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JEWISH CONCEPTION OF THE AFTERLIFE.   Term Paper ID:30316 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Discusses different approach taken by Jewish religion regarding what happens after death.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Discusses different approach taken by Jewish religion regarding what happens after death. Jewish emphasis on value of life on earth. Various ideas including Biblical picture of death. Ideas of contemporary Jewish thinkers. Rejection of importance of resurrection. Emphasis on justice and correct behavior in life. Nature of immortality. Paper Introduction: The Jewish conception of what happens after death cannot be reduced to a few simple rules and the religion's ambiguity about the question is remarkably different from the approach taken by most other religions. There is "no single biblical view of the afterlife" and the answers that were provided in the rabbinic phase of Judaism, and since that time, have also varied among different communities of believers (Sonsino & Syme 12). Two ideas emerge from the Biblical picture of death. First, it is the life-affirming nature of God that is emphasized. There is little interest in the problem of the afterlife and "the ultimate purpose is to 'sanctify' life here on earth" (Sonsino & Syme 12). Second, death does not consist of the disappearance of the individual entity and people move on, in some way, to another plane of existence. This is reflected in the biblical references Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Schulweis' idea of the individual'sinfluence persisting in the community is undoubtedly true. 12:2). Ed. What Happens After I Die?: Jewish Views of Life After Death. Itis also clear that the idea that the individual does not continue in someform (roughly equivalent to individual human consciousness) disturbs peoplefor much the same reason. But even if people could not be said to live again theIsraelites did not accept the idea of complete dissolution of theindividual and the references to the existence of Sheol, a place in whichthe dead dwell, are quite common in the Scriptures. Formerly "actions alone determinedeligibility for God's favor or liability for divine punishment" but beliefbecame as important as actions and even "to question resurrection was toforfeit eternal life" (Sonsino & Syme 23). Contemporary Jewish thinkers often formulate conceptions of thequestion that reject the importance placed on the idea of resurrection andstress the non-physical, even non-individual, nature of immortality. Syme. Opinionsvaried as to the nature of these 'places' and there was considerablecontroversy, especially after the Enlightenment, over what 'part' of ahuman being was immortal -- the soul, spirit, or intellect. Like the disappearance of the body, thedisappearance of individual consciousness seems like obliteration to anyonewho cannot, or will not, conceive of immortality, or another plane ofexistence, as bearing no relationship to life as it is lived in this world. Any ideas of the afterlifethat rely on the resurrection of the body also simply seem stunted andincapable of any stretch of the imagination to encompass any level ofexistence that truly is different or essentially other than this one. There is little interest inthe problem of the afterlife and "the ultimate purpose is to 'sanctify'life here on earth" (Sonsino & Syme 12). After death the righteous would be assigned to Gan Eden, the Gardenof Eden, while the sinful would be punished in hell, or Gehenna. This was, as Sonsinoand Syme point out, an appealing idea since the belief that something ofthe individual endures after death was "an assurance that enables [people]to face life with greater courage and hope" (45). Sheol was seen as aplace of shadows because it was not life itself (reflecting the heavyJewish emphasis on the value of 'this' life) yet it was not seen as a placeof punishment as everyone, "without regard to moral character," goes toSheol after death, as several Scriptural passages indicate (Ezek. This is reflected in the biblicalreferences to, for example, being "gathered to [one's] kin" after death(Gen. Personally, itdoes not seem to me that one can say with any certainty what end humanbeings reach. He sees immortality,therefore, as not as a question of resurrection of the body or the soul butas the effect that a righteous individual has on the community. "Immortality through Goodness and Activism." What Happens After I Die?: Jewish Views of Life After Death. Although the idea of resurrection was debated by those who held thatthe soul died with the body, the Pharisaical belief in the eventualresurrection of the body and the soul came to dominate and, for the firsttime, was seen as contingent on belief. World Religions: From Ancient History to the Present. Syme. This was sometimes thought of as a transition period to befill with miracles, but many rabbis believed that it was merely a finalperiod in history when the Jewish people would at last be released fromservitude and peace would reign on the earth. It seems, however, that, being limited by our human existence our mindswould, most likely, be incapable of truly imagining some other form of'life' after death. Second, death does not consist ofthe disappearance of the individual entity and people move on, in some way,to another plane of existence. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication society, 1985. Death takes place either because the natural end of life is reachedor because of sin. And, as can be seen in the book of Daniel, actual bodilyresurrection at the end of earth's time began to be proposed: "Many ofthose that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life,others to reproaches, to everlasting abhorrence (Dan. The reality of theindividual was extinguished at death and what was eternal "is not to befound in the isolated human individual" (Parrinder 275). The ideas of Schulweis and the Buddhists seem far more persuasive tome than any of the doctrines regarding resurrection of the body, or even ofthe persistence of the individual. 96-1 6.Sonsino, Rifat, & Daniel B. First, it is the life-affirming nature of God that is emphasized. The idea ofsome kind of bodily resurrection after death was a long time in coming.But in the Exilic period, even though the doctrine regarding "the finaldisposition of those resurrected from the earth" had not yet taken form, ageneral belief in bodily resurrection took hold and was to become a basictenet of Judaism in the rabbinic period (Sonsino & Syme). The Jewish conception of what happens after death cannot be reducedto a few simple rules and the religion's ambiguity about the question isremarkably different from the approach taken by most other religions.There is "no single biblical view of the afterlife" and the answers thatwere provided in the rabbinic phase of Judaism, and since that time, havealso varied among different communities of believers (Sonsino & Syme 12).Two ideas emerge from the Biblical picture of death. It cannot beargued that such influence does not persist. 2nd ed. But these figures of speech usually indicate a belief in thepersistence of the individual--as body and soul, or soul, or intellectalone--and this is precisely what the Buddhist teaching tries to accountfor. RabbiBernard Schulweis, for example, argues that the concern with resurrectionand reward in an afterlife derives from dissatisfaction with life in thisworld and he suggests that, since life is the responsibility of the living,the important thing is not to look for something better beyond this lifebut to make something better of this one. But the Buddha held that what people sought in theafterlife was "the transcendable, desire-free life which is nirvana" andthis state can be achieved only through moral striving (Parrinder 275). Sakyamuni saw the human individual as an association of fivefactors (physical form, sensation, perception, volition, consciousness)that came together briefly to make up the individual but were always influx and were no longer associated once s/he died. The other world will "compensatethe victims of this world," in some people's view, but this can also,according to others, lead people "to delay forever the tasks of thispeople, this day, in this world" (Schulweis 1 1). But in themodern era the notion of bodily resurrection was rejected by much of theJewish community (while being retained by Orthodox and many ConservativeJews) while immortality, of some type, was confirmed. New York: UAHC Press, 199 . Clearly there was a certain amount of conflict between the finalityof death and the refusal of the belief that the individual simplydisappeared. Other religionsobjected to this idea, arguing that if the self disappeared in death thenthe individual "does not reap the consequences of his own good or evildeeds" and there is, therefore, no reason for anyone to act morally(Parrinder 275). 32:18-31;Job 3:17-19). Sakyamuni held that the elimination of the ego-centered approach tolife, accomplished through a life of moral striving, was the end towardwhich human beings moved. Works CitedParrinder, Geoffrey. The rabbis held thatresurrection would take place at a Final Judgment, but they also believedin the Messianic promise and held that a Messianic period would precede theLast Judgment. An untimely death was considered a punishment for sin,while a long life was considered a reward for having behaved correctly.Death was also considered to be final -- without a question of return tothe earth. Rifat Sonsino & Daniel B. London: Hamlyn, 1983.Schulweis, Bernard M. 25:8, 17). The Jewish approach to the question of the afterlife has someimportant similarities to the Buddhist position as presented by the BuddhaSakyamuni. New York: UAHC Press, 199 .Tanach, A New Translation of the Holy Scriptures According to the Traditional Hebrew Text. We are, therefore, dealing only with figures of speechthat substitute for any genuine comprehension of what that immortalexistence might be like. Similarly Schulweis argues that righteousactions serve humanity and produce a kind of immortality. But it seems illogical to suppose that another plane ofexistence could be more than crudely comprehended by human beings'individual-oriented intellects and that, regardless of what the ultimategoal may be, the care for justice and correct behavior in this life hasmerit in itself. AsSchulweis says of his grandmother, "her immortality was bound to theeternity of our people" and, while individuals die, "the community does notdie" (1 2). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.