Question
Where is afterlife mentioned in the Torah or rabbinical statements?
Answer
The Torah just occasionally alludes to the afterlife, like Bamidbar (15, 31), "For he has scorned the word of the Lord and violated His commandment; that soul shall be utterly cut off, his iniquity is upon it", but the Nach mentions more often, e.g. Daniel (12, 2), "And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken-these for eternal life, and those for disgrace, for eternal abhorrence"; Kohelet 12, 7, "And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God, Who gave it.; Shmuel I (28, 8-15) when the sorcerer aroused Shmuel from heaven to speak with Shaul; Yishayahu (26, 19), "Your dead shall live, My corpses shall rise; awaken and sing, you who dwell in the dust, for a dew of lights is your dew, and [to the] earth You shall cast the slackers". There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of rabbinic statements like Mishna Sanhedrin 10, 1; Avot 4, 16; Brachot 17a; Pesachim 50a; Bava Batra 10b, Shabbat 33a etc. etc. Nevertheless, it's important to stress as the Rambam (Maimonides) writes (Hil. Tshuva 9, 1), the Torah and Judaism is clearly not pre-occupied with the world-to-come (to be with! God), but rather with this world, where we have free-will to be like (!) God. God gave each of us a soul, or a “spark of God”, with the potential to be Godly. By following His directions to be Godly (the mitzvot) found in the Torah, we realize our spiritual potential and live the objectively true and moral Godly ideals. For example, He created the world, and accordingly commands us in the very first mitzvah to be like Him and also create worlds, by having children. God “rests” on Shabbat, and suggests that we do so, as well. He constantly gives altruistically (without getting anything in return, for He’s perfect and doesn’t need anything!) and we should be similar “givers” as well. Accordingly, we don’t do the mitzvot just in order to get into the world-to-come, but mainly in order to be as much like God as possible in this world, which is obviously the most meaningful and highest moral and idealistic level anyone can achieve.
Read more
