“A Life Beyond This One” By Rabbi Peter J. Rubinstein Central Synagogue, New York City 10/27/2007

The final prayer of Yom Kippur read during the last minutes of the holiday professes "In woman and man, children of dust and offspring of heaven, You have blended two worlds: perishable earth and immortal soul, finite matter, locked into time and space and infinite spirit which endures through all eternity."      We Jews believe that we human beings are of two worlds, one physical and perishable, one of the soul and immortal. In life, as we know it on this earth, these two embodiments of our being blend in singular harmony. According to Jewish tradition they are separated at death so that while the house of the spirit is buried in the bosom of the earth, the spirit itself returns to God who gave it.      That is a fundamental principle of our Jewish faith but Jews often conjecture that while Christians believe in an after life, Jews do not. In reality our tradition imagines a journey after death and instructs that there is an Olam Ha-Ba, a “world to come”, the place to which souls move after burial of the body. The reason for a speedy interment is that the N'shama, the soul hovers near the body and ascends only after the grave is filled. Rabbi Abbahu argues in the Talmud (Shab. 152b) that "The person who has died knows all that is said in his/her presence until the grave is closed." Thus a person knows what is said at his/her funeral. Others quoted in the Talmud argue that such awareness continues even after burial.      How startling it is for Jews to learn that not only does Judaism believe in a “world to come” but also in Gan Eden (our version of Heaven), in Gehinna (our version of Hell) and in physical resurrection, Techiat Ha-Matim when the Messiah comes.      The traditional liturgy still includes as a central part of the prayer service the words: "You are faithful to revive the dead. Blessed are You, O God, m'chayeh ha-matim, Who revives the dead". In the time of trauma which accompanies a death, mourners long to grasp the specifics of the journey of the souls of those who have died. Tradition follows Rabbi Akiba's teaching that "the judgement of unrighteous...shall endure only 12 months" After one year, even the wicked return to Gan Eden, to paradise.      Our tradition never meticulously described the world to come, even though our tradition was meticulous about confessing that such a world exists.     According to our people’s wisdom the essence of a person does not die when a person’s body dies. The soul lives forever and that which makes one beloved is immortal.      Each of us has a soul, that permanent part of us that is neither impaired by illness or injury nor equivalent to physical appearance or intelligence. Our soul gives us permanent value and is unrelated to age or ability. We believe in the nonperishability of a human being, that nothing in creation is ever lost.      Let us appreciate the blending of two worlds: perishable earth and immortal soul; finite matter and infinite spirit which endures through all eternity. And then, let us give thanks.