Nadene Goldfoot
JUDAISM
There are passages in the Tanakh (Bible) that indicate that the early Hebrews looked upon death as rejoining one's fathers. After death, a certain type of existence still continued in SHEOL(the dwelling of the dead, far below the earth, usually the dwelling of the wicked), and the dead were considered to have certain psychic powers.
In later Hebew eschaology, death would cease and all the dead would rise. This idea of Resurrection became the fundamental doctrine of Pharisaic Judaism, and reiterated that faith in G-d was the reviver of the dead. There are legends that the dead carry on some connection with the living and even take an interest in their affairs. This is how praying for the intercession of the dead is considered by the rabbis as of early origin. When a Jew is dying, his last act is to say the Shema.(4)
Olam Ha-Ba, The World To Come
Olam Ha-Zeh is the material world
The Olam Ha-Ba is another, higher state of being,
the eternal world of the spirit to which the human
soul passes after death.
It also means the period following the advent of the
Messiah, when all the world will be perfected.
"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.
1. 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.
2. Another belief is that they are reincarnated through many lifetimes.
3. Then again, they may simply wait until the coming of the messiah, when they will be resurrected". Many believe that the End of Times" is near. (3) It was Isaiah who had the vision when army-surplus swords would serve as plowshares. Our intellect tells us we can get there by human effort, treaty by treaty, on tank refurbished as a tractor at a time. Isaiah was the father of evolutionary politics. But, in another prophecy he warns of the day of the Lord in which He will make the earth a desolation and destroy the sinners thereof out of it. Then Zechariah also told of the cataclysm. All the nations gather to fight against Jerusalem. It's not a pretty picture, and too realistic for me to repeat. Read Gorenberg's book p. 40.
4. 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." That's because logic tells us that there must be a cause and an affect for acting badly.(1)"
ORTHODOX CUSTOMS: We follow burial customs. The dead after being washed by specialists previously chosen for this task called the Hevra Kadisha (Sacred Society). put the deceased in white robes. A man is wrapped in his talit which had its fringes are made invalid as he is not now required to practice his earthly requirements. We do not believe in embalming. Blood is part of the person so much also must be buried and is not considered a waste product meant for the garbage pile. It's a closed casket burial. We do not cremate the body and the burial must take place in the earth.
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| Psalm by King David: 23:4 Though I walk in the valley overshadowed by death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in view of my tormentors. You anointed my head with oil, my cup overflows. May only goodness and kindness pursue me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the House of Hashem for long days. (5) |
There are passages in the Tanakh (Bible) that indicate that the early Hebrews looked upon death as rejoining one's fathers. After death, a certain type of existence still continued in SHEOL(the dwelling of the dead, far below the earth, usually the dwelling of the wicked), and the dead were considered to have certain psychic powers.
In later Hebew eschaology, death would cease and all the dead would rise. This idea of Resurrection became the fundamental doctrine of Pharisaic Judaism, and reiterated that faith in G-d was the reviver of the dead. There are legends that the dead carry on some connection with the living and even take an interest in their affairs. This is how praying for the intercession of the dead is considered by the rabbis as of early origin. When a Jew is dying, his last act is to say the Shema.(4)
Olam Ha-Ba, The World To Come
Olam Ha-Zeh is the material world
The Olam Ha-Ba is another, higher state of being,
the eternal world of the spirit to which the human
soul passes after death.
It also means the period following the advent of the
Messiah, when all the world will be perfected.
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| At my Bubba's grave,Zlata Goldfoot nee Jermulowske |
1. 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.
2. Another belief is that they are reincarnated through many lifetimes.
3. Then again, they may simply wait until the coming of the messiah, when they will be resurrected". Many believe that the End of Times" is near. (3) It was Isaiah who had the vision when army-surplus swords would serve as plowshares. Our intellect tells us we can get there by human effort, treaty by treaty, on tank refurbished as a tractor at a time. Isaiah was the father of evolutionary politics. But, in another prophecy he warns of the day of the Lord in which He will make the earth a desolation and destroy the sinners thereof out of it. Then Zechariah also told of the cataclysm. All the nations gather to fight against Jerusalem. It's not a pretty picture, and too realistic for me to repeat. Read Gorenberg's book p. 40.
4. 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." That's because logic tells us that there must be a cause and an affect for acting badly.(1)"
Jewish tradition about death, says Donin, has been realistic. He quotes:
(Genesis 3:19), "but the spirit returns to G-d who gave it.
(Ecclesiastes 12:7). "The end of man is death," said Rabbi Johnanan.
(Berakhot 17a. Simply put, we shall all die.
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| 6 million Tragic deaths-from the Holocaust |
We do not consider this a tragedy. A tragic death is an untimely death by its nature or unfortunate circumstances. The world we live in is viewed as a corridor that leads to still another world. Olam Haba is where man is judged and where his soul continues to flourish. This belief is imbedded in Jewish thought, as
(Mishna Sanhedrin 11:1) "All Israel have a share in the world to come."
We desire to maintain the dignity of the deceased and to comfort the pain of the mourners.
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| Reviving the custom, even the Reformed |
(Genesis 3:19)"For dust you are and to dust you shall return.
(Deut: 21:23) You must surely bury him."
Autopsies are prohibited and thought of as a desecration of the dead. However, in this day and age allowances have been made if there was a reasonable prospect that it would contribute to saving the life of other patients at hand. It's permitted in cases of hereditary diseases, to safeguard the life of surviving relations, and if required by civil law of the land-as in foul play.
Burial is within 24 hours. It can be postponed only for the honor of the dead as waiting for close relatives to arrive from a distance, or a Sabbath or if a festival intervenes.
We do not bury on the Sabbath. A Jew does not participate in the burial on the 1st day of a festival.
If you see a Jewish person with a torn sleeve, this is the religiously proper way to express grief for the dead. It is a time honored and ancient sign of grief and mourning going back to Biblical times. The garment torn is worn for the week of mourning called shiva except on the Sabbath. During the time of cutting the garment, a special prayer is said, Blessed art Thou, Lord our G-d, the true Judge. "Baruch ata adonai elohainu melech ha-olam dayan ha-emet."
Notice that you may think as you wish about what happens to us when we die. Most of our thoughts are really to help those that are alive to get through this stressful time, and this time-honored tradition is time-proven to help us.
If the mourner is a male Cohen(as synagogue tradition) , he has more tradition to follow than for those of us Israelites. He cannot touch the dead, even in being in the same room with the corpse. He may be involved with the these relatives; wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, unmarried sister.
A son is expected to say Kaddish prayer said in Aramaic, daily for 11 months. It's regarded as an act of reverence for a deceased parent. It's said in the synagogue so that there are 10 men saying it together. It's not a prayer for the deceased but for the living, and is saying praise of G-d, a declaration of deep faith in the greatness of the Almighty and is a petition for ultimate redemption and salvation. Kaddish means holy , like Kiddush, the prayer of sanctification for the Sabbath or festival. This prayer goes back to the 2nd Temple.
For as the Zohar says, "If the son walks in the crooked path, he brings dishonor and shame on his father. If he walks in the straight path and his deeds are upright, then he confers honor on him both in this world among men AND IN THE NEXT WORLD WITH G-D.
What we do accept is the Resurrection. "The resurrection of the dead will occur in the messianic age, a time referred to in Hebrew as the Olam Ha-Ba, the World to Come, but that term is also used to refer to the spiritual afterlife. When the messiah comes to initiate the perfect world of peace and prosperity, the righteous dead will be brought back to life and given the opportunity to experience the perfected world that their righteousness helped to create. The wicked dead will not be resurrected." "The Olam Ha-Ba is another, higher state of being." I take that to mean that we will not be in today's physical bodies.
"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." (3)
Since we do believe in the resurrection, we practice the acts of doing mitzvot, or good deeds. Whether we are or not depends on us and no other. It's our deeds we're being judged for. We try to be as righteous as we can.
Since we do believe in the resurrection, we practice the acts of doing mitzvot, or good deeds. Whether we are or not depends on us and no other. It's our deeds we're being judged for. We try to be as righteous as we can.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIE
Those very righteous people will go to Gan Eden (Garden of Eden), a perfect place, it is a place of spiritual perfection. The average person descends to a place of punishment and/or purification, generally referred to as Gehinnom (guh-hee-NOHM) (in Yiddish, Gehenna), but sometimes as She'ol or by other names. According to one mystical view, every sin we commit creates an angel of destruction (a demon), and after we die we are punished by the very demons that we created. Some views see Gehinnom as one of severe punishment, a bit like the Christian Hell of fire and brimstone. Other sources merely see it as a time when we can see the actions of our lives objectively, see the harm that we have done and the opportunities we missed, and experience remorse for our actions. The period of time in Gehinnom does not exceed 12 months, and then ascends to take his place on Olam Ha-Ba." I"ve even read that we get a reprieve for Shabbat.
Update: 1/1/2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzFUXKk2B4I Rabbi explains the soul that lives on
Update: 1/1/2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzFUXKk2B4I Rabbi explains the soul that lives on
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| Merkabah, sacred chariot or wheel in mysticism I love our star of David and this is delightful as a figure. |
1. Reference: http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm
2. Book: To Be a Jew by Rabbi Hayim Haleavy Donin, p.296-297 and on til p.310.
3. THE END OF DAYS-FUNDAMENTALISM AND THE STRUGGLE FOR THE TEMPLE MOUNT by Gershom Gorenberg
4. The New Standard Jewish Enyclopedia
5. The Stone Edition of the Tanakh, The Torah/Prophets/Writings (Bible)
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