Judaism Afterlife Beliefs

History always unravels fascinating myths, religions and beliefs. Judaism is one such religion and supposedly one of the oldest beliefs which is approximately 4000 years old. One of the debatable aspects of this belief is Judaism afterlife.

Judaism is a philosophy depicting the way of life and beliefs of Jews. It is more closely associated with the relationship between God and people of Israel - Jews. This religion has been one of the oldest to survive in recent times. As far as the theory of afterlife is concerned, it has not been clearly stated in the Jewish faith as to whether there is a life after death.

The Afterlife Philosophy in Judaism
Unlike the beliefs of Christianity and Islam religion which strongly believe in what happens after death, Jewish sacred texts have said little on this concept. In Christianity, afterlife is an important ideology where it is believed that after death, man attains heaven depending on his righteousness. In Islam it is believed that people waging jihads ascend to the pinnacle of heaven. However in Judaism, the belief is more centric around actions. It mostly highlights the relationship between man and God and the duties to be performed by man during his lifetime.

Torah is a collection of documented religious teachings that refer to the Five Books of Moses:

• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy

This collection contains many literary genres inclusive of law, religion, history, allegories and even poetry. In short, Torah is a form of Jewish Bible. Although there have been no explicit references indicating the concept of afterlife in Judaism, there have been stances in the late Jewish history illustrating the thought. As per the teachings of Torah there are immediate rewards or punishments for the deeds rather than analyzing the aftermath of life. But there are subtle references indicating concepts of reincarnation and resurrection. Some textual references also indicate how the righteous are united with their beloved ones post death and the wicked ones are excluded. Although the traditional Judaism believes that death is not the final end of a human life, they have not elaborated enough on this doctrine thereby leaving the reader to draw his own personal interpretations on the belief. But if we take a leap back in the Jewish history during the medieval period, when Jews were enduring slavery at the hands of the Egyptians, the Hebrew slaves were quite obsessed with death and afterlife. However the Torah maintained its distance from the afterlife concept unlike the death-obsessed Egyptian beliefs. On the contrary, Torah relates itself more with life than death as it even shuns its priests from coming near the dead.

Afterlife Concept in the Torah
The Hebrew word - Olam Ha-Ba means "the world to come." This phrase clearly indicates that there was some theme that went with the Torah illustrating that death was not the end of the journey and there was a scope for afterlife although this thought has been vaguely portrayed. References to terms like sheol give an idea that the belief of afterlife though shadowed was existent. It was believed that wicked people were cut off from the world and were sent to sheol (place of darkness). Death had other interpretations as well. Like in generic terms as per the Torah, death meant rejoicing the ancestors. It is also believed that Abraham (also the founder of Judaism), Jacob, Isaac and Moses gathered to their people post death. All the above biblical interpretations lead the reader to believe that the Torah does indicate that the soul continues to exist in some form after death. This belief is further made strong in the saying - "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence. ~ (Daniel 12:2)

Resurrecting the Dead (Techiyat Hametim)
Judaism from the time it was born has definitely maintained its integrity without getting extremely influenced under the rulers who dominated Jews from time to time. However, the Torah was flexible enough to incorporate a few concepts, one of them being the resurrection of dead and afterlife. Historians say these concepts made their entry into the Torah under the Hellenistic influence. Later this concept became a fundamental belief of the rabbinic Judaism. References to beliefs of resurrection of dead and afterlife have been made in Maimonides' ''13 Articles of Belief,'' and the most often recited prayer - Shemoneh Esrei.

Day of Judgment
The traditional form of Judaism does believe in the concept of heaven and hell. As per their theory, the judgment is based on three kinds of people - people who are righteous, the wicked people and people who oscillate between the good and evil. As per this theory, the righteous ones ascend to heaven (Gan Eden), the evil doers descend to hell (Gehinnom also referred to as Gehenna) and the ones who are between may go to heaven if they are not adulterers and murderers. However, the Torah (Talmud) preaches that all children of God - the Israelites have a fair share in the Olam Ha-Ba. This is illustrated in the saying - "All Israelites have a share in the world-to-come... [However], these are they that have no share in the world-to-come: one who says there is no resurrection of the dead prescribed in the Torah, and that the Torah is not from Heaven, and an Epicurean." ~ (Sanhedrin 10:1)

Concept of Heaven
Heaven in the Torah is also known as Gan Eden. This is the place where the righteous people ascend to after the inevitable death. Gan Eden is described as a place of happiness, peace and glory. Images depict people in heaven seated in lavish banquet halls savoring good food or enjoying the sunshine or celebrating the Sabbath. For people oblivious of Sabbath, let me tell you - Sabbath is popularly known as the Day of Rest in the Jewish faith which happens to fall on the seventh day of the Jewish week. It starts from the dusk of Friday and is observed until the appearance of three stars on Saturday evening. There is also a spiritual angle to this perspective. The sole idea of Gan Eden as per this belief is that the souls quest for eternal truth and realization concerning God. They forbid eating, drinking and enjoying like the mortals as souls do not attach any interest towards materialistic pleasures. This thought has been supported with Maimonides explaining - "In the world to come, there is nothing corporeal, and no material substance; there are only souls of the righteous without bodies -- like the ministering angels... The righteous attain to a knowledge and realization of truth concerning God to which they had not attained while they were in the murky and lowly body. " ~ (Mishneh Torah, Repentance 8)

Concept of Hell
Hell, popularly known as Gehinnom/Gehenna/Sheol, is referred to as the place of darkness in Torah. The wicked souls were believed to have been sent there for retribution. One of the references cite that the souls were punished for 12 months and then sent to Gan Eden. The other wicked souls were annihilated completely. Even today Jews when mourning the dead, seek blessings for their beloved for 11 months.

Messianic Age
The Jewish faith gives great importance to the Messianic Age. It is believed that this period in human history will commence with the coming of messiah. And He shall resurrect the dead and damn the evil. This period is referred to as the time of peace and the resurrection of their country - Israel.

Judaism Today
Judaism being a monotheistic religion has also bifurcated as:

• Orthodox Judaism: The Jews following this faith are stringent about following every word in the Torah as they believe they are the direct words from God. This faith includes the followers of Hasidim (Started by Israel Ben Eliezer) and Haredim (Also known as Ultra Orthodox).
• Progressive Judaism: The Jews adopting this faith believe in the spiritual context of the Torah. This faith also includes the Reform Judaism (early 19th Century) and the Liberal Judaism.

Judaism afterlife still remains a debatable topic in spite of references indicating its belief in afterlife. However, Judaism today accepts the resurrection of dead and the concepts of heaven and hell.