Question:
See the forum below this one on the afterlife, and please answer these questions!
After we die, (if you accept that we come back to correct/receive blessing for what was left undone in our life) where do righteous Jews go?


If your answer isn't here, (or even if it is) please expound on what you believe and why.

Shalom,
Yocheved

Choices:
No where, we turn into dust and that is the end.
We rest in our graves until the resurrection.
We go to be with HaSh-m in heaven.
We will get to live on in Jerusalem when it is renewed and the Messhiach comes.
I don't know.

 

Yocheved, I'm not sure the point of the poll.

The question first came up from my children after a death in the family. When I explained that we don't concern ourselves much with afterlife: that is suffices us to know that good will be rewarded and evil will be punished, and that a resurrection will occur during the time of Moshiach. Then I went on to explain that we are concerned with this life and repairing the world through tzeddaka. That didn't seem to satisfy them completely, as they began asking HOW is bad punished, and what are we doing in our graves untilwe come out and so on.

So I began to think about the fact most of us never spend much time or attention on this as a people. Then I started this poll to see what other Jews considered to be the outcome after death. Then the fact that so few Jews even bothered to fill it in, re-affirmed my observation. So I began reading and found little to no material on the afterlife.

FInally I read something Rabbi Telushkin wrote, (as he made a similar discovery) and he expounded on it this way: that the reason Jews are disinterested in afterlife is because when G-d freed us from Egypt, He made certain our lives were to be lived in a way that was DIFFERENT from the Egyptains. Their "holiest" book was The Book of the Dead, and all their great pyramids and strange embalming practices were all based upon over-focus on the afterlife. Thus, in an effort to prevent the Jewish people from being likewise inclined, He foused almost solely on expounding on how to live THIS LIFE in a way pleasing to Him, and how to be a candle in the darkness here, so to speak. Very interesting.

Most Jews display little interest (nor fear) of the afterlife, but few seem to know WHY they are not interested. I was one of these people. THis is why I did the poll.

It is taught there is the world to come. how this is define varies in any case all agree that it is one of complete connection with HaShem in a way which was not known to us since the day of Adam and Chave in the Garden of Eden. I personaly can not pick one over the other within your poll simply due to the fact i do not think about it since all the rational and thought behind it will merely lead to more question about which there is only one way to find out the answer. anything more detail for me to say depends on who asks me and what they are really asking.

Well, that is a whole other issue, and you are quite correct. It can be a distasteful experience to have to deal with people of other religions asking if you are going to heaven or hell, and if your "saved" and all that. I had to deal with that alost daily in the University I attended because it was a Christian University in houston, tx., USA. It was really offensive and made it chalenging to finish there. I will say this, it made me far more devout to my own faith, having to defend it so often. That may well be another reason we don't think/talk about it because those few times we are lured into doing so are in the context of warding off "well-meaning" christians.

By the way,we are praying for the peace of Yerushalayim, daily. Our thoughts are with you.

quote:

and what are we doing in our graves untilwe come out

This principle comes to mind:

of attending to our matters of the day before going to sleep - as if that night's sleep would be death....

So that our death will be just like going to sleep...

restful, rejuvenating, unaware of the passage of time.

Shalom to all,
After death we keep on coming back in(different Bodies or "SHELLS" until our partucular soul gets to "Correction" & the all souls until the "END OF CORRECTION"
To learn more on this matter check out the following links:
http://www.kab.tv
http://www.kabbalah.info/
http://new.kabbalahscience.com/
I invite ALL of you to learn the teachings of:
Baal HaShulam(Rav Y.Ashlag)
Rabash(Rav Baruch Ashlag)
THERE IS NONE ELSE BESIDES HIM!

Mark, this is the third time you have posted the same information. Once is enough. OK?

Personally, I'm just thankful that Hashem has blessed me with life here and now, and whatever Hashem has assigned for our souls after death is for only Hashem to know. Our souls belong to Hashem and to Hashem they shall return.