Judaism & Life After Death (Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B): Revision Note

Jewish Teachings About Life After Death

• The Torah indicates the existence of life after death

• This passage from Ecclesiastes suggests that the soul returns to God after a person dies, which could indicate the existence of an afterlife with God

• The phrase ‘be gathered to your people’ in this passage from Deuteronomy is often interpreted as meaning the existence of an afterlife in which Jews will be reunited with their family

• The Tenakh refers repeatedly to life after death and says that God will raise the dead

• The Tenakh teaches that God will determine a person’s fate in the afterlife based on their actions in this life

Divergent Jewish Understandings of Life After Death

• There are divergent opinions on how the teaching in the Torah and Tenakh about life after death should be interpreted

Resurrection

• The idea of resurrection is one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith by Maimonides

  which says 'I believe with perfect faith that there will be a resurrection of the dead at a time that will please the Creator, blessed be his name'

• There are differing opinions about the nature and timing of resurrection, some people think:

  • resurrection will happen during the Messianic Age

  • it will be after the Messianic Age

  • it will only be for the righteous 

  • it will be for everyone and will be followed by a day of judgement

• Some Jewish rabbis believe that there is a form of immortality of the soul, which lives on after death in Olam Ha-Ba, the spiritual world to come, with God

Judgement

• There are also differing opinions about the nature and timing of God's judgement

• Some believe judgement will rest solely on a person’s behaviour

• Others think it will be about both behaviour and belief

• Many Jews prefer to think only about behaviour in this life, rather than an afterlife, because of the uncertainty

• What most Jewish scholars agree on is the existence of some type of judgement based more on behaviour than belief

Heaven and hell

• There are different understandings about what happens after judgement, and there are different interpretations of heaven and hell

• The traditional belief in heaven (Gan Eden) and hell (Gehinnom) is present in the earliest teachings

• Some rabbis have taught that heaven (Gan Eden) is where the righteous souls go after death, while the non-righteous go to hell (Gehinnom)

• Some see Gehinnom as a temporary state of around 12 months when humans have a chance to review their lives on earth and repent for any sins. After this time, they will rise to heaven (Gan Eden) to await the resurrection

  • This could be compared to the Catholic Christian idea of purgatory

• Other rabbis interpret Gehinnom as a place where souls who are totally evil are condemned forever

• Another interpretation is that God will destroy the souls of such evil people - they will simply no longer exist in any realm

Importance of Belief in Life After Death for Jews Today

• Belief in life after death is important for Jews today because it:

  • is one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith which all Jews must believe

  • is in the Torah which Orthodox Jews believe comes directly from God and all Jews believe to have been inspired by God 

  • is in the Tenakh and therefore it is teaching that Orthodox Jews believe is inspired by God, therefore there must be truth in what it teaches

  • is in the Talmud, the Oral Torah that Jews follow

  • means they must try to live a good life in the hope of a good life after death

  • gives meaning and purpose to their lives, because they know their actions will be judged and ultimately rewarded or punished, so they know that there is a greater purpose to good deeds