In Judaism, who goes to heaven?

[vickylee]

I have been in more discussions with my Jewish friend and she says that as long as you lead a good moral life, and intend no evil to anyone, you go to heaven. This does NOT make sense to me (goes against the commandments for one thing) and does not line up with the Charater of YHVH. Can someone please explain to me what Judaism's true stance is on this?

[R' Y'hoshua Moshe]

This is a great question. It really depends on what sect of Judaism or what Rabbi you quote. Have you ever heard the saying that if you have two Jews in a room you have three opinions? It’s true. There are widely varying views on this subject (as in Christianity). I am not in a place currently where I have access to all my resources. I will follow up with this post at a later time.

Shalom,

Reuel

[Chizuk Emunah]

Well Vickylee, that's one of the things about Judaism...there are many different beliefs on the same topics.

The first thing I would like to clear up is the topic of 'heaven' itself. The hebrew word for heaven is shamayim (plural), referring not to 'heaven,' but to the heavens. If you can find a KJV Bible, there are places where the translators stayed true to the text and translated shamayim as heavens. Also, when Yeshua was on earth, he made constant references to the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of HaShem. Using exegesis (drawing ideas out of the text), we can determine that the Kingdom of Heaven is in fact a euphemism for HaShem's Kingdom on earth: Yisrael. Yeshua made use of it in reference to the Messianic Kingdom.

What this means:
Christians have (once again) misinterpreted Scripture, and teach that if you believe in Jesus, you will someday go to heaven.
With a thorough reading, we can determine that if one puts their trust in the & HaMoshiach, and lives their faith through their actions, then one can receive of the Etz Chaim (Tree of Life) and rule with Moshiach in his Kingdom.

Now, on to your question:
It is common practice in Reform (especially) and Conservative Judaism, to teach that if you do t'shuva, t'zedakah, and tefillah, you are granted a place in the afterlife. Obviously this is a little closer than Christianity, but not quite there.

Like I said earlier, if we live out our faith in the & HaMoshiach (you can't separate the two), then we are granted access to the Etz Chaim, and will take our place as co-rulers with Moshiach. But we do not ascend through shamayim and end up spending eternity there.

[R' Y'hoshua Moshe]

The following is a good representative of the resources that I have on this subject in regards to Judaism and the afterlife...

Olam Ha-Ba: The Afterlife

Traditional Judaism firmly believes that death is not the end of human existence. However, because Judaism is primarily focused on life here and now rather than on the afterlife, Judaism does not have much dogma about the afterlife, and leaves a great deal of room for personal opinion. It is possible for an Orthodox Jew to believe that the souls of the righteous dead go to a place similar to the Christian heaven, or that they are reincarnated through many lifetimes, or that they simply wait until the coming of the messiah, when they will be resurrected. Likewise, Orthodox Jews can believe that the souls of the wicked are tormented by demons of their own creation, or that wicked souls are simply destroyed at death, ceasing to exist...

The indicates in several places that the righteous will be reunited with their loved ones after death, while the wicked will be excluded from this reunion....

Certain sins are punished by the sinner being "cut off from his people." See, for example, Gen. 17:14 and Ex. 31:14. This punishment is referred to as kareit (kah-REHYT) (literally, "cutting off," but usually translated as "spiritual excision"), and it means that the soul loses its portion in the World to Come....

Gan Eden and Gehinnom
The place of spiritual reward for the righteous is often referred to in Hebrew as Gan Eden (GAHN ehy-DEHN) (the Garden of Eden)....

Only the very righteous go directly to Gan Eden. The average person descends to a place of punishment and/or purification, generally referred to as Gehinnom (guh-hee-NOHM) (in Yiddish, Gehenna), but sometimes as She'ol or by other names. According to one mystical view, every sin we commit creates an angel of destruction (a demon), and after we die we are punished by the very demons that we created. Some views see Gehinnom as one of severe punishment, a bit like the Christian Hell of fire and brimstone. Other sources merely see it as a time when we can see the actions of our lives objectively, see the harm that we have done and the opportunities we missed, and experience remorse for our actions. The period of time in Gehinnom does not exceed 12 months, and then ascends to take his place on Olam Ha-Ba.

Only the utterly wicked do not ascend at the end of this period; their souls are punished for the entire 12 months. Sources differ on what happens at the end of those 12 months: some say that the wicked soul is utterly destroyed and ceases to exist while others say that the soul continues to exist in a state of consciousness of remorse.

Source: www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm

[Blake]

I rely only on the Tanakh and New Testament. I've seen no evidence that Gehinnom is anymore than a landfill where criminal's and animals bodies used to be burnt outside of Yarushalim.

I look to Dani'el, who gives the simplest explanation for the afterlife:

2And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to and everlasting contempt.


I think when dies they rest in the grave, or figuratively Sheol until the Second Coming and final judgement for when he comes his reward is with him.

[R' Y'hoshua Moshe]

This is definitely a debatable subject and TeNaKh does have much to say about this subject (more than most think). Although, this discussion belongs in a thread dedicated to it as this thread is in regards to what Judaism currently believes about this subject (this thread is mostly informational).

Brachot b'Yeshua,

Reuel

[Digitaria]

Dear Vicky,

I think you have a wonderful friend who assured you that the creator g*d of heaven and earth is indeed merciful and kind and that he has provided a place for every soul, including yours.

You can convert now or later or you can simply pray to become spiritually reborn as a daughter of Zion and have fellowship with the tribes of Israel and become subject to the blessings they enjoy in the after life.

Much Love

Lisa

[vickylee]

Digitaria said:

Dear Vicky,

I think you have a wonderful friend who assured you that the creator g*d of heaven and earth is indeed merciful and kind and that he has provided a place for every soul, including yours.

You can convert now or later or you can simply pray to become spiritually reborn as a daughter of Zion and have fellowship with the tribes of Israel and become subject to the blessings they enjoy in the after life.

Much Love

Lisa

Lisa - I guess I'm not sure I'm following what you are getting at here? are you suggesting that salvation is only for those that have asked to be a Daughter/son of zion? I am a believer in Yeshua and have proclaimed him as my Savior for 18 years!

My Jewish friend, who does not believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, is saying that pretty much anyone goes to heaven regardless of if they worship Allah or worship in Buddism, etc. As long as they lead a good moral life and intend no evil they are going to heaven. She asserts that this is what Judaism (her's anyway, reformed) teaches.

[Chizuk Emunah]

vickylee said:

My Jewish friend, who does not believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, is saying that pretty much anyone goes to heaven regardless of if they worship Allah or worship in Buddism, etc. As long as they lead a good moral life and intend no evil they are going to heaven. She asserts that this is what Judaism (her's anyway, reformed) teaches.

Funny, that sounds a lot like the Bahai faith.

[Blake]

I think its best not to speculate on who enters "Heaven" or the Kingdom of God. Only God can know these things for the Judgment belongs to him alone.

I find no where in Scripture that says when one dies they enter Heaven. I understand that one enters the Grave or Sheol to await the Second Coming, Ressurection and Great Judgement where the Saints receive their eternal reward and the evil ones are risen to eternal and contempt.

We as individuals can be confident in our salvation but its God's place to judge others so the best answer is "I don't know" because it belongs to God alone.

A man may go through his life being evil, but may be like that because of a brain or mental disorder. I doubt God would condemn such a man to hell because of his defects.
Others may act seemingly good their whole lives but have secret sins they never confess. These people would be worthy of Damnation.

Let's just leave it to God.

[R' Y'hoshua Moshe]

No one escapes the consequences of unrepented sin. The scriptures do make this clear. Many times it is sin that leads to other disorders that seals one's fate. Salvation is according to what G'd has ordained in His scriptures and we should believe what He says regarding it. Everyone will be judged in the end by their deeds whether they were good or evil...

"But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of G'd;
Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil"
- Romans 2:5-9

Their are no excuses worthy of salvation.

Shalom,

Reuel

[Blake]

If God is a God fo mercy and love as he says he is people who don't understand that they've sinned cannot be held accountable. A French Peasant in the Dark Ages cannot be held accountable for Sabbath-Desecration and a someone that doesn't have the mental capacity to understand death can't be held acountable for murder correct?

[Chizuk Emunah]

Shalom Blake,
Well HaShem certainly is merciful, he is also jealous.
The Chabad Orthodox embrace a concept of a 3-part G-d-head in which HaShem is described as the Ein Sof (limitless G-d).
For more information on that subject check out this thread: The Essence of Mashiach.
*Beware some of this is intense material and not intended for an audience that does not have a firm foundation in *

---

Now on to your other question:

A French Peasant in the Dark Ages cannot be held accountable for Sabbath-Desecration and a someone that doesn't have the mental capacity to understand death can't be held acountable for murder correct?

The most certainly can. The has been known to mankind since creation. After all, did not Kayin and Avel make a first-fruits offering? (Beresh't 4:3-4) And since it has been made known to us since the foundation of the world, there can be no excuse for mankind to not follow to the best of their ability. On the Great Yom Teruah, there will be those who say "Adonai, Adonai, did we not prophesy in your name?" And Yeshua will say to them "Get away from me, you workers of Torahlessness. I never knew you." (Mattiyahu 7:21-23)

[The 614th Mitzvot]

Everyone who cannot make the decision between Yeshua HaMoshiach, is not sentenced to Gehinom rather their soul lives on in the Olam Haba (World to Come). The same law applies to suicides (as the halachah {Jewish Law} was during the time of Yeshua HaMoshiach), if someone was forced to commit suicide by extreme circumstances then they are buried properly as they should however, if someone does it because they are depressed or they take someone with them then they are unburied. If someone dies not knowing Moshiach then it is a forced "suicide", but if they had all well understanding and decided against it then they have intentionally commited "suicide" an possibly taken others with them.
On the other part, I actually believe certain people are born homosexual because we are all born with sin. However it is up to us through the Blessed Ein Sof of Moshiach to remedy this. No matter what your problem you are responsible. The mentally handicap must repent the moment they find something they did is wrong. No matter who you are, you cannot explain away any verse of the Bible because you (or others) believeotherwise.