Where do Jews believe they go when they die?

Answer 1

From the perspective of a reformed Jew, we really don't know.
Orthodox beliefs, also, regarding what happens after death are that we don't know 100% what happens. However, the most common theory of what happens after death is that when we die our souls go through a period of cleansing which can last up to 12 months, however, it's believed that almost no one does enough bad in life for this process to take the full 12 months. After this, we either return to God to wait for the world to come or we can possibly be reincarnated as a person.

• Answer:
  

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.
The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) doesn't dwell at length on the afterlife; and nor does Judaism spend a lot of time speculating on its details. However, that is not meant to diminish its importance. Rather, the Torah implies that we are to use the bulk of our energies in keeping God's ways in this world, with our feet firmly planted on Earth, while nonetheless not losing awareness of our beliefs.
Our ancient sages stated the importance of being aware of the next world: "This world is a mere entrance-hall before the afterlife" (Mishna, Avot ch.4).
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. And while we're alive, knowledge of the future world serves as one of the motivations to keeping God's will.
The Tanakh does not delve into detail of the rewards of the righteous because religions could compete with more and more poetic promises. Also because belief in the afterlife was shared by all ancient societies and needed little reiteration. Besides, it would be like describing the colors of a sunrise to someone who was blind from birth.
It is, however, referred to briefly in Torah verses such as Genesis 15:15, which states that "You (Abraham) will come to your fathers in peace and will be buried in good old age." Coming to his fathers does not mean simply to be buried with them, since Abraham was not buried with his ancestors. Such verses are stated many times.
The prophets are more explicit with such references (see Isaiah 26:19 and 66:24, Daniel 12:13, Zechariah 3:7, 1 Kings 8:30, 2 Kings ch.2, Ecclesiastes 12:7). The afterlife is spoken of at length in the Talmud. More than 20 pages of Talmud (Sanhedrin 90-110, Rosh Hashanah 16-18, and other passages) are given to this subject.

Answer 2

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 God 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 God.

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

Answer:

One of the central beliefs of Judaism, as codified by Rambam (Maimonides), is that the soul continues to exist 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.

Answer 3

The Jewish religion is a a religion of life, and does not concern itself with the afterlife, which is seen as unknowable.

There are some vague references in Jewish literature about "the world to come" but this concept is never clearly defined.

Answer:

One of the central beliefs of Judaism, as stated in the Talmud (Mishna, Sanhedrin 11:1) and codified by Rambam (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.

The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) doesn't dwell at length on the afterlife; and nor do we spend a lot of time speculating on its details. However, that is not meant to diminish from its importance. Rather, the Torah implies that we are to use the bulk of our energies in keeping God's ways and commands in this world, with our feet firmly planted on Earth; while nonetheless not losing awareness of our beliefs.

Our ancient sages stated the importance of being aware of the next world: "This world is a mere entrance-way before the afterlife" (Mishna, Avot ch.4).

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. And while we're alive, knowledge of the future world serves as one of the motivations to keeping God's will.

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. Besides, it would be like describing the colors of a sunrise to someone who was blind from birth.

It is, however, referred to briefly in Torah verses such as Genesis 15:15, which states that "You (Abraham) will come to your fathers in peace and will be buried in good old age." Coming to his fathers does not mean simply to be buried with them, since Abraham was not buried with his ancestors. Such verses are stated many times.

The prophets are more explicit with such references (see Isaiah 26:19 and 66:24, Daniel 12:13, Zechariah 3:7, 1 Kings 8:30, 2 Kings ch.2, Ecclesiastes 12:7). The afterlife is spoken of at length in the Talmud. More than 20 pages of Talmud (Sanhedrin 90-110, Rosh Hashanah 16-18, and other passages) are given to this subject.

Answer 4

One of the central beliefs of Judaism 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.
The Hebrew Bible doesn't dwell at length on the afterlife. However, that is not meant to diminish its importance. Rather, it means that we are to use the bulk of our energies in keeping God's ways in this world.
Our ancient sages stated the importance of being aware of the next world: "This world is a mere entrance-hall before the afterlife" (Mishna, Avot ch.4).
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. And while we're alive, knowledge of the future world serves as one of the motivations to keeping God's will.
Judaism does not delve into detail of the rewards of the righteous because religions could compete with more and more poetic promises. Also because belief in the afterlife was shared by all ancient societies and needed little reiteration. Besides, it would be like describing the colors of a sunrise to someone who was blind from birth.
It is, however, referred to briefly in verses such as Genesis 15:15, which states that "You (Abraham) will come to your fathers in peace and will be buried in good old age." Coming to his fathers does not mean simply to be buried with them, since Abraham was not buried with his ancestors. Such verses are stated many times.
The prophets are more explicit (see Isaiah 26:19 and 66:24, Daniel 12:13, Zechariah 3:7, 1 Kings 8:30, 2 Kings ch.2, Ecclesiastes 12:7). The afterlife is also spoken of at length in the Talmud.
Answer 2
Jews believe that the soul lives on after the human dies. The soul experiences a higher perception of spirituality, truth and God after the person dies. If you live your life as God intended you to, then your soul is ecstatic when it gets to that spiritual state. This is what people call Heaven- a place of ever-increasing revelation of God. If you didn't live that way, then your soul needs to be purified before it can enter Heaven. This is called Gehinnom (purgatory), which is a temporary state the soul is in until the soul is cleansed. Some Jews also believe in reincarnation. Judaism also believes that all deserving souls will return to earth in human form at some point after the Messiah comes- and that is the ultimate spiritual experience- something even greater than heaven.

Answer 5

The body is buried quickly, because Jews generally do not believe in embalming.

Judaism barely spends any time discussing what may or may not happen after 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 6

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 continues to exist and is treated in accordance with the person's actions while he/she was alive. This is one of the central beliefs of Judaism, as codified by the Rambam (Maimonides).

The afterlife is detailed at length in the Talmud (unlike what the above comment says). 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 with one'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).

Answer 7

This physical world is a shadow mirror of the next non-physical world. We all go to the same non-physical world when we die in this life. Just as there are many forms of life here, there are many forms of human souls there. Baha'i scripture states that at death we are given the form that best suits our immortality. Our motives and actions here will have some impact on what form we will have there. Very selfish, self-centered individuals without many spiritual virtues will have a minimal form and not be able to function very much.

Souls who in this life have been very generous, thoughtful, kind, loving, self-sacrificing, etc. will have many spiritual virtues and will have a form to enable them to do many things.

So, the question becomes: do you want to be a spiritual rock in the next world? Or, do you want to be a powerful, functional spiritual being? The choice is yours by your motivations and actions here and now.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where do enlightened people go after physical death#ixzz2TliTq1d8

Answer:

The soul continues to exist and is treated in accordance with the person's actions while he/she was alive. This is one of the central beliefs of Judaism, as codified by Rambam (Maimonides).

The afterlife is detailed at length in the Talmud, in which 20 pages (Sanhedrin 90-110) are devoted 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 with one'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 itself does not delve into detail of the rewards of the righteous, because other religions could compete with even more poetic promises. See the Kli Yakar commentary to Leviticus ch. 26 for a fuller discussion.

Answer 8

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 9

In modern Judaism, people go to heaven when they die. There is no hell.

In earlier Judaism, people went to sheol, a place of neither reward nor punishment, rather like the pagan hades.

Answer 10

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.
The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) doesn't dwell at length on the afterlife; and nor does Judaism spend a lot of time speculating on its details. However, that is not meant to diminish from its importance. Rather, the Torah implies that we are to use the bulk of our energies in keeping God's ways in this world, with our feet firmly planted on Earth, while nonetheless not losing awareness of our beliefs.
Our ancient sages stated the importance of being aware of the next world: "This world is a mere entrance-hall before the afterlife" (Mishna, Avot ch.4).

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. And while we're alive, knowledge of the future world serves as one of the motivations to keeping God's will.

The Tanakh does not delve into detail of the rewards of the righteous because religions could compete with more and more poetic promises. Also because belief in the afterlife was shared by all ancient societies and needed little reiteration. Besides, it would be like describing the colors of a sunrise to someone who was blind from birth.
It is, however, referred to briefly in Torah verses such as Genesis 15:15, which states that "You (Abraham) will come to your fathers in peace and will be buried in good old age." Coming to his fathers does not mean simply to be buried with them, since Abraham was not buried with his ancestors. Such verses are stated many times.
The prophets are more explicit with such references (see Isaiah 26:19 and 66:24, Daniel 12:13, Zechariah 3:7, 1 Kings 8:30, 2 Kings ch.2, Ecclesiastes 12:7). The afterlife is spoken of at length in the Talmud. More than 20 pages of Talmud (Sanhedrin 90-110, Rosh Hashanah 16-18, and other passages) are given to this subject.

See also:

The key beliefs of Judaism

How do you know there are a heaven and hell?