An Open Letter to University Presidents
4 min read
Belief in the Next World is a foundation of Judaism. Why doesn’t the Torah talk about it?
Nearly all religions have a concept of heaven – that while our life in this world is temporary, our souls will go on to live an after-life for an eternity. And, if you asked most Jewish people they would say that Judaism is included in this.
But how many times does the Hebrew Bible mention the afterlife, heaven?
The answer is a whopping zero.
The Bible, the most famous of all religious books, the founding document of ethical monotheism, does not mention the afterlife even once.
The question becomes more interesting when you look at the endless Jewish commentaries – from the Rabbis of the Talmud to the modern era – they all do believe in the next world – in Hebrew, “olam haba”. In fact, the idea of the afterlife – knowing that our actions carry eternal consequences and meaning – is a pillar of Jewish belief.
So why isn’t it mentioned in the Torah, the ultimate guide to what Jews are meant to believe in?
Many answers have been offered to this question by Jewish scholars.
One opinion given by Nachmanides, a great 12the century scholar known as the Ramban, is that the Torah discusses spirituality all over the place – it talks about God, divine miracles, that we have souls – he says it’s self-evident that there is clearly a realm that must exist outside the physical one.
Another opinion is that a focus on heaven would belittle the importance of this world – making the most of the blessings of this world and achieving our potential here and now – and we know all too well what happens when a religion focuses too much on the paradise of the world to come – it ends up coming at the expense of valuing life here on earth.
But I would like to share with you an answer to our question, given by Maimonides, the Rambam, the 11th century Torah giant who codified Jewish law and wrote the magnum opus Mishneh Torah, which I find particularly moving.
He says that the Torah is a book of obligations – and if the Torah started discussing the reward of the afterlife then it would end up obliging us to serve God with the intention of receiving reward in the afterlife – and that misses the whole point.
Judaism believes that life is about building a loving relationship with God. The Torah is like our marriage document, in Hebrew our “ketuba”, with God.
In a ketuba, a marriage document, it lists the obligations that the partners have to one another.
Imagine if the document said in it – “be kind to him so that he will make you breakfast in the mornings” – how unromantic.
The Torah wants us to build a loving relationship with God – not out of selfishness and ego, but of genuine care.
Each marriage partner can know that of course their lives are going to be more pleasant if they give to one another – but to codify into the marriage document that they should give to each other in order to get something in return – that misses the whole point – that’s not love.
A true, loving relationship can start from two people doing things in their own self-interest. But the ideal is to move beyond one’s selfish needs and get to a place where each partner gives simply because they love each other.
Likewise, in our relationship with God. Ideally, we’re not meant to be thinking about what’s in it for us – what reward we can get – because that’s not love.
The Torah wants us to build a loving relationship with God – not out of selfishness and ego, but of genuine care.
So yes, we can know that there is life after death – indeed the oral Torah passed down through the generations speaks about the next world in numerous places. But it’s not written in the Torah, codified into the marriage document, because that misses the essence of true love.
The greatest pleasure in relationships that we can experience in life isn’t when we focus on what we can get in return, but rather when that’s the furthest thing from our mind.
It is even more significant when one looks at other religions which PROMISE things in return for actions, some of which are heinous. For example, Islam promises reward in Heaven, including such earthly things as 72 virgins ( why this is desirable isn't even obvious ), in return for killing infidels, especially Jews. Similarly, sins have to be atoned for and expiated not merely confessed or "paid off" by a belief in Jesus.
These other religions are very transactional and, hence, superficial in their attitude toward morality and a proper life, even antithetical to morality in some cases.
It would seem that - there are various takes on what is - the after life. So -another way it can be compared - is that G-D having created us - then like a good parent - guides us through His Love - to follow His guidance to keep the rules of His home here on earth - that He made for us here on earth. Which - if we learn properly - He will guide and bless us here - and we will learn that - He also watches and helps us - as we learn - and later - He will bless us - with an inheritance - in the Olam Habah.
It is a great explanation, this is the kind of love that God has for us yo the extent, that He came to did for us, so we can be for eternity with him.