Torah and Jewish Idea > Torah and Jewish Idea
Afterlife
Igor Schwarzman:
I don't really know what afterlife is in Judaism. All I know so far is that after death the soul rests in Sheol until the Messiah comes, and then the dead resurrect, I am correct?
But I want to know what happens with the righteous and the wicked. Do the righteous come to Heaven and the wicked to Hell like it's in Christianity?
Tag-MehirTzedek:
According to Rambam, their is the resurrection of the (righteous) dead, a long life in this world of body + soul and then natural death and the life of the "world to come". In the world to come their is only soul and the blissful state of the soul without the body since the body will not be needed at the time.
muman613:
--- Quote from: Igor Schwarzmann on December 06, 2011, 07:30:40 AM ---I don't really know what afterlife is in Judaism. All I know so far is that after death the soul rests in Sheol until the Messiah comes, and then the dead resurrect, I am correct?
But I want to know what happens with the righteous and the wicked. Do the righteous come to Heaven and the wicked to Hell like it's in Christianity?
--- End quote ---
I have explained this a number of times here but since you are new you have not read what was written.
Basically Judaism doesn't believe that most wicked Jews go to hell, a Jew most likely will end up in Gan Eden. There is a caveat that every sin which a Jew does MUST be paid for. The concept of Middah Keneged Middah means Measure for Measure and while the non-Jews have taken this to mean literally 'An Eye for an Eye' it actually means that for every thing we do we must be held responsible. This is the basis of Rambams concept {One of the 13 principles} that we believe in 'Reward and Punishment'.
We don't call it hell and for most people it is not eternal as in Christian belief. For most normal Jewish sinners the maximum time in Gehinnom is 11 months. It is a purgatory in order to pay for our wrongdoing in this world. It is believed that the extremely wicked are capable of receiving an eternity in Gehinnom but we hope that there are not many absolute Rashas/Wicked ones.
As for the non-Jew we believe that all those humans who keep the seven Noachide laws are considered Righteous Gentiles and that they too have the promise of Gan Eden/Heaven. Since they are judged by a lesser covenant known as the Noachide commandments {7 laws} and Jews are held to the Taryag Mitzvot {613 Commands} the Jew must be more careful in order to not transgress these laws.
If you are interested in more information I can provide links and other information from Jewish sites...
http://www.torah.org/qanda/seequanda.php?id=680
--- Quote ---What is Gehinnom?
Gehinnom is the name given to Hell in the Rabbinic literature. The name was borrowed from that of a real valley (see Joshua 15:2,8 and 18:16; 2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chron.28:3 and 33:6; Jeremiah 7:31-32 and 19:2,6; Nehemiah 11:30) where burnings took place. See also Isaiah 30:33; Jeremiah 19:11-13; Job 17:6. Punishment in Gehinnom lasts only for up to 12 months, except for certain major sinners. Isaiah 66:24 must be referring to it when he speaks of the fire that is not extinguished.
--- End quote ---
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1594422/jewish/What-Is-the-Jewish-Belief-in-Hell.htm
--- Quote ---Dear Rabbi,
Do Jews believe in Hell? I am not planning any trips there or anything, but I have heard conflicting reports about its existence.
Answer:
We do believe in a type of Hell, but not the one found in cartoons and joke books. Hell is not a punishment in the conventional sense; it is, in fact, the expression of a great kindness.
The Jewish mystics described a spiritual place called “Gehinnom.” This is usually translated as “Hell,” but a better translation would be “the Supernal Washing Machine.” Because that’s exactly how it works. The way our soul is cleansed in Gehinnom is similar to the way our clothes are cleansed in a washing machine.
.
.
.
--- End quote ---
http://www.judaism.org/index.php?p=994
--- Quote ---Hell and Its Purpose
Do we as Jews believe in Hell? If so what would someone do to deserve a place in hell?
Hell, yes.
Well, sort of…
...you see, it’s nothing like the images we probably have of it, fashioned from TV evangelists and B horror movies. There’s no devil, and perhaps even no recognizable physical existence.
Rather, it is a place (called “Gehinnom” in Hebrew) where the soul is exposed to the reality of everything that it did in this world, while simultaneously being shown the potential that it possessed to achieve. All the facts are laid on the table in a manner which is irrefutable and undeniable. The principal punishment of Gehinnom is the inescapable pain of regret for wasting or even abusing one’s potential and thus not achieving what one could have achieved.
Gehinnom is a cleansing process for the soul to enable it to eventually enter the World To Come. Some souls are able to enter the World To Come without experiencing Gehinnom, either because of their lofty achievements in this world or because they already experienced all their suffering there (or a combination of both). For those who have to go to Gehinnom, the cleansing process is usually completed in eleven or twelve months. On rare occasion, for people who did terrible evil in their lifetimes, causing many to suffer, Gehinnom can take much longer. For example, the Talmud states that Titus Andronicus, the Roman general who destroyed Jerusalem and the second Temple in 70 ACE, is still inGehinnom .
Only G-d, with His infinite knowledge and wisdom, can judge who does or does not deserve Gehinnom and how long their stay there must last. But it is obvious, from our human perspective, that by studying and fulfilling the Torah as much as we can, we move ourselves away from the judgment of Gehinnom.
--- End quote ---
edu:
There are 2 types of reward after death for the righteous Jew or righteous Gentile.
1 The Spiritual resting place of the soul - called Gan {Garden} Eden, where the soul experiences spiritual delights in accordance to the merit it earned directly or indirectly.
2 According to Rabbis, such as Rabbi Ovadia of Bartenura, [and I believe this is the majority viewpoint], some time in the future, the soul will be reunited with an improved body and the soul and body will continue to exist eternally in a world that is much more satisfying than it is today.
Tag-MehirTzedek:
--- Quote from: edu on December 07, 2011, 02:52:14 AM ---There are 2 types of reward after death for the righteous Jew or righteous Gentile.
1 The Spiritual resting place of the soul - called Gan {Garden} Eden, where the soul experiences spiritual delights in accordance to the merit it earned directly or indirectly.
2 According to Rabbis, such as Rabbi Ovadia of Bartenura, [and I believe this is the majority viewpoint], some time in the future, the soul will be reunited with an improved body and the soul and body will continue to exist eternally in a world that is much more satisfying than it is today.
--- End quote ---
According to Rambam, part 2 is not eternal, BUT one has a loong life, dies and then has only soul because body would not be needed any longer.
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