What do the Jews believe about death?

Answer 1

Assuming the deceased person is a Jew, the following happens:

The body is cleansed by a group known as the Chevra Kadisha. The burial, whenever possible, takes place the same day. Jewish law does not permit embalming, or viewing of the body ("open-casket"); nor does it allow cremation.

The immediate family sit shiva for a week, and kaddish is recited. There are various mourning-restrictions which apply; these include not taking a haircut for a specific period, etc.

When possible, Torah is learned for the merit of the deceased.

If the deceased is not Jewish, then the Jews permit this person to perform whatever rituals that person finds appropriate. There are certain rituals, like attending a wake, that some Jews will not do, but they will almost always be willing to attend a memorial service for a deceased Non-Jew that they care about.

Answer 2

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.

There are two main reasons for this. The first is that Judaism focuses on this life with the goal of making this world the best we can. The second is that as we don't know for sure what happens after we die, we cannot say that we do.

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 soul does not cease to exist when the body dies. Among the 13 central beliefs of Judaism codified by Maimonides, is the principle that the soul is held responsible for its actions when it was alive.

The continuation of the soul after the death of the body is implicit in verses such as "You will come to your forefathers in peace and will be buried in ripe old age" (Genesis ch.15). It is referring to the realm of the souls, and not mere burial with ancestors, since the person who was given this prophecy (Abraham) was not buried with his fathers.

Also "Your dead shall live; my dead body will arise" (Isaiah 26:19). See also Daniel 12:13.

There are a couple of dozen verses along these lines. However, beyond that, the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) does not spend a great deal of space elaborating on this subject; and a number of reasons have been given for that (see the Kli Yakar commentary on Leviticus ch.26). The Torah focuses on what we have to do in this world.

The midrashim and Talmud, however, are replete with further information about the next world; a large chapter of Talmud is devoted to that subject (Sanhedrin, folio pages 90-110).

Answer 3

One of the central beliefs of Judaism, as codified by Rambam (Maimonides), is that the soul continues to exist after the death of the body and is treated in accordance with the person's actions while he/she was alive. All outstanding accounts are settled after this life. Some cases illustrate this point, since this entire world wouldn't be enough to reward a Moses or punish a Hitler.

The afterlife is detailed at length in the Talmud. A full 20 pages of Talmud (Sanhedrin 90-110) are given to this subject. The afterlife is also referred to briefly in Torah (Bible) verses such as Genesis 15:15, which states that "You (Abraham) will come to your fathers in peace and will be buried in good (ripe; full) old age." This does not mean merely to be buried withone's forefathers, since Abraham was not buried with them. Such verses are stated many times.

The prophets are more explicit with such references (such as Isaiah 26:19, Daniel 12:13).

The Tanakh does not delve into detail of the rewards of the righteous, because other religions could compete with even more poetic promises. Also because belief in the afterlife was shared by all ancient societies and needed little reiteration. See the Kli Yakar commentary to Leviticus ch. 26 for a fuller discussion.

Death and mourning:

1) The body is buried in a simple shroud (Talmud, Ketubot 8b), because the only things which one brings to the next world are spiritual accomplishments - not jewellery etc.
2) The body is cleansed (by the Chevra Kadisha) and buried as soon as feasible, because we try to maintain its dignity; the dignity of the divine image (Genesis ch.5). For this reason, traditional Jews do not cremate.
3) The burial should be accompanied by as many people as possible, as a sign of honor and loss (Talmud, Ketubot 17a).
4) The initial mourning periods are one, three and seven days. The act of mourning honors the dead (Rashi, Talmud Sukkah 25a) and allows the mourner to gradually deal with his/her emotion so that it won't weigh upon the heart for too long (Maimonides, "Guide," 3:41).
a) The first day of mourning is the most bitter (Talmud, Berakhot 16b, based on Amos 8:10).
b) The first three days are for crying (Talmud, Moed Katan 27b).
c) The seven-day mourning period is of extreme antiquity (Genesis 50:10), as is the practice of eulogizing the deceased (ibid).
5) It is forbidden to mourn without cease (Moed Katan, ibid). The mourner is expected to eventually get back to normal living. The practice of visiting the mourner allows him/her to talk about the deceased, and to maintain interpersonal contact so as not to sink into depression.
6) The Jewish laws of mourning, such as tearing one's garment and not cutting one's hair for a month, show honor to the deceased and express one's feeling of pain. For this reason, they are similar to the ways which we mourn the loss of the Holy Temple in the days before the ninth of Av.
7) The saying of Kaddish expresses our trust in God's judgment.

Answer 4

Many customs are involved, including the saying of prayers at the gravesite, saying Kaddish each day for close to a year, observing strictures of mourning, and learning torah for the merit of the deceased.

Answer 5

Orthodox Jews believe that people have souls that are eternal. A person is accountable for their actions and there is a life after death.

Most non-Orthodox Jews have similar beliefs about the soul being eternal, but do not spend much time focusing on the details.

In fact, 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 soul does not cease to exist when the body dies. Among the 13 central beliefs of Judaism codified by Maimonides, is the principle that the soul is held responsible for its actions when it was alive.

The continuation of the soul after the death of the body is implicit in verses such as "You will come to your forefathers in peace and will be buried in ripe old age" (Genesis ch.15). It is referring to the realm of the souls, and not mere burial with ancestors, since the person who was given this prophecy (Abraham) was not buried with his fathers.

Also "Your dead shall live; my dead body will arise" (Isaiah 26:19). See also Daniel 12:13.

There are a couple of dozen verses along these lines. However, beyond that, the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) does not spend a great deal of space elaborating on this subject; and a number of reasons have been given for that (see the Kli Yakar commentary on Leviticus ch.26). The Torah focuses on what we have to do in this world.

The midrashim and Talmud, however, are replete with further information about the next world; a large chapter of Talmud is devoted to that subject (Sanhedrin, folio pages 90-110).

Answer 6

Well, I wouldn't say we celebrate death, but we celebrate the life of the person who has passed. Just like everyone else, we have a funeral, but then after the funeral everyone meets either at someones home to comfort each other in their time of grief, called a Shiva.

Answer 7

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:

All humans were created with a soul that does not die when the person's body dies. This is a fundamental belief of Judaism and other religions. The Jewish prophets mention this in a number of verses, and an entire chapter of the Talmud discusses the details (see Sanhedrin, folio pages 90-110).

Answer 8

1) The body is buried in a simple shroud (Talmud, Ketubot 8b), because the only things which one brings to the next world are spiritual accomplishments - not jewellery etc.
2) The body is cleansed (by the Chevra Kadisha) and buried as soon as feasible, because we try to maintain its dignity; the dignity of the divine image (Genesis ch.5). For this reason, traditional Jews do not cremate.
3) The burial should be accompanied by as many people as possible, as a sign of honor and loss (Talmud, Ketubot 17a).
4) The initial mourning periods are one, three and seven days. The act of mourning honors the dead (Rashi, Talmud Sukkah 25a) and allows the mourner to gradually deal with his/her emotion so that it won't weigh upon the heart for too long (Maimonides, "Guide," 3:41).
a) The first day of mourning is the most bitter (Talmud, Berakhot 16b, based on Amos 8:10).
b) The first three days are for crying (Talmud, Moed Katan 27b).
c) The seven-day mourning period is of extreme antiquity (Genesis 50:10), as is the practice of eulogizing the deceased (ibid).
5) It is forbidden to mourn without cease (Moed Katan, ibid). The mourner is expected to eventually get back to normal living. The practice of visiting the mourner allows him/her to talk about the deceased, and to maintain interpersonal contact so as not to sink into depression.
6) The Jewish laws of mourning, such as tearing one's garment and not cutting one's hair for a month, show honor to the deceased and express one's feeling of pain. For this reason, they are similar to the ways which we mourn the loss of the Holy Temple in the days before the ninth of Av.
7) The saying of Kaddish expresses our trust in God's judgment.

Answer 9

1) The body is buried in a simple shroud (Talmud, Ketubot 8b), because the only things which one brings to the next world are spiritual accomplishments, not jewelry etc.
2) The body is cleansed (by the Chevra Kadisha) and buried as soon as feasible, because we try to maintain its dignity; the dignity of the divine image (Genesis ch.5). For this reason, traditional Jews do not cremate.

3) The burial should be accompanied by as many people as possible, as a sign of honor and loss (Talmud, Ketubot 17a).

4) The initial mourning periods are one, three and seven days. The act of mourning honors the dead (Rashi, Talmud Sukkah 25a) and allows the mourner to gradually deal with his/her emotion so that it won't weigh upon the heart for too long (Maimonides, "Guide," 3:41).
a) The first day of mourning is the most bitter (Talmud, Berakhot 16b, based on Amos 8:10).
b) The first three days are for crying (Talmud, Moed Katan 27b).
c) The seven-day mourning period is of extreme antiquity (Genesis 50:10), as is the practice of eulogizing the deceased (ibid).

5) It is forbidden to mourn without cease (Moed Katan, ibid). The mourner is expected to eventually get back to normal living. The practice of visiting the mourner allows him/her to talk about the deceased, and to maintain interpersonal contact so as not to sink into depression.

6) The Jewish laws of mourning, such as tearing one's garment and not cutting one's hair for a month, show honor to the deceased and express one's feeling of pain. For this reason, they are similar to the ways which we mourn the loss of the Holy Temple in the days before the ninth of Av.

7) The saying of Kaddish expresses our trust in God's judgment.

See also:

Why do Jews put small stones on monuments?

The afterlife in Judaism

Answer 10

Jews handle death by going to a funeral and mourning like christians do