Do Jewish people believe in a life after death in heaven?
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Name : Dan, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 49, City : Mt. Prospect, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Attorney, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I have excerpted the following from the website at AISH.com. I have also added some bits of my own. The afterlife is a fundamental of Jewish belief. From Judaism's perspective, our eternal soul is as real as our thumb. This is the world of doing, and the 'world to come' is where we experience the eternal reality of whatever we've become. So what about 'heaven?' Heaven is where the soul experiences the greatest possible pleasure - the feeling of closeness to God. Of course not all souls experience that to the same degree. It's like going to a symphony concert. Some tickets are front-row center; others are back in the bleachers. Where your seat is located is based on the merit of your good deeds - e.g. giving charity, caring for others, prayer. A second factor in heaven is your understanding of the environment. Just like at the concert, a person can have great seats but no appreciation of what's going on. If a person spends their lifetime elevating the soul and becoming sensitive to spiritual realities (through Torah study), then that will translate into unimaginable pleasure in heaven. On the other hand, if life was all about pizza and football, well, that can get pretty boring for eternity. Jews DO NOT believe one has to be Jewish to have a place in the "world to come". It is the Jewish belief that if one is a gentile (a non-Jew) one needs to simply observe 'The Seven Laws of Noah.' (Just to let you know, as Jews, we have a cumulative 613 laws to observe, some for all, some for men, some for women, some for descendants of Aaron, etc.) The Jewish idea is that the Torah of Moses is a truth for all humanity, whether Jewish or not. The Torah presents seven mitzvot for non-Jews to observe. These seven laws are the pillars of human civilization, and are named the 'Seven Laws of Noah,' since all humans are descended from Noah. They are: 1. Do not murder. 2. Do not steal. 3. Do not worship false gods. 4. Do not be sexually immoral. 5. Do not eat the limb of an animal before it is killed. 6. Do not curse God. 7. Set up courts and bring offenders to justice. Maimonides explains that any human being who faithfully observes these laws earns a proper place in heaven. So you see, the Torah is for all humanity, no conversion necessary.
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Name : Diana, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 50, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Entertainer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, There is an old joke, supposedly told by David Ben Gurion, 'If you ask two Jews, you'll get three opinions.' The point being, you could easily get two Jews to disagree on this, However! there are many online resources for questions about Judaism as well as other religions. With regard to this particular question, here's a few: www.near-death.com/experiences/judaism06.html www.wujs.org.il/activist/programmes/sources/life_cycle/what_happens_after_we_die.shtml www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/afterlife.html
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Name : Seamus, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 40, City : Richmond, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, It would depend on the kind of Jew. In the first century, different groups had different opinions on the reality of an afterlife. One group believed in angels, devils and the afterlife, one did not. The same holds true today. It depends on who you talk to.
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Name : Frank T., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 51, City : Massapequa, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Vocational Counselor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, There is not a unified view within Judaism on the subject of the afterlife. There are some interesting ideas within Jewish mysticism (kaballah) on the subject, but it is difficult to explain, and the majority of Jews do not study kabbalah in-depth. That said, the important thing about Judaism is that it is much more oriented on being a good person in life because this is right and it is what G-d commanded of us. We do not spend our time talking about the afterlife and worrying about reward or punishment; rather, we try to focus on this world and on doing what we should.
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Name : Hillary, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 20, City : Tokyo, State : NA Country : Japan, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Judaism has no coherent message on the afterlife, so as a result you'll find Jews who believe many different things. Some believe in heaven and hell, some believe in heaven but no hell, some believe in some form of purgatory. Many traditional Jews believe in the idea that we may not go directly to an afterlife but that there will be a mass resurrection of all good souls when the Messiah comes. And many, including me, believe in no afterlife at all. Judaism doesn't emphasize the afterlife in the way that it emphasizes the need for us to act responsibly in this world - not because we're afraid of going to hell, but just because it's the proper way to live. While some Jews believe very strongly in an afterlife of some kind, I think it would be fair to say that the primary focus of Judaism is to do good in this world. My view is that there is no afterlife - our time in this world is our one chance to exist - which is why it's so important to use that chance to leave the place better than we found it.
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Name : Jeremy30938, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 27, City : Seattle, State : WA Country : United States, Occupation : Political Technology, Education level : 4 Years of College, Traditional Judaism posits an afterlife. A brief summary of traditional Jewish thinking about the afterlife can be found at the 'Judaism 101' website, in the article titled 'Olam Ha-Ba: The Afterlife'. The URL is http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm
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Name : Tom, Gender : M, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, The short answer is no. Judaism doesn't 'discuss' an afterlife. Life, and living properly, is something that is simply expected. It's not an optional thing, and no 'reward' is a necessary enticement. By the same token, if one chooses to not live up to his or her obligations, no threat, no matter how dire (read: hell) would be a deterent. That said, different traditions have different ideas of what happens after we die. Some Jews believe in reincarnation (of a sort). Others believe we lie in the Earth, awaiting the Messiah, and that when the Messiah comes, we will rise up as we were at the moment of death. Still others believe that once you die, you are dead, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and the only living on that you do is in the memories of those who loved you. There are also folk tales, and teaching stories that make mention of heaven. But not the type of heaven Christians typically think of. Often, in these stories, 'heaven' is decribed as a Yeshiva, or religious school. If you are a good Jew, then an eternal Yeshiva would be heavenly to you. If you are a bad Jew, the same Yeshiva is a hell.
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Name : Rebecca, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 25, City : Miami, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Editor, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Yes. Jew do believe in an afterlife. If you want a little more detail you may want to start with this website: http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_o/bl_simmons_afterlife.htm
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Name : G Field, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 30, City : Boca Raton, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, I hesitate to speak for 'Jews' generally, because I'm not very learned in my religion. But here are my observations. I have never heard a Jewish sermon or prayer mention the afterlife. I've been told by a leading scholar of the Old Testament (who was my teacher) that this is an invention of Christianity. A very successful one, I might add! Some Jews believe the Messiah will someday come, and that the dead will be resurrected. I suppose life will be good then. But it's not the same concept as 'heaven' and it doesn't include 'hell'.
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Name : Dan S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 66, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Professor of Law, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Check out the Hebrew Scriptures and you'll find clear reference to the afterlife and even to resurrection as far back as the eight century BC. Afterlife concepts are common across most cultures, and I only say 'most' because I don't know about all of them.
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Name : Jerry, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Service Connected Disability, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 60, City : Sullivan, State : ME Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Yes, Jewish people believe in an eternal life of reward in heaven, although I'm sure our ideas of what heaven is differ greatly.
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Name : Moshe, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 23, City : Baltimore, State : MD Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, The fundamental Jewish concept of 'Olam Haba' or 'the next world' is neither heaven nor hell, but rather a pleasant place in which the spirits of the dead dwell. There they await a mass resurrection that is due to accompany Judgement Day. Due to Christian influences, Olam Haba became more and more heaven-like over the centuries, to the point that the right to dwell in it was presented as conditional, one that has to be gained through good deeds. Olam Haba was presented as a place where learned students of the Torah get to study into eternity, while feasting on the flesh of biblical monsters such as the Leviathan. Even so, no parallel has emerged for hell. The alternative to Olam Haba is the 'Tohu' or 'nothingness,' in which one waits rather idly for the coming of the Jewish messiah and the regaining of life.
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Name : Yuval, Gender : M, Religion : Atheist Jew, Age : 28, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Writer, Social class : Middle class, Yes, there is a belief in the afterlife, although the Biblical description of it in the Torah is somewhat vague. In general, the Torah/Pentateuch indicates in several places that the righteous will be reunited with their loved ones after death, while the wicked will be excluded from this reunion. Belief in the eventual resurrection of the dead is a fundamental belief of traditional Judaism. It was a belief that distinguished the Pharisees (intellectual ancestors of Rabbinical Judaism) from the Sadducees. The resurrection of the dead will occur in the messianic age, a time referred to in Hebrew as the Olam Ha-Ba, the World to Come, but that term is also used to refer to the spiritual afterlife. When the messiah comes to initiate the perfect world of peace and prosperity, the righteous dead will be brought back to life and given the opportunity to experience the perfected world that their righteousness helped to create. The wicked dead will not be resurrected. The Talmud states that all may share in the Olam Ha-Ba, Jew and Gentile alike. However, not all 'shares' are equal. A particularly righteous person will have a greater share in the Olam Ha-Ba than the average person. In addition, a person can lose his share through wicked actions. There are many statements in the Talmud that a particular mitzvah will guarantee a person a place in the Olam Ha-Ba, or that a particular sin will lose a person's share in the Olam Ha-Ba, but these are generally regarded as hyperbole, excessive expressions of approval or disapproval.
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Name : K. Greenberg, Gender : F, Age : 50, City : Northampton, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : consultant/doctoral student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, I can't explain it very well, but Jews do believe in some version of the afterlife and heaven, but we do not really believe in hell. As far as I have learned, Heaven is a place a soul goes after it lives many lifetimes and accumulates a certain number of good deeds and follows the 613 good deeds/commandments Jews are supposed to follow.
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Name : Eli-T, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 20, City : Guelph, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : student, Social class : Middle class, 
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