Do Jews Believe in an Afterlife?

Summary. Judaism teaches an afterlife but treats this world as the primary stage of religious life. The classical doctrines include olam haba (the World to Come), techiyat hametim (the resurrection of the dead, the twelfth of Rambam’s principles), gan eden and gehinnom as states of reward and refinement, and — in the Kabbalistic tradition — gilgul neshamot, the transmigration of souls. The Torah itself speaks little of the afterlife; the doctrines develop in the Talmud, the medieval philosophers, and the Kabbalists. Orthodoxy affirms resurrection; the other denominations vary.

The Torah is remarkably reticent about the afterlife. There is sheol — the shadowy “grave” or “pit” to which the dead descend (Bereshit 37:35) — but no explicit doctrine of reward and punishment after death. The classical Jewish doctrines of the afterlife develop in the Mishnah, the Talmud, and the medieval philosophers.

The Mishnah (Sanhedrin 10:1) opens its discussion of the World to Come with the declaration: kol Yisrael yesh lahem chelek l’olam haba — “all Israel have a share in the World to Come.” The Talmud develops the doctrine in the Gemara of the same chapter, with discussions of who is included, who is excluded, the nature of the soul’s journey, and the eventual resurrection of the dead.

The Rambam, in his Commentary on Mishnah Sanhedrin 10, and in Hilchot Teshuva 8–9 of the Mishneh Torah, distinguishes the World to Come (a purely spiritual state of the rectified soul) from the Days of the Messiah (a future historical era of Jewish redemption and worldwide peace) and from the resurrection of the dead. He counts the resurrection as the thirteenth of his Principles of Faith. The Rambam’s philosophical position is that what survives death is the actualized intellect, the part of the soul that has come to know God.

Hell, in Judaism, is not the Christian eternal punishment. Gehinnom (named after the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem) is a refining process, generally understood to last no more than twelve months (Mishnah Eduyot 2:10), after which the soul ascends. The very recitation of the Mourner’s Kaddish for eleven months is traditionally understood as a child’s petition that the parent’s soul not require the full twelve months of refinement.

The mystical tradition adds gilgul neshamot — the transmigration of souls. Souls return to this world to complete missions left undone, to rectify particular sins, or, in the case of the great tzaddikim, to assist others. The doctrine is rooted in Sefer haBahir (12th century), developed in the Zohar (13th century), and given full systematic form by the Arizal in the Sha’ar haGilgulim. The rationalist tradition (Saadia Gaon, the Rambam, Hasdai Crescas, Yosef Albo, Leon of Modena) rejected gilgul; both positions remain within the bounds of authentic Judaism.

Where Denominations Diverge

Orthodox affirms the resurrection of the dead (techiyat hametim) as foundational, generally affirms gan eden, gehinnom, and olam haba, and most Orthodox Jews accept the Lurianic doctrine of gilgul (though the rationalist denial remains a respected minority position). Conservative Judaism affirms olam haba and the soul’s survival but with diverse positions on bodily resurrection. Reform Judaism removed the resurrection from its siddur in 1894 and replaced it with “who gives eternal life”; recent Reform siddurim include the resurrection language as an option. Reconstructionist generally treats afterlife doctrines metaphorically. The Lurianic doctrine of gilgul is most prominent in Hasidic and Sephardic communities.

Sources

Torah: Bereshit 37:35; Daniel 12:2.

Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1; Mishnah Eduyot 2:10.

Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 90a–99a.

Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuva 8–9.

Rambam, Commentary on Mishnah Sanhedrin 10 (Thirteen Principles).

Sefer haBahir; Zohar; Arizal, Sha’ar haGilgulim.

Further Reading

Simcha Paull Raphael, Jewish Views of the Afterlife.

DovBer Pinson, Reincarnation and Judaism: The Journey of the Soul.

The Editor’s treatise, “The Journey of the Soul: Gilgul Neshamot in Jewish Thought,” reformatted in this Field Guide.