Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 20 replies, 21 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 11 months ago by
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Some believe in an afterlife, but most do not. Some ultra-Orthodox Jews believe there is an afterlife. What is important to understand is that from a Jewish perspective, the existence of an afterlife is irrelevant. Jews (or at least this Jew) feel that it is important to do good in this world because God tells us to and because it is the right thing to do. For me, I feel that considering an afterlife in your actions is wrong. It detracts from what you do. For example, if I give food to a homeless person, I do it because God says I should give tzedakah (charity). If I did it because I was trying to assure my entrance into heaven, it would make my gesture seem selfish and therefore less meaningful.
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Name : Thomas Berkeley Goodloe, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 27, City : Richmond, State : VA, Country : United States, Occupation : Banking, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Yes and no. In general, Jews do not consider this to be among the more important questions to be addressed by religion. They are much more interested in social justice – their concept is of doing God’s will to perfect the world in a partnership with God. The Jewish liturgy does address the question of an afterlife, but it only goes so far as to state that God keeps faith with those who ‘sleep in the Dust.’ In fact, there are religous Jews who do not believe in a personal afterlife at all. Some, in fact, consider the salvationist emphasis of the other Abrahamic religions to encourage self-centeredness.
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Name : Raymond Irizarry, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Jewish, Age : 68, City : Portland, State : CT, Country : United States, Occupation : Retired, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,It depends. A Jewish atheist doesn’t. A reform or conservative Jew might or might not. An orthodox Jew (like myself) for sure does. In fact, it says in our holy writings that this world is merely a corridor to the next world. We call this world Olam Haze (literally ‘this world’) and the next world Olam Haba (literally ‘The World to Come’); we call this world Olam Hasheker (literally ‘the world of lies’) and the next world Olam Ha’emes (literally ‘the world of truth’); and finally this world is referred to as the world of ‘doing’ and the next world is referred to the world of reaping what we sowed (reward or punishment). A simple version of what the Torah says (the foundation of Judaism) is that in the next world everything physical is stripped away, and depending on how spiritual a person is, how close a person is to the Creator, he or she experiences either joy (someone who is very close) or pain (someone who isn’t).
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Name : C-Jacobs19311, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Beit Shemesh, State : NA, Country : Israel, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Traditional Judaism firmly believes that death is not the end of human existence. However, because Judaism is primarily focused on life here and now rather than on the afterlife, Judaism does not have much dogma about the afterlife, and leaves a great deal of room for personal opinion. Orthodox Jews believe that the souls of the righteous dead go to a place similar to the Christian heaven, or that they are reincarnated through many lifetimes, or that they simply wait until the coming of the messiah, when they will be resurrected.There is clear evidence in the Torah of belief in existence after death. The Torah 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. Also, belief in the eventual resurrection of the dead is a fundamental belief of traditional Judaism. The spiritual afterlife is referred to in Hebrew as Olam Ha-Ba (oh-LAHM hah-BAH), the World to Come, although this term is also used to refer to the messianic age. The Olam Ha-Ba is another, higher state of being. In the Mishnah, one rabbi says, ‘This world is like a lobby before the Olam Ha-Ba. Prepare yourself in the lobby so that you may enter the banquet hall. Nevertheless, we definitely believe that your place in the Olam Ha-Ba is determined by a merit system based on your actions, not by who you are or what religion you profess. In addition, we definitely believe that humanity is capable of being considered righteous in G-d’s eyes, or at least good enough to merit paradise after a suitable period of purification. The place of spiritual reward for the righteous is often referred to in Hebrew as Gan Eden (GAHN ehy-DEHN) (the Garden of Eden). This is not the same place where Adam and Eve were; it is a place of spiritual perfection.One source compare the bliss of the afterlife to the joy of sex or the warmth of a sunny day. Ultimately, though, the living can no more understand the nature of this place than the blind can understand color. According to one mystical view, every sin we commit creates an angel of destruction (a demon), and after we die we are punished by the very demons that we created. Other sources merely see it as a time when we can see the actions of our lives objectively, see the harm that we have done and the opportunities we missed, and experience remorse for our actions. The period of time in Gehinnom does not exceed 12 months, and then ascends to take his place on Olam Ha-Ba.
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Name : Mark22062, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 40, City : Philadelphia, State : PA, Country : United States, Social class : Middle class,Absolutely. After death the soul goes to heaven or purgatory (no eternal damnation in Judaism). When the messiah comes there will be a resurrection of the dead.
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Name : Ed25557, Gender : M, Religion : Jewish, Age : 25, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,Both Heaven and Hell are Jewish Concepts. Remember that the first part of the Bible is taken from the Jewish book called the Torah. Also, Jesus and his followers (Apostles and the Disciples? were inherently Jewish. A jews view on the afterlife can vary and most consider hell to just be any absence of God’s presence.
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Name : Kelly19717, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 24, City : Albany, State : GA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,
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