According to Judaism how does a person make it to heaven?

Answer 1

Judaism doesn't believe in heaven or hell. It's more about living your life here correctly and getting a well-deserved rest when you are done.

Answer 2

well, it depends on what the jew in question's personal idea of heaven is. judaism does not have a lot of dogma about the afterlife since its not a very important part of the jewish religion. the concept of a "heaven" (or at least a jewish-style equivalent) is common to jewish belief but its not very developed and almost nobody agrees about it. but as for what judaism looks for in a person, it depends on whether you are a jew or a non-jew. judaism wants jews to behave ethically and with kindness, and to follow the commandments G-d gave us in the torah. and as for non-jews, judaism asks that that they live a moral life as well, but they don't have to follow the biblical laws.

Answer 3

Although Judaism certainly supports the idea of an afterlife, it is not the same afterlife that Christianity has made popular, what with a heaven filled with harps and haloes, and a hell populated by horned demons with pitchforks and all that jazz. And frankly, the afterlife has never been an area that Judaism has focused on too strongly. The ancient Egyptians (the nation from which G-d redeemed the Jewish people) were obsessed with the afterlife, it was a very death-oriented culture.

This is an area in which one finds perhaps the most misunderstanding between Christians and Jews. The Christian can't understand why the Jews don't concern themselves more with avoiding the eternal fires of Hell, and Jews marvel at the Christian obsession with the hereafter. And herein lies a fundamental difference between the two faiths. The first spiritual question a faithful Christian is likely to ask, as he or she has been conditioned to do so, is "how do I get into Heaven?" or "how do I avoid Hell?" These are very inwardly focused questions. The first question the faithful Jew asks is "how can I serve G-d?" In seeking the answer to the first question, the Jew automatically obtains the answer to the first.

There is no Heaven and Hell, at least not in terms of Christian theology. The closest thing in Judaism to Hell is called Gehinnom (often mistranslated as "Hell" in the Christian sense), which is really a stage of purification after death for the soul that requires it. It's a bit like something the Catholics came up with later called Purgatory.

The key thing to remember is that the suffering that occurs in Gehinnom is the natural consequence of our thoughts, words and deeds. After death, the soul perceives our entire lives with total clarity, as well as the reality of G-d's existence and His Kingship. When we see every sin we committed, in light of the Truth, as well as every missed opportunity, every moment wasted, every instance where we could have done a mitzvah and rejected the opportunity, the pain is indescribable. But it's not the vengeance of a petty G-d. G-d is not small and vindictive. He doesn't punish the wicked so He can feel big. The punishment of those who err is either for their benefit (that they may learn the error of their ways), or is an effect of which they are the cause.

Christians like to look at the G-d of the bible as two seperate entities. There's the angry, vengeful G-d of the "Old Testament," and the kind, forgiving G-d of the Gospels. This can only result from a careless reading of the Hebrew Bible (usually in a bad translation), or else willfull ignorance. G-d interacts with the world in different ways, but he is not a schizophrenic.

I'm afraid for all my explaining, I still haven't answered your question, so I shall do so now.

For a Jew, according to Judaism, to "make it to heaven" (the difference between heaven and hell, if you ask me, is nothing more than the soul's proximity to its source after death), or rather, to do what is right in G-d's eyes, is to follow His Torah. To keep the covenant of Avraham Avinu (Our Father Abraham) and to observe the mitzvos (commandments) to the best of our ability.

For a Gentile, according to Judaism, to do what is right in G-d's eyes, well, you might be surprised. Many religions condemn to hell all those outside the religion. Judaism is not one of those religions (and yet we are often smeared with accusations of exclusivism and bigotry - often by members of far more exclusivist faiths, but I digress). Judaism of course accepts all sincere converts. Those who wish to share in the special mission of the Jewish people are welcome to do so. For those who do not, there is the covenant (every bit as valid as the Abrahamic covenant), that G-d established with Noah. With it came the Sheva Mitvos Shel B'nei Noach (The Seven Noachide Commandments), and they are:

# Do not murder.
# Do not steal.
# Do not worship false gods.
# Do not be sexually immoral.
# Do not eat a limb removed from a live animal.
# Do not curse God.
# Set up courts and bring offenders to justice.

Many religions (for example Islam, and arguably, Christianity) already have this stuff as part and parcel of their beliefs, so, good for them.

There's actually a movement these days of Torah-observant Gentiles calling themselves Noachides or B'nei Noach. As far as I can tell, they're mostly comprised of former Christians who read the Old Testament a little too carefully. These people are not Jews themselves, but they are practicisng Judaism (try and wrap your noggin around that one!), as it applies to them.

So there you have it... to curry G-d's favor, there are two paths. For the Jews, the covenant of Abraham. For non-Jews, the covenant of Noah. Both are absolutely, 100% valid. And anyone who wishes to upgrade from the Noachide covenant and its seven mitzvos to the Abrahamic covenant and its whopping 613 (the reward is commensurate to the work - and He gives us plenty to do), is absolutely free to do so. It only works one way though.

I hope this sort of answers your question.

Answer 4

What JewishGirl said.

Answer 5

Jews do not dwell on the ''afterlife''. It is your life here on earth that matters.

Heaven is believed to exist by most Jews. And, all good people will go there---------no matter what their religion is.

Answer 6

Modern, secular Jews may not BELIEVE in hell, but their own Scriptures sure talk about it a lot:

Deu 32:22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

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2Sa 22:6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;

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Job 11:8 [It is] as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?

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Job 26:6 Hell [is] naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.

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Psa 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, [and] all the nations that forget God.

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Psa 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

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Psa 18:5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

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Psa 55:15 Let death seize upon them, [and] let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness [is] in their dwellings, [and] among them.

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Psa 86:13 For great [is] thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

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Psa 116:3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.

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Psa 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou [art] there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou [art there].

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Pro 5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

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Pro 7:27 Her house [is] the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

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Pro 9:18 But he knoweth not that the dead [are] there; [and that] her guests [are] in the depths of hell.

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Pro 15:11 Hell and destruction [are] before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?

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Pro 15:24 The way of life [is] above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.

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Pro 23:14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

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Pro 27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

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Isa 5:14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

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Isa 14:9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet [thee] at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, [even] all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

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Isa 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

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Isa 28:15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

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Isa 28:18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

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Isa 57:9 And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase [thyself even] unto hell.

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Eze 31:16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.

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Eze 31:17 They also went down into hell with him unto [them that be] slain with the sword; and [they that were] his arm, [that] dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.

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Eze 32:21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

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Eze 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty [that are] fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though [they were] the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

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Amo 9:2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:

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Jon 2:2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, [and] thou heardest my voice.

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Hab 2:5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, [he is] a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and [is] as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people: