Apparently, this is a very deep subject. I also found this and thought that is was interesting enough to cut and paste here.
URL:
www.scjfaq.org/faq/12-08.html
www.scjfaq.org/faq
Question 12.8:
What do Jews say happens when a person dies? Do
Jews believe in reincarnation? In hell or heaven?
[Note that this description is derived mostly from the Zohar, a
12th century work that evolved from the mystical writings of R'
Shim'on bar Yochai (2nd century). The Zohar is the central
writing of Kabbalah.]
In general, and in contrast to some other religions, in day-to-day
life Jews don't pay much attention to questions like this. The
focus of Jewish life is living according to G-d's will as expressed
in the Torah. What happens afterwards is up to G-d.
That said, traditional Judaism does address this question. To put
it shortly, our beliefs in resurection and afterlife vary widely.
Some believe it is part of the Messianic era. Some consider it an
era of its own, after the messianic one. It's a matter of debate in
Jewish tradition as to whether the post resurection life is
permanent, or temporary. Nachamides believes that the ultimate
reward, the "World to Come" is that post-resurrection life, and
therefore it must be eternal. Maimonides opines that the ultimate
reward is the relatively direct experience of G-d that a soul can
have when not encumbered with a body and its desires.
Therefore he understands the phrase "World to Come" to refer to
the non-physical existance after life, and that's man ultimate
reward. He returns to that reward after a second, resurrected life.
This is because Maimonides believes it's because man can only
face his judgement in the same condition as when he sinned.
Since he sinned while in a body, he is returned to that body to be
judged. R' Yosef Albo agrees with Maimonides that the post
resurrection life isn't permanent. To be specific, he believes that
the lifespan will be 1,000 years -- the length of time Adam would
have lived after eating from the forbidden fruit (had he not given
away 70 years for someone else). His reason for this second life,
though, is very different. Albo writes in the Ikkarim
(Fundamentals) that in this life, man masters the art of
self-perfection in the face of adversity -- disease, threat of
poverty, and everything else that could go wrong in life. In the
next life, the only challenges are internal, there will be no external
impediments. It's therefore a second step in personal
development, allowing for more refinement in one's ability to
enjoy the World to Come upon return. In the early 20th century,
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (cheif Rabbi of British Mandate
Palestine) wrote that the resurection occurs by the end of the
illusion that separates this universe from heaven.
Now, for the more mystical explanation. Keep in mind that there
are dissenting viewpoints, though this is the dominant one.
A living person consists of both body and soul. Both are complex
in structure and this short answer can't possibly address the
details. To summarize briefly, when the body dies, if the person
merits it, a small portion of the soul remains with it to keep it
connected with the soul's source, anticipating the general revival
of the dead at the time that G-d decrees. Different parts of the
remainder of the soul may go to different places. One might be
reincarnated into a new body in an attempt to rectify another of
its spiritual aspects, or for other purposes. One part might go to a
level of Paradise. Another might go to Gehinnom for a period, to
remove the sins of that life and prepare it for a future one.
Another part might join temporarily with an already living person,
to assist it with its rectification and in the process gather more
merit. The reassignments of the soul continues until the time that
G-d decrees.
Rabbinic afterlife teachings varied in different places and times,
and was never synthesized into one coherent philosophy. As
such, the different descriptions of the afterlife are not always
consistent with each other. This is especially true for the
descriptions of "Olam Haba", the world to come. In some
rabbinic works this phrase refers to the messianic era, a physical
realm right here on Earth. However, in other works this phrase
means Gan Edan, Paradise (in Heaven, so to speak), a purely
spiritual realm. At various points in the afterlife journey, the soul
is said to encounter:
Hibbut ha-kever, the pains of the grave
Dumah, the angel of silence
The angel of death
The Kaf ha-Kela, the catapult of the soul
Gehenna (purgatory) and Gan Eden (Heaven; Paradise)
A discussion of the classic rabbinic view of the afterlife, including
these topics and more, can be found in an essay by Rabbi
Zalman Schacter Shalomi called "Life in the hereafter: A tour of
what's to come", found at
http://www.elevated.fsnet.co.uk/index-page13.html.
Gehenna is fairly well defined in rabbinic literature. It is
sometimes translated as "hell", but Jews must take note that the
Christian version of hell is different from the Jewish view of
Gehenna. Some Christians believe that hell is an abode of eternal
torment where sinners go, and is also for anyone who does not
accept Jesus as their messiah and G-d. Other Christians believe
Hell is a place of separation from G-d (which, for Christians, is
torture enough), from which believers are eventually saved by
Jesus. Roman Catholics believe that Hell is a place of eternal
suffering—physical, mental and spiritual suffering. In the Roman
Catholic view of Hell, the physical pain is constant and severe;
but the worst torture of Hell is the knowledge that they will never
see G-d and that they will remain in Hell for eternity. For Roman
Catholics, Hell is permanent and eternal. For Roman Catholics,
the soul that has deliberately and knowingly disobeyed G-d's
commandments in life and that remains in a state of mortal sin
upon death has through it's own free will damned itself to Hell for
all eternity. Roman Catholics also have the notion of Purgatory,
which is for souls that are truly repentant, but not in the state of
grace upon death. Purgatory is similar to Hell in that there is
physical suffering, the Roman Catholic belief is that the soul will
return to G-d when it is purged of its sins. Purgatory can last a
day or thousands of years depending on the amount of purging
the individual soul requires.
However, for Jews, gehenna—while certainly a terribly
unpleasant place—is not hell. The majority of rabbinic thought
maintains that people are not tortured in hell forever; the longest
that one can be there is said to be 12 months. It is a spiritual
forge where the soul is purified for its eventual ascent to Gan
Eden [Heaven], and where all imperfections are purged. [In this
sense, it is somewhat similar to the Roman Catholic purgatory,
however the time period has a definate maximum]. Gehennom
(lit: the valley of Hinnom, in Jerusalem; i.e. hell) is the sinner's
experience in the afterlife. In other words, it's the same "place" as
gan eiden (lit: the garden of Eden; i.e. heaven) — it's the
perspective of the individual that makes it one or the other.
In some descriptions of the afterlife, we find that beyond Gan
Eden there is a little known realm called the otzar, the divine
treasury of souls; this is also called the tzror ha-hayyim, the
bundle of life. This otzar is a transcendent realm of human souls,
in the highest spheres of creation. Before souls are born they are
said to come from this treasury, and they return they at some
point after death.
Souls are said to originate in a realm called the 'guf' (Avodah
Zarah 5a, Nedarim 13b, Yevamot 62a), from which they descend
to the earthly real to animate human bodies. After death, these
souls return to the otzar, or tzror ha-hayyim. (Shabbat 152a;
Pesikta Rabbati 2:3)
According to the Kabbalah [Jewish mysticism] every human has
at least one element in their soul; with the proper study a person
can eventually develop two higher levels of the soul. A common
way of explaining the three parts of the soul is as follows:
1.Nefesh - the lower part, or animal part, of the soul. Is
linked to instincts and bodily cravings.
2.Ruach - the middle soul, the spirit. It contains the moral
virtues and the ability to distinguish between good and evil.
3.Neshamah - the higher soul, or super-soul. This separates
man from all other lifeforms. It is related to the intellect,
and allows man to enjoy and benefit from the afterlife. This
part of the soul is provided both to Jew and non-Jew alike
at birth. It allows one to have some awareness of the
existence and presence of G-d.
The "Raaya Meheimna," a later addition to the Zohar,
posits that there are in fact two more parts of the human
soul, the chayyah and yehidah. These parts were
considered to represent the sublimest levels of intuitive
cognition, and were only within the grasp of very few
individuals.
4.Chayyah - The part of the soul that allows one to have an
awareness of the divine life force itself.
5.Yehidad - the highest plane of the soul, in which one can
achieve as full a union with G-d as is possible.
According to the Zohar, after death each aspect of the soul
undergoes a different experience on the afterlife journey. The
lower levels of the soul are purified and purged of physical and
emotional attachments, while the higher levels experience
transcendental bliss. The nefesh temporarily remains with the
body in the grave, undergoing the Hibbut Ha-Kever, the suffering
of the grave. Simultaneously, the Ruach experiences Gehenna for
12 months. "Gehenna is conceived of as a purification process in
which the psychic remnants from the previous life are purged and
transformed. This purgation process lasts only twelve months and
is tormentingly painful in direct proportion to each individual's
lived life experience. [Simcha Paull-Rapahel ] After leaving
Gehenna, the ruah then permanently enters the Lower Gan Eden.
After death the Neshama, since it not subject to being tainted by
sin, goes to Gan Eden Elyon, the Upper Gan Eden, where it
experiences divine reward and bliss. The hayyah and yehidah
also return to Upper Gan Eden immediately after death, and
become as one with G-d as is possible. "Those who have
awakened these dimensions of their being are able to perceive the
infinite grandeur of the divine realms, to enter the everflowing
celestial stream - described by the Zoha as the "bundle of life".
[Paull-Rapahel]
Given all this, what happens to the soul of the nonbeliever? The
most common belief in contemporary traditional Jewish
communities is that all souls go to the after-life. Nearly all,
barring a handful or two in all of human history, eventually end
up in Gan Eden (roughly: heaven), even non-believers.
Maimonides (a medieval Jewish thinker) opined that
non-believers cease to exist upon death. His reasoning was that
the ability to exist eternally is G-d's, and is only acquired by the
soul to the extent that the soul knows of, and therefore shares
some of the form of, G-d. This opinion was more popular in the
midevil period, but no longer captures much attention, since
around the early 19th century. At that time, the Chassidic and
Mussar movements influenced Orthodox thought. The Aristotilian
influence of the medieval thinkers like Maimonides faded in favor
of other, equally old, approaches to the problem. All of these
notions have roots in the Talmud (our earliest written rabbinic
texts) and earlier. It is just a matter of which approach to G-d
from within that tradition people follow. [Note: While you may
have heard of Chassidim, there are few if any Mussarists left
post-WWII. It was an Orthodox movement based on personality
improvement and stressed the inter-personal commandments.]
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