Jewish Belief in Afterlife

Dear Tanta Golda,

At services a few weeks ago, the subject of the Jewish belief in heaven and afterlife came up. Two of our members had a lot to share with us. I tried to explain what I learned to a friend of mine who couldn’t come to services, but my mind got all mixed up! Could you please help me out? – Soulfully confused

My dear Soulful, 

Indeed you ask a question that perplexes most Jews. When Tanta Golda was a little girl she remembers being told ‘the righteous will sit at G-d’s right hand’ and that Jews didn’t believe in angels or hell. Like most little girls I thought, “Sitting, just sitting, all day by the old guy with the beard, oy gevult, how dreary! Now that I’m a little bit older, I have a slightly better understanding. Let me share what I have learned.

Judaism focuses on life in the here and now, so we have no dogma on the afterlife like so many other religions. The closest the Torah comes to discussing it are references that the righteous will be reunited with their loved ones after death, but that the wicked will not. Don’t get too veclempt, there are only a few sins so heinous that one is barred from this reunion.

In the Mishnah (the first written account of the Oral Law) it says: This world is like the lobby before the Olam HaBa (the world to come.) Prepare yourself in the lobby so you may enter the banquet hall (being with the Almighty.)

Rabbi Shraga Simmons, a nice boy, states that the soul G-d creates can never go out of existence. After death, each soul experiences heaven differently depending on the life lead. Some get front row seats, some the balcony. The experience depends on good deeds done in life, and on how sensitive one was to spiritual realities in life (through Torah study.) Those who were more aware, get more joy in being near G-d. 

Now, don’t dispair, according to Mrs. Sarah Levi at AskMoses.com, every year at the yahrtzeit, the anniversary of a death, the soul ascends to another level closer to G-d. So darlings, even if you haven’t lived a perfect life, over time you earn your way closer to HaShem.

My little soulful, as well you know, if you have two Jews, you will have at least three opinions. This has been true throughout our history. The question of resurrection of the dead is no exception. Around two thousand years ago there was a bit of a to-do between two groups, the Sadducees and the Pharisees (the ancestors of Rabbinic Judaism.) The Sadducess said that since there was no explicit reference to the concept in the Torah, they rejected it. The Pharisees however said resurrection was implied. Rambam, one of our greatest sages, includes resurrection of dead in his 13 Principles of Faith, and in fact there are certain prayers in the traditional liturgy that refer to resurrection.  Once again, we have more than one opinion, and you will notice that in Reform siddurim these references have been eliminated from the Avot and Gevurot. Goodness!

Much has been written and debated on these topics, but what keeps coming up is that what really counts in Judaism is how you live you life now. So my dears, take this time as we approach the High Holy Days to think about how you are living your life in the here and now. As my son likes to say, “be the change you wish to see in the world”, certainly you will reap the rewards in the here, and perhaps the world to come. Oy, ambiguity!

- Tanta Golda