Jewish belief in the afterlife?

[DaryLLL]

Any opinions? I have found in the Christian Bible, much talk of Sheol/the pit/abyss. Is that an underworld, where people still have a consciousness? Can they be consulted? b/c the Bible seems to say, don't consult your ancestors, which makes me think, they were, even tho it was forbidden.

Then I saw one mention of a judgement in God's day, in the book of Daniel, where good (and dead)people would be rewarded, the bad ones punished, but the footnote said this was the only mention in the OT of this idea.

Then I read a book, written by a contemporary Jewish scholar, about Jesus and Paul. Interesting and enlightening in so many ways, but his one point was: the Pharisees, scholars of the Law, believed in the afterlife, but the Saducees, and high priests (around 30 CE) did not.

Apologies for the terms OT and NT. I know there are further writings and the oral Torah (and what--Talmud, Kaballah?), which must have more info/philosophy/theology than what is in the "OT."

I will continue to research, but wondered what regular Jewish mamas of today believe.

[BelovedBird]

Hey Daryl!
Here ya go
http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm
LMK if you have further questions.

-BelovedBird

[DaryLLL]

Thanks so much, BB. I put that link in my favorites, so I can go thru all the other links there.

So, out of curiosity, what is your belief? and that of your friends and your particular community? Seems like there is an awful amt of "wiggle room," unlike in Christianity!

[crazy_eights]

Maimonides wrote down 13 principles of faith that are sort of the "non-negotiables" of Orthodox Judaism. In short, they are
1. Belief in a creator who guides all things
2. There is no other god, but G-d and he is eternal
3. That G-d is not physical
4. G-d came before all and will exist after all.
5. That you can only pray to G-d
6. That the prophets are true
7. That Moses was the "ultimate" prophet
8. That the Torah was given to Moses
9. That the Torah cannot be changed or added to
10. That G-d is all knowing
11. That G-d rewards good and punishes evil
12. Belief in the coming of the messiah
13. Resurection of the dead

Implied in these tennets is a belief in an afterlife since we know that sometimes the evil are not punished in this world and the good rewarded, and it is implicit in a belief in the resurection of the dead.

Personally, yes, I believe in an afterlife, with every person judged according to his deeds.

HTH.

[BelovedBird]

Personally, I feel an immense trust in G-d, that at the end it will be all good, everyone will get their just rewards. I belive that in the next world, as close as you tried to be to G-d in this one, that is how close you will be to him in the next. At the time of the coming of moshiach I belive that everyone will be resurected.

-BelovedBird

[merpk]

... by BelovedBird
... I feel an immense trust in G-d, that at the end it will be all good, everyone will get their just rewards. I belive that in the next world, as close as you tried to be to G-d in this one, that is how close you will be to him in the next. At the time of the coming of moshiach I believe that everyone will be resurected.

- Amy