torah focuses on the importance of living a good life here and now.
Jewish Views of the Afterlife
What happens after we die? Everyone asks that question at one point or another. Though Judaism does not have a definitive answer, below are some of the possible responses that have emerged over the centuries.
- Olam Ha Ba – "Olam Ha Ba" literally means "the world to come" in Hebrew. Early rabbinic texts describe Olam Ha Ba has an idyllic version of this world. It is a physical realm that will exist at the end-of-days, after the Messiah has come and God has judged both the living and the dead. The righteous dead will be resurrected in order to enjoy a second life in Olam Ha Ba. You can learn more about Olam Ha Ba in: "What Is Olam Ha Ba?"
- Gehenna - When the ancient rabbis talk about Gehenna, the question they are trying to answer is "How will bad people be dealt with in the afterlife?" Accordingly, they saw Gehenna as a place of punishment for those who lead an immoral life. However, the time a person's soul could spend in Gehenna was limited to twelve months and the rabbis maintained that even at the very Gates of Gehenna a person could repent and avoid punishment (Erubin 19a). After being punished in Gehenna a soul was considered pure enough to enter Gan Eden (see below). You can learn more about Gehenna in: "What Is Gehenna?
- Gan Eden – In contrast to Gehenna, Gan Eden was conceived as a paradise for those who lived a righteous life. Whether Gan Eden - which means "The Garden of Eden in Hebrew" - was intended as a place for souls after death or for resurrected people when Olam Ha Ba comes is unclear. Exodus Rabbah 15:7 states, for instance: "In the Messianic Age God will establish peace for the nations and they will sit at ease and eat in Gan Eden." Numbers Rabbah 13:2 makes a similar reference and in both cases, neither souls nor the dead are mentioned. Nevertheless, author Simcha Raphael suggests that given the ancient rabbis' belief in resurrection, Gan Eden was likely a place where they thought the righteous would go after they were resurrected for Olam Ha Ba. You can learn more about Gan Eden in: "What Is Gan Eden?"
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Do Jews believe in heaven and hell? No. however, we do believe in an afterlife, just nothing like that believed by Christians
What we believe in is euphemistically called "The World to Come". Not much is taught on it (at least not in open sources.) It is not a world as we know it, nor are there beautiful gardens and winged angels playing harps with golden halos around their heads. At the same time- their is no fire and brimstone or eternal damnation and burning in the fires of hell...
The world to come is a spiritual realm- souls try to cluster around the pure essence of God, to close to the holy for the sake of being near it- because souls yearn to be as close to God as possible. but it is not as simple as that either. The world to come is not a simplistic realm of one level- in the Talmud, Masechta Chagigah, it is said that the outer courtyards to God's abode has seven levels - each of ascending holiness, each soul wanting to be as high as possible. It briefly states that beyond these levels you have the inner courtyard and abode itself- but stops there with the statement "Beyond here we do not enquire". Maybe it elaborates further in the Kaballah- I have no idea on that.
Hell is completely absent from Judaism. There is no devil in Judaism as it is not possible for an angel to rebel (only humans have free will- angels can only perform specific tasks). What is generally misinterpreted as hell is the concept of Sheol or Gehinnom. This refers to the burning the soul feels at the heavenly trial after death.
Essentially, we are brought to the heavenly court (God) and judged. Satan (literally the accusser) is the prosecutor and wants to introduce all our sins into the equation. God is merciful, and drops some of the sins before the trial begins (Rambam, Hilchos Teshuvah). After that, the soul basically watches two movies- one is- what your life was- the other, what your life could have been. The soul feels shame at the lost opportunities, at what it could have been vs what it is. It is this shame that feels like an eternity of burning. The burning is not a literal one- it is the burning of shame that it feels at realising how it has transgressed, when it could have been so much more! Think of how, for us with physical bodies, the shame of being shouted at by a parent/teacher/ boss can feel like burning- how much worse for a soul which is a pure being and has no physical imperfections or mental imperfections to give it excuses! But though it states that this "burning" feels like an eternity- it truth, it never lasts for more than 12 months. God is much too loving to give out eternal punishments, just as a loving parent would never punish a child for forever.
Let’s start with the most controversial belief – reincarnation. It may sound surprising, but Jewish beliefs do include reincarnation but not in every case. In the Jewish religion there is a belief that we all have a purpose on earth and we will live until we fulfill our purpose. This does not mean we are immortal until we have done what we are set on earth to do. What this means is we will reincarnate as many times as necessary until our purpose has been served. If you can complete what God has planned for you within one lifetime there is no reason to reincarnate.
Our view on hell is different than the general concept in most other religions. For one, we do not call it hell. We believe in Gehinnom. Gehinnom is a place where humans usually linger for up to 12 months after death. It is where they are punished for the sins they have committed, but after 12 months time they move on to better things. Jewish beliefs vary on exactly what happens during this time; it is dependant upon your degree of religious observance or the Jewish denomination to which you belong. For example, most orthodox Jews believe that you get an angel of destruction for each sin you committed during your time on earth. Most believe just about everybody will move on after 12 months (or less if they don’t need as much time to be punished for their sins.) The only time when someone will not move on after 12 months is if they were so evil and had no remorse that they were not forgiven by God for their sins. As the beliefs on what happens in Gehinnom vary, the beliefs on what happen to those who are not forgiven vary as well. Generally, two concepts exist: People either stay and are punished for the rest of eternity or they just vanish from any kind of existence.
So what about heaven? Jews believe there is a place where people are reunited with others that have passed. This place is called Gan Eden, which means Garden of Eden. This is where people who are not evil go after they have spent their time in Gehinnom. From a spiritual perspective, this is the place everyone longs to go.
Reaching Gan Eden is not the end of our afterlife. The ending is yet to come. It is called Olam Ha-Ba. It is considered the messianic age, and means the world to come or when the Messiah comes. Everyone who has proven righteousness will get to experience this. This experience is supposed to be perfect.
Is there anything in the world that is really perfect? It seems that everything we have has some sort of flaw—at least in this lifetime. So, we have something to look forward to in the next life. While we are alive, however, Judaism teaches us to always do right, not just to make it to the Jewish afterlife and to Gan Eden or Olam Ha-Ba but because it is good for us, and ultimately part of God’s plan.
What happens to particularly evil people? Here we are moving into the territory of those who are punished with kares (spiritual excission). In its most simplistic understanding this means the soul is eternally cut-off from God, unable to enter into the world to come. But what that means is debated with two main answers:
1) The soul dissipates and is destroyed
2) It is forever outside, looking in and regretting its decisions in life.
Number 2 is the one that has the most support in the Talmud. there is a story of Onkelos, a nephew of Titus and sorceror who summons the souls of three enemies of the Jews to discuss their fates. If they were still around to be summonsed, then they could not have dissipated- ergo number 2 would be correct.. As a side note to this incident, Onkelos repented, converted and became one of the major commentators on the Torah!
Of course, this is even further complicated by the Jewish view of the soul. In its most simplistic form (yes, it can get a LOT more complicated!) the soul is seen as containing three divisions: 1) the animating spirit which is tied to the physical and dies with the body 2) The "You" part, the intellect etc which is the linkage between the holy and the spiritual and 3) the Holy spark, that bit of God that is within all of us.
Now the purpose of life is to elevate the holy spark, to bring it even closer to God through the "You" part performing positive deeds and moving towards spirituality and away form the animalistic. As such, it is this part which is judged and has the reward/punishment applied to it. Even if the soul is punished with kares, this would only apply to the "You" part, and not to the holy part.
Source:
Orthodox Jew; acting Rabbi; various sourcesThe Tanakh says quite a bit on the hereafter and death. Many Jews believe in Reincarnation or the Immortality of the Soul, but these are not taught in the Tanakh and are foreign to scripture, the Hebrew Bible. A good, in depth study will show what it really says.
In order to understand the state of the dead and the afterlife, we must understand what human life really is. In Bereshis(Genesis), we are given a clear picture of the make up, of the human. We read:
"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breathe of life; and the man became a living soul." Genesis 2:7
So man becomes a living soul, he was not given a soul inside of him, but he became one.
The Hebrew word for soul here is Nefesh (לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ) which means, 'living being', 'person', 'breathing creature'.
G-d warns Adam & Eve that they will die if they eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Thus He says so in Genesis 2:17
After Adam & Eve disobey G-d by eating the forbidden fruit from the serpent, G-d tells them that they have sinned and that will die because this sin has separated them from Him. Thus we now read:
"In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, until you return unto the ground; for out of it you were taken: for dust you are, and unto dust you shall return." Genesis 3:19
The soul is not another immaterial, immortal separate being that's a ghost or something that can function outside a body. It is the individual himself. G-d breathes into him(adam) the Breath of Life (נִשְׁמַ֣ת) which is the wind, breath of G-d, it is the animating life force that makes the man alive and breathing. Even animals have the breath of life that makes them live(Gen. 6:17). The spirit(breathe) is not a little conscious ghost that we may imagine.
Now, it says in Job:
"The spirit(רֽוּחַ־/wind) of God hath made me, and the breath(וְנִשְׁמַ֖ת/life) of the Almighty hath given me life." Job 33:4
The word for spirit in this passage is Ru'ach (רֽוּחַ־) which means: 'wind' or 'breath'.
When a living organism dies, the reverse happens. We read in the book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet):
"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Ecclesiastes 12:7
So when a person dies, his body decomposes and returns to the ground, and the spirit(ru'ach רֽוּחַ־), the life-giving, animating force, or breath that G-d breathed into him in the first place, returns to Him.
When this life-giving force or breathe(called the ru'ach in Hebrew) leaves our body, we cannot physically live, so we die. We read in the Psalms:
"You(G-d) hide your face, they are troubled: you take away their breath[ru'ach](ר֫וּחַ), they die, and return to their dust." Psalm 104:29
"All the while my breath(נְשָׁמָה) is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;" Job 27:3
Again, this life/breath/wind that comes from God is in us, we are alive.
When we die we are unconscious of our surroundings. We are dead, in a state of slumber or 'sleep'. Here are a couple of verses to consider:
Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 "For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun."
Psalm 115:17-18 "The dead do not praise the Lord, Nor do any who go down into silence; But as for us, we will bless the Lord From this time forth and forever."
Psalm 146:3-4 "Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit(ר֭וּחֹו/ru'ach) departs, he returns to the earth; In that very day his thoughts perish."
Psalm 13:3 "Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,"
Ecclesiastes 9:10 "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in She'ol(Grave) where you are going."
Ezekiel 18:4 "Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul[הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ/living being/nephesh] who sins will die."
Psalm 6:5 "For there is no remembrance of You in death; In She'ol(Grave) who will give You thanks?"
But death is not the ultimate end, the Tanakh teaches the Resurrection of the Dead, Christianity believes in it too! Those who are good will enter into the World to Come or Olam HaBa, while the Wicked, will go the Gehenna, or Gehinnom and be burned up with Fire and completely Annihilated, this is where Christianity got the idea of Hellfire.
Daniel 12:2 "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt."
Job 14:10-12 “But man dies and lies prostrate. Man dies, and where is he? “As water evaporates from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dried up, So man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no longer, He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep."
Isaiah 66:24 “Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have rebelled against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”
The Tanakh teaches that all who die, remain dead in an unconscious state until this Resurrection happens, then those who do wickedly will be set ablaze at be reduced to ashes and annihilated(Malachi 4:1,3). Those who have done well will live and reign with the Most High and inherit the New Earth
This is what Judaism should believe
"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breathe of life; and the man became a living soul." Genesis 2:7
So man becomes a living soul, he was not given a soul inside of him, but he became one.
The Hebrew word for soul here is Nefesh (לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ) which means, 'living being', 'person', 'breathing creature'.
G-d warns Adam & Eve that they will die if they eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Thus He says so in Genesis 2:17
After Adam & Eve disobey G-d by eating the forbidden fruit from the serpent, G-d tells them that they have sinned and that will die because this sin has separated them from Him. Thus we now read:
"In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, until you return unto the ground; for out of it you were taken: for dust you are, and unto dust you shall return." Genesis 3:19
The soul is not another immaterial, immortal separate being that's a ghost or something that can function outside a body. It is the individual himself. G-d breathes into him(adam) the Breath of Life (נִשְׁמַ֣ת) which is the wind, breath of G-d, it is the animating life force that makes the man alive and breathing. Even animals have the breath of life that makes them live(Gen. 6:17). The spirit(breathe) is not a little conscious ghost that we may imagine.
Now, it says in Job:
"The spirit(רֽוּחַ־/wind) of God hath made me, and the breath(וְנִשְׁמַ֖ת/life) of the Almighty hath given me life." Job 33:4
The word for spirit in this passage is Ru'ach (רֽוּחַ־) which means: 'wind' or 'breath'.
When a living organism dies, the reverse happens. We read in the book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet):
"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Ecclesiastes 12:7
So when a person dies, his body decomposes and returns to the ground, and the spirit(ru'ach רֽוּחַ־), the life-giving, animating force, or breath that G-d breathed into him in the first place, returns to Him.
When this life-giving force or breathe(called the ru'ach in Hebrew) leaves our body, we cannot physically live, so we die. We read in the Psalms:
"You(G-d) hide your face, they are troubled: you take away their breath[ru'ach](ר֫וּחַ), they die, and return to their dust." Psalm 104:29
"All the while my breath(נְשָׁמָה) is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;" Job 27:3
Again, this life/breath/wind that comes from God is in us, we are alive.
When we die we are unconscious of our surroundings. We are dead, in a state of slumber or 'sleep'. Here are a couple of verses to consider:
Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 "For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun."
Psalm 115:17-18 "The dead do not praise the Lord, Nor do any who go down into silence; But as for us, we will bless the Lord From this time forth and forever."
Psalm 146:3-4 "Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit(ר֭וּחֹו/ru'ach) departs, he returns to the earth; In that very day his thoughts perish."
Psalm 13:3 "Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,"
Ecclesiastes 9:10 "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in She'ol(Grave) where you are going."
Ezekiel 18:4 "Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul[הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ/living being/nephesh] who sins will die."
Psalm 6:5 "For there is no remembrance of You in death; In She'ol(Grave) who will give You thanks?"
But death is not the ultimate end, the Tanakh teaches the Resurrection of the Dead, Christianity believes in it too! Those who are good will enter into the World to Come or Olam HaBa, while the Wicked, will go the Gehenna, or Gehinnom and be burned up with Fire and completely Annihilated, this is where Christianity got the idea of Hellfire.
Daniel 12:2 "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt."
Job 14:10-12 “But man dies and lies prostrate. Man dies, and where is he? “As water evaporates from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dried up, So man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no longer, He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep."
Isaiah 66:24 “Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have rebelled against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”
The Tanakh teaches that all who die, remain dead in an unconscious state until this Resurrection happens, then those who do wickedly will be set ablaze at be reduced to ashes and annihilated(Malachi 4:1,3). Those who have done well will live and reign with the Most High and inherit the New Earth
This is what Judaism should believe
Source(s):
Scripture Alone
Why should souls basking in divine light above be at all concerned about what's happening in your mundane life below? Because, there they feel the truth that is so easy to overlook while down here: that this lowly, material world is the center-stage of G-d's purpose in creating all that exists.
That is also why, at the final resolution, all souls will return to physical bodies in this world.
the girls where telling the truth
the judaism is bassed on the kabbalah and the kabbalah teaches us that really after you die nothing happens .just as science tell us today. tho we do belive in heaven and hell as an internal states that a person can and should reach both whill he or she is a live , and evey person can and should do it.
there is a simple method of how to do it and it includes no physical actions and now it is open to everybody and each person can stay in it religion beacuse judiasim is atculy not a religion judiasm comes from the word yehodi means conection , unity with the upper force of nature .the people who conect with the upper force called jews , and the teaching is called kabbalah and you are welcome to try it there is a group called bb that teaches it completly for free here at the learning center online
the judaism is bassed on the kabbalah and the kabbalah teaches us that really after you die nothing happens .just as science tell us today. tho we do belive in heaven and hell as an internal states that a person can and should reach both whill he or she is a live , and evey person can and should do it.
there is a simple method of how to do it and it includes no physical actions and now it is open to everybody and each person can stay in it religion beacuse judiasim is atculy not a religion judiasm comes from the word yehodi means conection , unity with the upper force of nature .the people who conect with the upper force called jews , and the teaching is called kabbalah and you are welcome to try it there is a group called bb that teaches it completly for free here at the learning center online