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RABBI HAROLD SCHULWEIS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
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ews rarely speak of life
after death.
How is it that as a
rabbi called upon to of-
ficiate at funerals, deliver
eulogies, comfort the bereav-
ed, I am rarely questioned
about the disposition of the
soul after death or the place
of heaven or hell, or the belief
in the physical ressurection of
the dead? How is it that in the
discussions about the mean-
ing of the Holocaust, and the
destruction of one-third of our
people, the Jewish position on
the hereafter plays no part?
How do we account for this
neglect despite the prevalence
of the ideas of Gan Eden and
Gehinnom (heaven and hell),
olam haba (the world to come)
in the rabbinic literature of
the Talmud, in Jewish mysti-
cism, and in medieval Jewish
philosophy? Despite the
praises of God's "calling the
dead to eternal life" in the
daily prayer book and the
references to paradise (Gan
Eden) in the El Male prayer
recited at the funeral and dur-
ing Yizkor services, the
afterlife does not function as
a major Jewish belief among
modern Jews.
The this-worldliness in
modern Judaism is not de-
void of traditional Jewish
roots. For one thing, the Five
Books of Moses make no ex-
plicit references to another
world beyond the grave. The
Bible refers to the death of
each of the patriarchs as his
being "gathered to his kin"
(Gen. 25:8; 35:29; 49:29, 33).
One of the psalms recited in
the festival Hallel prayer
declares: "The dead cannot
praise the Lord, nor any who
go down into silence. But we
[the living] will bless the
Lord, now and forever. Halle-
lujah" (Psalm 115).
Carrying out this theme,
traditionalist Jews at the
funeral cut the fringes of the
prayer shawl that is placed
around the shoulders of the
deceased. That custom is ex-
plained as symbolizing the
belief that the deceased have
no mitzvot, no deeds to be
fulfilled. lb be alive is to have
deeds to perform and imper-
atives to be followed.
In Judaism the extraordin-
ary emphasis on life in this
world makes a second life
Rabbi Schulweis is spiritual
leader of tong. Valley Beth
Shalom. in Encino, Calif
elsewhere appear as pale co
pensation. Death is regarde
by some Jewish thinkers a
an insult, a contradiction t
the purpose of religious lif
The mourner's act of tearin
a part of his clothing, the
suggest, expresses anger a
this assault upon life and it
promises.
The Nobel literary priz
winner S.Y. Agnon suggeste
that the Kaddish the mourn
er recites to magnify God'
name is meant to consol
God, for the loss of a hum
being diminishes the strengt
and glory of the Creator. Th
mourner's Kaddish itsel
speaks not of death or of
another world but of life in
this world and in our time.
The ritual of the Kaddish
calls for a minyan, a living
community of at least ten
Jews, to honor the deceased.
So the memory of the de-
ceased depends on the pres-
ence of life.
In matters of faith such as
that of the afterlife there are
no scientific or logical proofs.
Life in this
world makes a
second life
seem pale.
If "seeing is believing," what
is it we are looking for in
speaking about God, soul, im-
mortality, resurrection?
Science measures and
weighs what is, faith is con-
cerned with what ought to be.
Following that distinction,
we may find a clue to the
beliefs about the afterlife.
What fears and what yearn-
ings of the spirit in this life go
into the belief in the continua-
tion of life after death?
The hope for life after death
may be related to our discon-
tent with the status quo. The
world in which there is so
much poverty, war, illness, a
world in which innocence suf-
fers and wickedness prospers
cannot be the last word of
God. Seen in this light, olam
haba (the world to come) ex-
presses a protest against the
injustices and imperfections
of this world. In Judaism this
world and everything in it is
far from perfect. As the Tal-
mud puts it, the grain needs
to be ground, the bitter herbs
need to be sweetened, the soil