Jewish Life After Death Essay

In humanity’s endless search for truth, we often turn to religion in order to answer the questions we cannot answer ourselves. Every religion across the world has a stance on a vast range of ultimate questions, including “What happens after we die?” The Jewish view of death and belief in the afterlife has been significantly influenced by Israelite history as it clarifies the value of life ingrained in the covenantal relationship with G_d. Despite this shared history, a diverse range of contemporary interpretations are manifest as priority is placed on action over belief. Since biblical times, the Jewish concept of an afterlife has evolved due to the persecution present in Israelite history in order to offer hope to the Jewish community. This developed idea of the afterlife has multiple stages, each of which seeks to justify the value of life ingrained in the …show more content…
Most Jews believe that the very righteous got to Gan Eden while the rest go to Gehinnom for spiritual cleansing . Rather than being a place of eternal punishment, a soul that goes through Gehinnom is stripped of the sin it committed in its life so it can experience the infinitely higher pleasure of basking in G-dly light . This belief in Gan Eden and Gehinnom has evolved from the early ideas of the Jewish afterlife in order to promise hope and to justify the suffering of the Jewish people. Making sense of suffering was and essential in Judaism as it is incomprehensible to think that God’s chosen people would face suffering and persecution while their oppressors, people like the Egyptians and Hitler, were not punished. The afterlife rectifies this as it judges everyone and then assigns reward and retribution respectively. This belief in the afterlife therefore helps to clarify the covenantal relationship with god because it enables Jews to have a positive relationship with God without feeling resentment and