How do you get to heaven according to Judaism?

Answer 1

Jewish Answer

Judaism teaches that the righteous of ALL faiths will 'have a share in the world to come'. It doesn't matter which faith a person follows: if they behave with kindness and integrity towards their fellow men, they will reach 'gan eden' (the 'garden of eden'). In Judaism, our actions are as important as our beliefs: it's what we DO to make this a better world that counts.

Please note that the Christian concept of heaven doesn't exist in Judaism.

Answer 2

Judaism isn't about "getting to heaven". It's about living a rewarding, holy life, and making the world a better place.

Jewish answer:

By behaving as a Jew should. The traditional definition of Judaism is the observance of the Torah, which is why dictionaries define Judaism as "the religion of Moses." In this sense, the word "Torah" is meant in its wider meaning, which includes the Tanakh, the Talmud, and other classical Jewish texts.
Some examples of the commands:
Belief in God
Putting on Tefillin (phylacteries) in the morning
The sukkah-booth during Sukkot
Avoiding leavened products in Passover
Keeping kosher
Not eating on Yom Kippur
Not working on the Shabbat
Paying workers on time
Marital rights for one's wife
The Ten Commandments
Helping someone who is in danger
Counting the days of the Omer
Returning lost objects when feasible
Wearing the tzitzith-garment
Affixing a mezuzah to the door
Learning Torah
Marrying and having children
Educating one's children in Judaism
Giving tzedakah (charity)
Honoring one's parents
And many more.
The laws have various reasons. Some (such as the Passover) serve to reenact or remember events of our history.
Some (such as saying the Shema-prayer) serve to reiterate our belief in God.
Some of the laws (such as those of ritual purity and kosher food) serve to sanctify us.
Some (such as the laws of torts) serve to maintain an orderly and just society.
Some (such as the law against breaking a vow) serve to prevent bad character traits.
Some (such as the command to offer help) serve to engender good character traits.
And all of the commands serve to subjugate us to God's will (especially those commands for which no explanation is easily apparent).
Note that the Torah "as is" isn't exactly what Judaism observes. Rather, It's the Torah together with the details provided in the Talmud, which is the Oral Law that was handed down together with the laws of Moses. Otherwise, the verses of the Torah often lack enough detail to be fulfilled as is.

Answer 3

Judaism doesn't have a concept of heaven the same as Christianity. In truth, Judaism barely spends any time discussing what may or may not happen when we die, in fact, there's barely any mention of this subject in the Tanach (Jewish Bible) at all.

There are some loose theories of what might happen though:

* When we die, our souls are cleansed of any wrongdoings. This is done by our accounting of every action done in life. It's believed that this process takes no longer than 12 months but most people don't do enough bad in life to warrant it taking a full 12 months.

* Our souls return to HaShem to wait for the world to come.

* Our souls may be reincarnated into different people so that we have additional chances to work to become closer to HaShem.

* Those souls that choose to be truly evil in life, cannot survive the process of cleansing and cease to exist.

Answer:

The Jewish Talmud (Oral law) spends plenty of time teaching about the World to Come and afterlife. A large chapter (Sanhedrin 90-110) is devoted to that.

To address the question, Judaism teaches that any deserving person can merit eternal reward.

Answer 4

There is no concept of 'salvation' in Judaism, the way you find in Christianity. Jews do not believe in 'original sin'. Rather, we believe that all humans are born pure and innocent, thus we do not need to be 'saved'.

Judaism says that all righteous souls will reach 'heaven', and all humans are equally G-d's children.

- - -

All humans might be born pure and innocent, but they are also born with the capacity for doing both good and evil. In Judaism, a mature person chooses which direction to take but should seek to repent for wrongdoing, especially during the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. For sins against another person, you are expected to ask forgiveness. For "sins against God," you are expected to promise not to repeat such actions and to live righteously subsequently.

Answer 5

We don't believe in the existence of either heaven or hell. Judaism barely spends any time discussing what may or may not happen when we die, in fact, there's barely any mention of this subject in the Tanach (Jewish Bible) at all. The reason for this is that Judaism focuses on this life with the goal of making the world as good as we can.

Answer 6

We don't believe in the existence the Christian concept of heaven. What happens after death is actually barely discussed in Judaism and there are some theories, primarily that after death our souls are cleansed and we either return to HaShem (The Creator) to wait for the world to come or we are reincarnated as a person to work to become closer to HaShem. There is also a theory that the soul of a person who does great evil throughout their life ceases to exist.

The focus of Judaism is to do good in this life.

Answer 7

The easiest way to gain admittance to Eternal reward in Judaism is really very simple - by not being Jewish. Jews believe that non-Jews are not expected to follow the 613 laws (known as the Taryag Mitzvot) by which Jewish people must live their lives and, as a result, they can get into Heaven simply by being a basically good human being.

Traditional Jews, however, believe they must use the Mitzvot to inform every decision they make and action they carry out. Examples include: giving at least 10% of your annual income and wealth to charitable causes (there are sub-divisions of laws here - certain ways of giving charity are more honourable), must keep kosher (which is a lot more involved than not eating pork - many other food must be avoided and many that can be eaten must not be eaten with dairy), must maintain high standards when dealing with other people and/or animals (basically summed up as "loving kindness"), must abide by a whole host of laws governing behaviour and activities on Shabbat and other holidays, must not eat certain foods during Pesach (Passover), must eat certain foods at other times (and at Pesach), must have children...and must also obey.

So far as I know, Judaism is the only religion which states entry to Heaven is easier for non-believers than for believers!

Answer 8

By living according to the ways of God as set forth in the Torah. Jews believe that the Divine Law can be followed and those who follow it can merit the Divine Mercies needed to enter the World-to-Come.

Answer 9

One of the central beliefs of Judaism, as stated in the Talmud (Mishna, Sanhedrin 11:1) and codified by Maimonides (1135-1204), is that the soul continues to exist and is treated in accordance with the person's actions while he or she was alive. This applies to all people, whatever their religion.

As for Jews, the Torah states:

"I have placed before you life and good, and death and evil; in that I command you to love the Lord your God, to go in His ways, and to keep His commandments. Then you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you. But if you turn turn away, and do not listen, then you shall surely perish. Therefore choose life, to love the Lord your God, to hearken to His voice, and to cling to Him; for that is your life and the length of your days (Deuteronomy 30:15-20, excerpted).

See also the Related Links.

1) More about the commands

2) More about the afterlife

Answer 10

Through all the hundreds of mitzvoth (commands), principles and beliefs of the Torah.

Though it may have an associated culture and one or more associated languages, the traditional definition of Judaism is the observance of the Torah, which is why dictionaries define Judaism as "the religion of Moses." In this sense, the word "Torah" is meant in its wider meaning, which includes the Tanakh, the Talmud, and other classical Jewish texts.
The philosophy of Judaism is that this world is a purposeful creation by God, in which all people are tested concerning their use of free-will. We possess a soul which lives on after the body dies and is held responsible for the person's actions. Anyone who is worthy, Jewish or not, can merit reward in the afterlife.
For fuller detail, see the Related Links.Link: The basic beliefs of Judaism

Link: The practices of Judaism

Link: The principles of Judaism

Link: The ethics of Judaism

Link: How Judaism began

Link: The texts of Judaism