Jews and death??

Question

I'm sorry to ask this idiotic question but, Where do jews go when they die?? Do they believe in heaven, or what.

Answer 1

They rot in the ground, just like everybody else.

However, I think they believe they'll be in Heaven. They don't necessarily believe in a Hell, though. Satan and Hell are more of a Christian concept.

Answer 2

Theoretically, everyone goes to the same place. After all, Christians don't go to Christian Heaven whereas Jews go to Jewish Heaven. However, I assume you meant, what do Jews believe concerning the afterlife.
The answer is simply this: It's very complicated.
The majority of the info regarding the Jewish view on death is found in the Kaballah, a scripture considered very difficult to understand and that requires an unbelievable grasp of the Hebrew language. Since I am not fluent in Hebrew and I'm not all that religious I've never read a copy of the Kaballah, but I have spoken to several rabbis about it. The basic idea is that the better person that you are, the closer you are to God. (The scriptures don't provide specifics about where this place actually is and how one can be closer to God if God is everywhere.)
However, there is an understood belief that when the messiah (the equivalent of Jesus in Christianity) comes, all the dead will be resurrected and brought back to Earth.

You actually asked a question that has bewildered even the greatest Jewish theologians for millenia, so it's far from idiotic. The main thing to get out of this is that Judaism doesn't give details about death because Jews are supposed to focus on living their lives well instead of just waiting for death. However, I say that when Jews die, they go to a cemetery.

By the way, Idol of the Katholic Church's explanation is bogus. He quotes from Corinthians, a scripture used by Christians, not Jews.

Answer 3

TOM J...flagged and blocked! You defintely have a problem - and seem to be quite a bigot.
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As far as the question...Judiasm believe in an afterlife,
However, we do not believe in an eternal hell.

Okay, first, here is the timetable in a nutshell: We now live in what we call Olam Hazeh, "This World." The last part of Olam Hazeh will begin to change at some point, and we will eventually live in what will be called the Messianic Era. For this, the Messiah has to come, the Sanhedrin (highest Rabbinical Court) along with all subsidiary Rabbinical Courts will be reinstated, and the Holy Temple will be rebuilt (but not necessarily in that order). All Jews will be gathered to the Land of Israel, and there will be peace all over earth.

All Jews will know all about Judaism, and there will be no estrangement or doubt. The Gentiles will not engage in warfare, and no one will have the need to fear anyone else.

We will all grow spiritually.

http://www.beingjewish.com/soul/afterlife.html

Answer 4

Jews believe in heaven. If you behave you end up there. If you don't you end up in hell, the length of which may vary. More than punishment, Hell is really a cleaning processs and certain horrible sins can not be cleaned in the next world (only during life via repentance) and are eternal stains. Jews believe non jews can also go to heaven, and a no lesser form either.

Answer 5

Judaism does not have alot of real specific dogma about death, its about this life and trusts God for the rest.

jewish belief about the afterlife spans everything from "sleeping unaware in your grave until the time of the messiah" to some sense of heaven, to reincarnation.

Judaism does *not* have an eternal hell.

the things in the old testament that are commonly translated as hell are two different things. Gahenna and Sheol.
sheol means literally the grave. as in... the hole in the ground your body is put into.

gahenna is a place thats vaguely purgatory-like that *everyone* goes to for at least a moment, to deal with the sins of your life. this has a maximum time limit of one year's passage for the living world. but of course this time can seem like alot more if you have to be there anywhere near the full term.

edit: also, Judaism does NOT claim everyone else is screwded. everyone gets the same system. Judaism just has a list of rules that provides a leg up on how to get to where you wanna go faster.

Answer 6

Jews and non Jews go to the same place, it is just the Jews have to follow 613 laws and non Jews have to follow 7. Both will go to a place similar to purgatory to recognize there mistakes in life, then they enter heaven. Hell does not exist

Answer 7

Simply put, yes.

We do not spend our lives worrying about whether we'll get to heaven or not.
We're instructed (you know, by the big guy in the sky) to worry about the here-and-now...help all people, make the world a better place.

Oh, by the way, we Jews also believe that ALL people of ALL faiths are welcome into the Kingdom of Heaven (including that jerk, $mitty)...it is not an exclusive club for just one particular faith.

Answer 8

Docscholl, oyvey, RW and inat have given good answers; I don't have much to add except to agree with them. As they said, we just don't have a very well-defined view of the world to come because most of our Bible deals with the here and now.

I think it's pretty obvious that the answers you've received fall into three categories: those given by Jews; those given by non-Jews; and those given by anti-Semites (whom everyone should flag and block, IMHO).

Answer 9

2 Cor 3:1-19

1 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? 2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: 3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. 4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: 13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:

14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. 15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. 16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. 17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Answer 10

Sweetie, where do Jews go according to whom? According to Methodists? Baptists? Muslims? or Jews? They'd all give you a different answer.

Answer 11

this is interesting to me because i am also Jewish (Conservative) and my Rabbi always explained that Jews do not worry about the afterlife because we have a much larger concern....RIGHT NOW. we say the v'ahavta (sp?) every morning to thank G-d that we woke up alive and well. Its basically my favorite part of my religion, because i think its sad that people spend their whole life trying to prepare for their death... however, i respect all religions and they all have the right to believe whatever they want, especially here in America :)

live in the now people, be thankful for each day, and live your life to its fullest cuz no one promised youll wake up tomorrow.