does it exist, after physical death? and if so, where does it go?
Thanx
2006-09-08 09:00:24 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I understand and appreciate - that followers of a Christ system have extremely strong and sometimes rigid beliefs re: soul and after-life. . . this question was in no way 'challenging' their right to believe, nor asking them to crowd this question space with their non-Jewish information (dogma).
To those with accurate knowledge of a belief system, OTHER THAN the Jesus one, who have shared their knowing here - thank you for the information, genuinely.
2006-09-08 09:29:14 · update #1
yes, we definitely have an immortal soul (neshamah), everybody does. there are a few commonly accepted beliefs in judaism about what happens after death. we arent dogmatic about the afterlife like christianity is. the generally accepted opinion is that the human soul goes through a temporary process called Gehinnom which is a spiritual cleansing to get rid of negativity caused by sins you have done in life, so that when your sin is pure it can reunite with G-d in Gan Eden ("heaven"). this process is the same for all souls, jews and nonjews alike. orthodox jews generally also believe in a resurrection of the dead which will come in the future, when G-d will restore the world to perfection and peace similar to the Garden of Eden of genesis, and souls will return to earth to enjoy this new life forever, without death. judaism also allows for a belief in reincarnation - ie, before progressing to the afterlife, G-d gives you more chances on earth to do things better than you did last time.
EDIT
i just read one person's views and i want to comment... i have heard of a few jewish people who believe that the most evil souls are simply destroyed and i have always wondered what their reasoning was since if souls can be destroyed then it conflicts with the basic jewish belief that souls are eternal. so i am not trying to challenge anybody here, but its my opinion and i think halacha would agree that that particular belief is incompatible with jewish theology. at least from what i have read. i admit that i havent read everything. and since we cant really know for sure, its a non-issue, i just wanted to comment.
2006-09-08 09:06:00 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is the concept of heaven. I think you will find different ideas, tho.
Some say it is the soul that goes to heaven. Some say the body and soul are buried until the coming of the Messiah and then all people will go to heaven at once.
And, I am sure you can find other Jewish thought on the subject, too. There is even the concept of reincarnation.
Tho there are certain beliefs that are what makes a Jew-there is room for people to have their own thoughts on different things.
2006-09-08 16:07:32 · answer #2 · answered by Shossi 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Judaism teaches that there is a life beyond this one; however, different people believe different things, even within a single branch of Judaism. In general, we do not believe that there is a heaven (or hell) as places as in Christianity, but that we will simply rejoin with God, which is where we all come from. There is also a school of thought that believes that if a person dies with something left undone, he/she may be sent back to complete it, thus allowing a sort of belief in reincarnation. Such a return would be as a person, not into other forms such as animals.
2006-09-08 16:08:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most religions teach that we have an immortal soul. The differences are in how we save ourselves.
Everyone claims to have the answer when in actual fact none of them do. Much too complicated to answer by saying "God says do this, or that or whatever. From the book "The Plain Truth About God-101" (what the church doesn't wnat you to know!)
**In other words, our connection to God is an intensely personal relationship that should never be interfered with by another human being telling us what God wants or means.
If another person tells you they know the mind of God, you can bet it is the “metaphorical devil” doing the talking.
If that someone tells you how to avoid going to Hell and attaining Paradise, run like hell…away from them!
- Allan W. Janssen
www.god-101.blogspot.com
2006-09-08 16:08:43 · answer #4 · answered by Moses 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
souls are by default immortal. if one is an extremely bad person, thier soul is destroyed once they die. For everyone else, they usually go to "hell" for awhile (12 months tops) to cleanse their soul and then ascend to heaven (of course, the more righteous the person, the better heaven is).
keep in mind that heaven and hell aren't physical places.
cheerio
2006-09-08 16:43:12 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Jews believe in a paradise earth when the messiah comes.
They believe in a future resurrection of the good people.
Don't believe in hell, except that it is the grave.
The good will come back to live in paradise forever the bad are gone for good. When you died you cease to exist and in the new earth god brings you back in a resurrection.
2006-09-08 16:05:55 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
1.yes we have immortal souls.
2.yes it exists after physical death.
3.it goes to heaven or hell,heaven if you serve god,and hell if you prefer to serve yourself,and the world.
don't let anyone tell you otherwise
2006-09-08 16:11:24 · answer #7 · answered by cute_boy_micah 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I am going to answer your Jewish beliefs question with a Christian beliefs answer.
Yes, you have an immortal soul, it either goes to Heaven...if you have accepted Jesus as your Saviour, or Hell...if you have not.
The bible states that we are destined to die once, then the judgement.
2006-09-08 16:09:08 · answer #8 · answered by David S 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋