I wrote about Olam Ha-ba (“World to Come”) in a previous article, in that article I was referring Olam Ha-ba relating to the world to come in the Messianic age; in this article I will write about Olam Ha-ba as relating to the hereafter, or some may call it heaven.
Jews believe in an afterlife in a world beyond the one you’re currently living in—sometimes referred to as “heaven.” A rich tradition informs us that there is a sequel to this life that makes sense of everything you’re going through in this installment.
Jews call this after-life Olam Ha-ba (“World to Come”) and Gan Eden (“Garden of Eden”).
Belief in an afterlife is core to Judaism. It’s a foundation stone without which the entire structure would collapse.
It begins with the belief that within the human being resides a spark of the divine. In Hebrew, that’s called a neshamah. Neshamah literally means “breath.” Think of it as G‑d breathing within the human body, as in the scene where G‑d formed Adam out of the earth “and He blew into his nostrils the breath of life.”
Just as G‑d is forever, so too the neshamah is forever.
Lyrics
Neshomele
Come with me, little Neshama'leh
And let me hold you in my hand
And we'll fly away, you and I together
To a place down on the land
Come with me, little Neshama'le
Don't shy away
Do as you're told
There's a little child waiting to be born today
You're to be his spark, his soul
But dear Malach'l, no!
I don't want to go!
There is so much much pain and evil
Upon the earth below
Let me stay here up in heaven where it's safe and I'll be pure
Please don't make me go away
Can't you see I'm so afraid?
Come with me, little Neshama'le
It's time you faced your destiny
Amd as we fly beneath the clouds now, I will show you
There is so much you can be
Yes, dear Malach'l, I can see kedusha over there
There's someone learning Torah
There's another deep in prayer
I will stay here if you answer me
It's all I need to know
You must promise me, my dear friend
That I, too, will be like them
Come with me, little Neshama'le
Oh, it's a task that I must do
As I tap you on the lip, you will forget me
You're on your own
It's up to you
Come with me, little Neshama'le
And let me hold you in my hand
And we'll fly away, you and I together
To a place above the land
But dear Malach'l, no!
I don't want to go!
I'm not ready to go with you
Where you take me I don't know
Let me stay right where I am
There's so much more I need to do
Please don't make me go away
Can't you see I'm so afraid
Come with me, little Neshama'le
I've only come to take you home
And there is no beed to fear your destination
You've earned a place right by the throne
A place right by the throne
Your neshamah lived a heavenly life before it entered a body on this earth, and it will live an even higher one afterward. For the neshamah, life in this body is but a corridor on the way to a yet higher place.
So, no, the neshamah doesn’t decay or decompose with the body in the grave. It is released to rise up to greater heights than it could have ever attained before its descent—because, while here in this world, it achieved something a neshamah cannot achieve without a body. It transformed the physical into spiritual, ugliness into beauty, the mundane into the divine. For that, it deserves a place higher than the angels. And even more.
That’s why we say kaddish for parents after their passing—to assist them on their journey to that lofty peak.
That’s also why we are so concerned with the details of burial—because the soul’s journey is deeply bound to its connection with the body to which it gave life. With this body, the soul performed acts of kindness. With this body, the soul delighted on the Shabbat. It was this body that the soul held back from non-kosher foods. This body prayed, studied, brought children into the world and raised them. From the sweat and toil of this body, the soul earned funds to distribute to those in need.
And that’s why everything we do in this lifetime matters so much, because all the good you do in the here-and-now has meaning for eternity.
Did I have a Near Death Experience
It was in El Paso Texas when I was five years old that I was burned the second time, I remember this like it happened yesterday. I was playing in the kitchen while my mother and little sister were watching TV. That was during the fall, October or November of 1955; I have pictures of me in the hospital dated November 1955.
I remember it like it happened yesterday; I nearly died from Anesthetic Shock; anesthesia in those days was very risky. I was scared, very scared and crying as they brought me into the operating room, they put the mask over my face and told me to count backwards from ten, I just cried. The next thing I knew I was still crying and floating near the ceiling looking down onto myself and the doctors, one of the doctors pulled off his mask and said he’s gone, I shouted out “No I’m here, can’t you see me. I’m here.” And then the next thing I knew I was floating in space and still crying,
I saw galaxies and stars, and I heard voices that sounded like a choir. The voices were saying “Dewey, we’re coming for you.” Over and over, (My nick name is Dewey) I was scared so very scared. Then I saw a light far in the distance, and there was a man in the light, the strange thing is I couldn’t see the bottom half of the man, it was like seeing a news caster on TV. The voices were getting louder and louder and the light got closer, but I still couldn’t see the bottom half of the man. Just as I started to step into the light, I woke up in the recovery room vomiting and again a nurse came running to my side with a suction tube and started to suction the vomit out of my mouth to prevent me from drowning in the vomit. I never spoke of this until I was 14 years old, my mother told me that I nearly died during surgery, and then I told my mother this story. I think that God has a mission for me.
Judaism is not about “Do this and you get a ticket to heaven.” The Mishnah tells us that we shouldn’t be “as servants who serve master so that they will receive a reward.”
Maimonides is considered the great codifier of Judaism. He distilled thirteen principles of the Jewish faith. Two of those are directly connected to belief in reward in an afterlife: The belief in reward for the righteous and punishment for the wicked—which quite obviously does not happen in this lifetime—and the belief in the revival of the dead in a time to come.
I’ll add my 2 cents worth. Many people believe that the evil soul burns forever in hell? I can’t believe that G-d can be so cruel. It does say in many places within the Tanakh that G-d is a vengeful G-d. But it is also written in the Tanakh that G-d is also a forgiving G-d. Not that I think that we can go to the Amen corner, ask for forgiveness and do it all over again! LOL
We must remember
G-d is Omnipresent
G-d is in all places at all times. He fills the universe and exceeds its scope. He is always near for us to call upon in need, and He sees all that we do. Closely tied in with this idea is the fact that G-d is universal. He is not just the G-d of the Jews; He is the G-d of all nations.
G-d is Omnipotent
G-d can do anything. It is said that the only thing that is beyond His power is the fear of Him; that is, we have free will, and He cannot compel us to do His will. This belief in G-d's omnipotence has been sorely tested during the many persecutions of Jews, but we have always maintained that G-d has a reason for allowing these things, even if we in our limited perception and understanding cannot see the reason.
G-d is an all knowing, omnipotent, intelligent energy
I believe that G-d is an all knowing, omnipotent, intelligent energy. G-d not only wrote the Torah and the ten commandants, but he also laid down the laws of physics. Seeing that the laws of physics are perfect, G-d can do anything he wants and never violate his own laws. For example, because G-d is energy, he could turn part of this energy into any form he wants and appear to Moses. Energy and matter cannot be destroyed; it can only change itself from energy into matter, or matter into energy.
G-d is Omniscient
G-d knows all things, past, present and future. He knows our thoughts.
So, he knows our heart, so the Amen corner won’t work!
Let’s take another look at Yechezkel - Ezekiel - Chapter 18
24 And when the righteous repents of his righteousness and does wrong and does like all the abominations that the wicked man did, shall he live? All his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered; in his treachery that he has perpetrated and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die.
“in them shall he die.” I personally believe that after our death our souls await the coming of the Mashiach, resurrected, then judged. If the soul does not enter Olam Ha-ba, it is then put back to death forever, nothingness.
According to Jewish belief, the Day of Judgement, or Yawm ad-Din, will occur after the coming of the Messiah.
Jews believe that God judges how good or bad people have been in order to decide their destiny in the afterlife. This is often seen as motivation to behave well and obey all of God’s rules.
Some Jews believe that they will be judged as soon as they die, while others believe that they will be judged by both God and the Messiah on the Day of Judgement. On this day, some Jews believe that everyone will be resurrected so that they can be judged, while others believe that only those who are morally good will be resurrected.