Does Judaism mention an afterlife?

There aren’t many references to the afterlife in Tanakh, and certainly no long treatises related to it. There are a few mentions of sheol, and some sort of eternal life or afterlife, but it isn’t totally defined.

וַיֵּ֨רְד֜וּ הֵ֣ם וְכׇל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר לָהֶ֛ם חַיִּ֖ים שְׁאֹ֑לָה וַתְּכַ֤ס עֲלֵיהֶם֙ הָאָ֔רֶץ וַיֹּאבְד֖וּ מִתּ֥וֹךְ הַקָּהָֽל׃

They went down alive into Sheol, with all that belonged to them; the earth closed over them, and they vanished from the midst of the congregation. (Numbers 16:33)

כִּ֤י אֵ֣ין בַּמָּ֣וֶת זִכְרֶ֑ךָ בִּ֝שְׁא֗וֹל מִ֣י יֽוֹדֶה־לָּֽךְ׃

For there is no praise of You among the dead; in Sheol, who can acclaim You? (Psalm 6:6)

וְרַבִּ֕ים מִיְּשֵׁנֵ֥י אַדְמַת־עָפָ֖ר יָקִ֑יצוּ אֵ֚לֶּה לְחַיֵּ֣י עוֹלָ֔ם וְאֵ֥לֶּה לַחֲרָפ֖וֹת לְדִרְא֥וֹן עוֹלָֽם׃

Many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, others to reproach, to everlasting abhorrence. (Daniel 12:2)

GOD’s hand came upon me. I was taken out by the spirit of GOD and set down in the valley. It was full of bones. [God] led me all around them; there were very many of them spread over the valley, and they were very dry. I was asked, “O mortal, can these bones live again?” I replied, “O my Sovereign GOD, only You know.” And I was told, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of GOD! Thus said the Sovereign GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live again. I will lay sinews upon you, cover you with flesh, and form skin over you. And I will put breath into you, and you shall live again. And you shall know that I am GOD!” (Ezekiel 37:1-6)

• What do you think these Biblical texts reference? Have you read the passage from Ezekiel before?
• What sort of afterlife is this referencing?
• Do you think a lack of references in Biblical text signifies something? Ie, an unknown experience, lack of importance, something else?

Resurrection of the Dead:

“Orthodox Judaism has, throughout, maintained a belief in the future resurrection of the dead as part of the messianic redemption (ie, when the Messiah comes – whenever that is, then there will be a bodily resurrection. This leads to a belief in some form of immortality of the soul after death. This is expressed in liturgy, in the morning prayer (Hertz, Prayer, 18), expressing the believer’s trust that God will return his soul to his body in time to come. It is also a central motif of the second benediction of the Amidah (ibid., 134). The belief in the soul’s survival after death is implicit in the various prayers said in memory of the dead and in the mourner’s custom of reciting the Kaddish (ibid., 1106–09, and 212, 269–71). Reform Judaism has, however, given up any literal belief in the future resurrection of the dead. Reform theology concerns itself solely with the belief in a spiritual life after death and has modified the relevant liturgical passages according.” (Afterlife in Judaism)

Beginning with the early Reformers (circa mid 1800’s), they moved away from a bodily resurrection to immortality of the soul. The change in liturgy began with Abraham Geiger and continued with David Einhorn who wrote about “God who has planted immortal life within us.” By the time of the 1937 Columbus platform of the Reform Movement, this shift in thinking had taken place. This platform states, “Judaism affirms that man is created in the image of God. His spirit is immortal.”

This shift in liturgy across the denominations is noted below:

(Reform) וְנֶאֱמָן אַתָּה לְהַחֲיוֹת הַכֹּל. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, מְחַיֵּה הַכֹּל

The one who gives life to all

(Traditional) וְנֶאֱמָן אַתָּה לְהַחֲיוֹת מֵתִים. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, מְחַיֵּה הַמֵּתִי

The one who revives the dead.

• What do you think about this shift in philosophy?
• Where do you think your own afterlife concept lies?
• Is this change in liturgy something that you’ve spent time thinking or learning about before?

What happens immediately after you die?

The Babylonian Talmud has a long discussion amongst The Rabbis about what happens after you die in Tractate Shabbat.

Rabbi Abbahu said: Everything people say before the deceased, God knows, until the tomb is sealed with the top-stone. Rabbi Ḥiyya and Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, disagreed with regard to the meaning of this statement. One of them said that the deceased is aware until the tomb is sealed with the top-stone, which is referring to the covering of the grave (Tosafot). And one of them said that it is until the flesh decomposes. (Shabbat 152b:2)

The one who said that it is until the flesh decomposes can support his position based on that which is written in the following verse: “But his flesh grieves for them, and their soul mourns

over them.” (Job 14:22). This indicates that the deceased is aware of the pain of their flesh in the grave. The one who said that the deceased is aware only until the tomb is sealed with the top-stone can support his view based on that which is written in a different verse: “And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). This indicates that when the body returns to the earth, the spirit also returns to its place and is no longer aware of what is happening to the body. (Shabbat 152b:3)

These texts seem to be arguing over whether the deceased has some awareness for some period after death. The debate is whether there is awareness, and whether that is until burial, or until the body decomposes. FYI, how long this takes can vary from 8-12 weeks (un-enbalmed, no coffin) to as many as 50 years (depending on coffin, vault, etc…).

• Do you think that the deceased have awareness after death?
• What do you think this says about your soul and what happens to it?
• Does this imply a period of purgatory?

How to live while we’re alive:

The Sages taught with regard to the verse: “And the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7) that the words: Who gave it, mean: As it was given. In other words, give it to God as God gave it to you; just as God gave it to you in purity, you too should return it to God in purity. The Gemara cites a parable of a king of flesh and blood who distributed royal garments to his servants. The wise ones folded them and placed them in a box [kufsa] to protect them, whereas the foolish ones went and worked in them. After a period of time the king requested that his garments be returned to him. The wise ones returned them to him pressed, as they were when the servants received them, and the foolish ones returned them dirty. The king was happy to greet the wise ones and angry to greet the foolish ones. (Shabbat 152b:4)

• This parable about the keeping of garments is used to demonstrate how to take care of ourselves while we’re alive. What do you think of this parable?
• What modern day implications does this have for us?

Is there a difference in what happens to a person based on whether they are good or bad?

The Holy One, Blessed be God, also acts in this way. With regard to the bodies of the righteous, which are likened to the royal garments that are well kept, it states: ‘One enters into peace, they rest on their beds each one that walks in his uprightness” (Isaiah 57:2). And with regard to their souls, it states: “And the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord your God” (I Samuel 25:29). And conversely, regarding the bodies of the wicked, it states: “There is no peace, says the Lord, for the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21), and with regard to their souls, it states: “And the souls of your enemies He shall sling out in the hollow of a sling” (I Samuel 25:29). (Shabbat 152b:6)

• Judaism doesn’t have a spelled-out concept of heaven and hell as other religions do. What do you think about the idea that something different happens to your body based on whether one is righteous or wicked?
• How is one judged for either?
• Do you believe that your actions while you are alive influence what happens after you die?

What if you’re neither good nor bad?

Rabba said to Rav Naḥman: What happens to the souls of middling people, who are neither righteous nor wicked? Rav Naḥman said: It is good that you asked me this question, for even if I were dead I would not have been able to tell you that. As Shmuel said as follows: These and those, the souls of the wicked and of the middling people, are handed over to Duma, the angel in charge of spirits. But these, the souls of the middling people, have rest, and these, the souls of the wicked, do not have rest. Rav Mari said: Even the bodies of the righteous will not be preserved and will become dust, as it is written: “And the dust returns to the earth as it was” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). (Shabbat 152b:8)

Rav Aḥai said: Whoever taught you the book of Ecclesiastes did not teach you the book of Proverbs, for it is written in Proverbs: “A tranquil heart is the life of the flesh, but envy is the rotting of the bones” (Proverbs 14:30). This means that anyone who has envy in their heart during their lifetime, the bones rot in the grave, and anyone who does not have envy in their heart, the bones do not rot. (Shabbat 152b:10)

• What do you think it means to have rest after one dies?
• Do you have a concept of an angel watching over these things as Duma is described?
• What does it mean to have envy in your heart during your lifetime? What does this text teach about what we do while we’re alive?
• How does the idea of Yom Kippur and repentance and forgiveness play into this?

Despite these (and other) passages in the Talmud, there is not one convincing belief of the afterlife, resurrection, or what happens after you die in Judaism. Even the great Maimonides seemed to argue against (and then for) the idea that the Messiah will bring about bodily resurrection for the dead.

Going back to the change in liturgy between the Reform movement, it also leads to questions about what happens when the Messiah comes. Most of the concept of resurrection happens when the Messiah comes. Some believe that there is a Messiah and there will be a personal bodily resurrection. Others, especially the more liberal sects of Judaism, believe that there will be a universal belief in a messianic age – when the world will be one and at peace, but not necessarily for a bodily resurrection. (For more reading: Jewish Resurrection of the Dead | My Jewish Learning)

• What is your concept of Messiah?
• How does that play a part in your views on the afterlife?
• Have any of these passages challenged what you previously or currently think about what Judaism teaches about the afterlife?

Judaism doesn’t stress much about what happens after you die, rather, on what you do when you live:

As we’ve seen in the above texts, there isn’t one clear answer to what the afterlife looks like, how it works for us as individuals, or what it all means.

One thing that is stressed in Jewish life is that what you do while you are alive—that is the most important thing about your eternal life. The deeds that you do while you live, your legacy, and the elements of yourself that you pass on to your family, friends, and community is a way that we continue in the afterlife. Living On after Death | Reform Judaism

• How has studying all these texts changed or expanding your views on Judaism and the afterlife?
• What does it mean to leave a legacy?
• Do you have your own concept of the afterlife?