Religion News Service columnist Jeffrey Salkin on Jewish beliefs of an afterlife.
The Islamic Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem's Old City is seen trough a door decorated with a Jewish Star of David in 2017. Columnist Jeffrey Salkin explains how Jewish adherents believe life goes on after death.“Rabbi, I have been meaning to ask you…”
The Hebrew Bible maintains a relative silence about an afterlife, calling its version of the afterlife Sheol — a shadowy pit where the dead reside and not very much happens. The Psalmist writes: “The dead will not praise God.” Death is the realm where the mitzvot cannot occur. To families of those who died fighting for Jewish freedom, those words meant: “Do not despair. Your sons and your fathers and your brothers — and yes, your daughters — did not die in vain. Their deaths had meaning. Those who have led the many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever.”
We live on through our work. In the Middle Ages, Jewish artisans used to chisel the insignias of the professions of the deceased on their tombstones. The doctor who saves a life is immortal. The lawyer who wins a case that saves a life or re-creates a life is immortal. The architect who designs a building is immortal. The secretary who devises an efficient and lasting filing system is immortal.
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