Today's Jewish Fact of the Day

[pennywhistle]

The Afterlife

Many people ask me what Jews believe happens when they die.

Here's what Jew FAQ has to say about the Jewish Afterlife:

"Traditional Judaism firmly believes that death is not the end of human existence. However, because Judaism is primarily focused on life here and now rather than on the afterlife, Judaism does not have much dogma about the afterlife, and leaves a great deal of room for personal opinion. It is possible for an Orthodox Jew to believe that the souls of the righteous dead go to a place similar to the Christian heaven, or that they are reincarnated through many lifetimes, or that they simply wait until the coming of the messiah, when they will be resurrected. Likewise, Orthodox Jews can believe that the souls of the wicked are tormented by demons of their own creation, or that wicked souls are simply destroyed at death, ceasing to exist."

I was told once at a young age that our souls go into a "limbo" to wait it out until the Messiah comes. But no version was ever drilled into my head as THE RIGHT ONE. We don't talk about it much. These days I really believe in reincarnation. I have never believed in Hell or Satan. These are not Jewish concepts.

"There are some mystical schools of thought that believe resurrection is not a one-time event, but is an ongoing process. The souls of the righteous are reborn in to continue the ongoing process of tikkun olam, mending of the world. Some sources indicate that reincarnation is a routine process, while others indicate that it only occurs in unusual circumstances, where the soul left unfinished business behind. Belief in reincarnation is also one way to explain the traditional Jewish belief that every Jewish soul in history was present at Sinai and agreed to the covenant with G-d. (Another explanation: that the soul exists before the body, and these unborn souls were present in some form at Sinai). Belief in reincarnation is commonly held by many Chasidic sects, as well as some other mystically-inclined Jews. See, for example Reincarnation Stories from Chasidic Tradition."





Also, I'm a little hypersensitive about this topic right now, so if you use a phrase "I jewed him down," even if you're quoting someone else, I WILL call you on it.

Comments

[kwanboa.livejournal.com]

I feel like I'm in preschool again!

perhaps because I went to a Jewish preschool...?

Say, um...what is "I jewed him down"? What does that imply?

[malanai.livejournal.com]

You went to a Jewish preshool? That's cool ^_^ I only went to sunday school ^_~

Saying you "jewed" somebody down means that you bargained something down for a lower price. Because Jews are greedy motherfuckers who would never pay full price. (silly me, i do it all the time)

[kwanboa.livejournal.com]

I did I did. It was the best one in town, and that's why my parents sent me there.

...Okay, and what's wrong with using "haggled" or "bargained"? It flows better. "Jew" as a verb sorta sticks on your soft palette and doesn't like to come out even when you wiggle your tongue.

[malanai.livejournal.com]

It's an insult. Ignorant people use it to imply that Jews are greedy bastards.

[hope-persists.livejournal.com]

it means that you like, convinced him to sell it to you for less. Like, you were cheap and you got a good deal by sorta cheating someone. Very offensive.

[kwanboa.livejournal.com]

Yuck. For shame. Just say "haggled" or "got a steal of a deal" or something. O_o

[sapphicprincess.livejournal.com]

Very interesting! I intended to research the Jewsih view of the afterlife at some point but never got around to it. ^^;;

[mavra-chang.livejournal.com]

Very cool... I like that whole concept where views of the afterlife are vague and it's not really a part of religious dogma. After all...once you're dead, what's keeping you from doing whatever the hell you want? (: And how would we know for sure anyway?

(An aside: I always kinda wondered how you could reconcile being Jewish with being pagan, and now I understand that a bit better.)

I agree with Susan that you should keep this going, as I don't know very much about being Jewish. Like I learned that Jews don't believe in an afterlife...I'm glad that's proved wrong. (: More facts, please!

And I read the thread that started this....I hope for your sake they unfriend themselves, or have the balls to say if you know them in real life or not. Good riddance!

[queensheba.livejournal.com]

I agree - I'm sorry that you had to start this for shitty reasons, but I think it's really interesting, so I'll be happy to keep reading as long as you keep doing it.

If the Jewish religion has no concept of hell or Satan, is there any sort of concept of the representation of evil embodied at all, or is evil just sort of a concept?

[malanai.livejournal.com]

Off the top of my head, my impulse was no, there's no representation of evil, and I did a little research to make sure I was right ^_~

Basically, Jews believe that God created you with a Dual nature, you are born with a moral conscience and a selfish nature.

"[It] is not a bad thing. It was created by G-d, and all things created by G-d are good. The Talmud notes that without the yetzer ra (the desire to satisfy personal needs), man would not build a house, marry a wife, beget children or conduct business affairs. But the yetzer ra can lead to wrongdoing when it is not controlled by the yetzer tov [the moral conscience]. There is nothing inherently wrong with hunger, but it can lead you to steal food. There is nothing inherently wrong with sexual desire, but it can lead you to commit rape, adultery, incest or other sexual perversion.

People have the ability to choose which impulse to follow: the yetzer tov or the yetzer ra. That is the heart of the Jewish understanding of free will. The Talmud notes that all people are descended from Adam, so no one can blame his own wickedness on his ancestry. On the contrary, we all have the ability to make our own choices, and we will all be held responsible for the choices we make." From jewfaq.com

[rocknstardust.livejournal.com]

That's strange, I never new Jewish religion believed in the Duality of God, sort of a good/evil in everyone as opposed to two separate entities. As far as that's concerned, that's exactly what I believe in. I am enjoying your posts as well, even though the person who prompted you to start this is an ignorant mofo. But I'm glad you're responding to it with intellect and positive thought. :)

[suraimu.livejournal.com]

I always liked the way they portrayed it in What Dreams May Come - that you chose to go live another life, just for the hell of it. :)

What Dreams May Come

[queerfemmedyke.livejournal.com]

That is a concept of the afterlif that I really enjoy - well not enjoy, but that I entertain and find comforting. Thanks for stirring the pot and bringing that to the surface for me.

[suraimu.livejournal.com]

No problem, I love that movie. The depiction of what a depressive mind is like was also so accurate that the whole film had a ring of truth to it. It's also one of the only films I've seen about the afterlife that actually leave you feeling happy afterwards. :)

[teaandbitchery.livejournal.com]

That movie was so incredibly painfully bad. :) The imagery was interesting, but really overdone...and about the time the son chose the body of his former teacher and his former teacher chose the body of an old man...I went, "Uh, huh."

I used to enjoy their website a lot though. ;)

[pixiepuff.livejournal.com]

Saw that. Figured you would too :(
*hugs*

[charmingdetails.livejournal.com]

Like others, I'm really enjoying these posts about Judaism, even though I'm sorry about the reason behind them. I hope the hater will go away... but feel free to keep up these posts for those of us who are genuinely interested in learning. *hugs*

[elynne.livejournal.com]

That's nifty, about the afterlife... more and more, I'm thinking that if I ever wanted to join an organized religion, it would actually be Jewish(ism). I'm not exactly "in the market," but it's always a half-wistful idea. :]

And I have never and would never use that phrase. How horrible.

[circumspectly.livejournal.com]

ya know, having grown up baptist, i find all of this information to be very interesting. it's odd to think that there are a multitude of things that could happen after the body dies, that are actually *accepted* by any body of *religion*.

i like these factoids...