Is There a Heaven and a Hell? the Way Jews Know Jewish Theology
Most Jews, if questioned as to what are the theological differences between Judaism and Christianity, will invariably answer: Heaven and Hell. They believe in it and we don’t. Nothing can be farther from the truth. These concepts of Heaven and hell were taken directly from Jewish sources, Biblical, Talmudic and Kabbalistic.
To be sure, they were adapted by other religions and suited to their theological tastes. But, in essence, these are patently Jewish beliefs that need to be understood from a Jewish perspective.
I think, this is a good place to digress about the way Jews learn theology and the way they try to preserve their individuality. We live in a Christian society and have suffered much from this association in the past. Believe it or not, we are still suffering from it, but, on a different level.
In the past, attempts were made to force Jews to adopt Christian beliefs and practices. While there were some instances where this occurred, by and large, the Jews resisted this pressure. Jewish beliefs remained intact.
Now that we enjoy unprecedented freedom, and no one is capable of foisting Christian values upon us, we are witness to a troubling new phenomenon, the assimilation of precisely those beliefs into our consciousness.
To cite but one, significant example of how we view our religion and it primary institutions:
On the one hand, many Jews have begun to view the three institutions of a synagogue, holiday and rabbi, in precisely the same manner that Christians view their church, holidays and priest/minister. In Christianity as in other religions, religion is the compartmentalization of holiness in designated places (holy places, shrines, churches), designated times (holidays), and designated people (priests or ministers).
Judaism, by contrast, always thought of G-d as being in all places, times and people. There are laws that govern even our behavior in the bedroom and bathroom. Mystical thought, as articulated by Chassidism, in particular, could not countenance the thought of an unholy place that was devoid of G-d’s existence.
It is true, in some places one was able to experience a more pronounced presence of G-d than in others, (hence the notion: of a holy place in Judaism, as in the Holy Land of Israel, the Holy City of Jerusalem, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem). However, besides the fact that it did not preclude holiness of every other place, the ultimate goal was for us to extend the holiness, or the overt G-dly presence of one place, into another. One of the goals of the Messianic Age is to make the entire world permeated with the sanctity of the Land of Israel.
What has been said about a holy place is equally true of a holy time. Shabbat, for example, is referred to as Shabbat Kodesh (the Holy Sabbath) and when it is over we recite the havdalah prayer which highlights the difference between the holy and the profane. Nevertheless, the objective of the Shabbat is to instill holiness into all the days of the week. In fact, each day of the week in Judaism is identified by its relationship with the Shabbat.
Who has an obligation to study Torah? Many Jews are under the impression that this is the rabbi’s obligation. In the same vein that Christianity views its clergy as the ones who are responsible for the religion; they have to know the Bible and it’s their responsibility to teach its values to the laity, many view the role of the rabbi similarly.
Nothing can be farther from the truth. The responsibility to learn Torah rests on every individual. The layman is no less under obligation to study Torah and to know how to live Jewishly. A rabbi does not carry the burden of Judaism. If anything, the rabbis’ responsibility is to see to it that everyone studies Torah to the fullest extent.
In short, Judaism does not believe that there is a place, time or person that is outside the pale of G-dly living. And to be exact, Judaism is not a religion; it is a way of life. Every nook and cranny, every particle of time and every fiber of every level of humanity have a role in Judaism. Judaism is an all-encompassing all embracing way of life.
Yet, most modern day Jews view Judaism in precisely the way Christians view their religion.
There is alas an even greater problem. It is the way Jews whose values are Christian, tries to distance himself from them. Instead of studying Judaism first hand to know what are its premises and values, they look to further their knowledge of Christianity and then assume that these are not Jewish beliefs.
To cite a primary example:
Faith. There are Jews who claim that faith is a non-Jewish ideal. Judaism believes in knowledge and action, not in faith. Wrong. Judaism considers faith to be its foundation. Judaism also believes that a foundation needs a structure, which consists of knowledge and action. Judaism even believes that action without faith is preferable to no action, but nowhere does Judaism put down the role of faith.
But, the most blatant examples of this phenomenon is the belief in the afterlife, Heaven, Hell, the Messianic Age and the Resurrection of the Dead. I don’t recall the number of Jews who have maintained that Judaism does not believe in these doctrines. What made them draw this conclusion is not study of Jewish primary texts. In many instances it was the theory that anything Christians believe in we don’t. If Christianity believes in these ideals of the afterlife etc., it therefore means, in their minds, that Judaism denies their validity. Alternatively, some have read secondary texts written by authors who did not personally believe in these doctrines.
Whatever the cause of this ignorance, it is tragic that it has denied countless numbers of Jews from their heritage. Thanks to the proliferation of Kabbalah, some of these beliefs have been restored to their rightful place within the framework of Jewish belief. The rest of this chapter we will devote to the Jewish understanding of Heaven and Hell.
From the book Safe Kabbalah, Part Three: Journeys of the Soul by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
