According to Jewish beliefs, can someone please explain to me if they believe in life after death?
The difference between souls and spirits?
Where do the souls (or spirits) go after the physical death?
Where do the Jewish people go and where do the "gentiles" go?
Do we all seize to exist after the physical death?
If you can also give the Torah's scriptures to clarify. Thank you for taking the time to answer.
Hello Golden Girl,
Let me see if I can take your questions one at a time. There are a lot of them. Please note that I will be answering from an Orthodox Jewish perspective. Other sects may believe differently, and I'm sure that there are those within my own sect that would disagree. (You know the old saying: Two Jews, three opinions...)
please explain to me if they believe in life after death?
Yes we do. Judaism believes in an afterlife. The NATURE of that afterlife is a subject of debate.
Here's what we know "for sure" based on various Talmudic, Midrashic and Kabalistic texts: When a person dies, their soul comes before G-d to be judged. The Angel Soton (Satan) acts as the prosecuting attorney in the "trial", and the Angel Michael acts as the defense attorney. If that person is judged to be "good", he enters Gan Eden (The Garden of Eden), there to bask in the glory of G-d and study at His feet. If one is judged to be "evil", he enters Gehinom (Hell), where he is punished for his sins for up to 1 year. After that 1-year period, he too gets to enter Gan Eden, and he too basks in G-d's glory... yada yada.
That much most Jews seem to be in agreement on.
Where we debate is with regard to the NATURE of heaven and hell. What do they constitute. I recently posted on this topic, so rather than repost, I'm going to just cut and paste from there:
Hi Judy,
You are correct that Judaism doesn't believe in "eternal damnation".
However, we DO believe in punishment for sins.
There are mixed explanations for what "hell" means in Judaism.
The most commonly believed explanation in Judaism is that "hell" or "Gehinom" is where sinners go. After a person dies, he is judged by G-d, and if he is deemed to be a "good" person, he goes to "Gan Aiden" or the Garden of Eden, there to bask in the glory of G-d and to study His Torah at His feet. If he is judged to have been "bad" he is sent instead to "Gehinom", where he spends up to a year expiating his sins through suffering. After that one-year period, he then goes to Gan Aiden. That is why mourners say kaddish for a dead person for 1-year, and then only on the anniversary of the death.
(Note: This is true for most "garden variety sinners". The TRULY evil --- ei: Hitler--- stay in Gehinom forever. But such levels of evil are truly rare and are very much the exception to the rule.)
Nachmanides gives a slightly different explanation. He says that Gan Aiden and Gehinom are the same place. If we are good, we go to that place, and we find comfort in that place. If, however, we are judged "bad", the embarrasment and shame of being close to G-d while being in that "evil" condition is so painful that we suffer emmensly for it. It takes time--- up to a year for most people--- to get past that shame and humiliation and come to a level of feeling comfortable in G-d's presence. Our sins are, therefore, expiated by that shame and humiliation. The truly evil, of course, never get past that shame. The key point, though, is that "heaven" and "hell", according to this interpretation, are one and the same. It is OUR CONDITION that makes the difference in how we experience that place.
What is the truth? Who knows. It is said in the Talmud that only 4 people ever entered Pardes (G-d's Presence in Heaven) alive. One died, one went insane, one became a heretic, and the 4th, Rabbi Akiva, entered whole and left whole, but never spoke of what he saw there. So the answer is that we really don't know what the true nature of heaven and hell is. What I have described above are just concepts, and very basic ones.
The difference between souls and spirits?
Interesting question.
There are several related concepts within Judaism. I think that the best source for this answer is the Zohar, who wrote about Jewish spirituality in the 13th Century. He describes the following:
Nephesh – The living mortal being. This can refer to animals as well... it is that spiritual essence that gives life in all forms (human and animal).
Ruach (ruah) – the middle soul, or spirit. It contains the moral virtues and the ability to distinguish between good and evil. People have a Ruach, but animals do not.
Neshamah – the higher soul, higher self or super-soul. This distinguishes man from all other life forms. It relates to the intellect, spiritual awareness, and allows man to enjoy and benefit from the afterlife. It allows one to have some awareness of the existence and presence of G-d. This is the part of us that seeks a connection to some higher being.
That's as simply as I can explain these concepts.
Where do the Jewish people go and where do the "gentiles" go?
I assume that you are speaking of "after death". According to Jewish beliefe, Jews and Non-Jews go to the same place. And here's an interesting kicker for you... according to Judaism, it is easier for a Non-Jew to get to Heaven than it is for a Jew to get there.
Jews have to follow 613 Commandments in order to get to heaven (Gan Eden). Non-Jews need only follow 7 Noachide Laws to get there. They are:
Do not commit idolatry or worship false gods.
Do not murder.
Do not steal.
Do not commit any of a series of sexual prohibitions, which include adultery, incest, bestiality and male homosexual intercourse.
Do not curse God's name.
Do not eat flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive. Kill it first.
Set up and live by an effective judiciary system to enforce laws fairly.
Since you are a law-abiding citizen, I am assuming that you already pretty much follow these laws. Which means you are guaranteed a place in heaven, according to Jewish beliefe. And the place you go for your reward is the same place that a Jew would go. We make no distinction in that sense.
Do we all seize to exist after the physical death?
Not according to Jewish belief. We believe that the soul (Neshama) is eternal and exists at the side of G-d even after death. We even believe that some of those Neshamot (plural form) have an influence on Earth after death. There are stories of the Soul of the Prophet Elijah coming down to Earth to save people, solve problems or defend the riteous, sometimes in a hidden manner, sometimes openly. We also believe that those Souls can intervene on behalf of their families and/or decendents with G-d. If a family member is worthy, a Soul of a predecessor can ask G-d for special interventions to help that person through a problem. The role that this soul takes on is referred to as the "Maylitz Yosher" or "ambassador of righteousness". A good description would be "spiritual intercessor".
So no, we do not believe that death is the end.
Hope this helps.
Elliot
