The ideas of both the afterlife, and the world after the resurrection, are basic beliefs in the Talmud, as well as post Talmudic Judaism. Nevertheless, as Judaism is primarily concerned with sanctifying the here-and-now, the ideas are vague, and subject to interpretation. In fact, Maimonides, in his philosophical work, Guide for the Perplexed, while accepting both concepts, considers any and all descriptions as "imagination". (More on that in my next post). What are we told? First of all, we have the statement "All Israel have a share in the world to come". However, the very next line says "And these are they who have no share in the world to come". Several names are then given of those whose deeds have excluded them from reward. What is the afterlife like? "The righteous sit with crowns on their heads, basking in the rays of the Divine Presence". We are told that "each righteous person inherits three hundred and ten worlds". We are not, however, told the meaning or nature of these worlds. Interestingly, the word for worlds" is ""olamot", which is very close to "alamot" ("maidens"). Some speculate that this may be the source of the concept of Paradise in Islam. The word for "Paradise" is "Gan Eden", literally, "the Garden of Eden (delight)". Is this the same Garden of Eden as in Genesis? No, there is a Heavenly Garden of Eden and an Earthly Garden of Eden; the latter being the one in Genesis. There is a debate in the Talmud if Righteous Gentiles also enter the World to Come. The conclusion is yes, indeed they do. What about those people, Jew or Gentile, who do not merit this reward? They go to Gehinnom. This is pictured as a place of great suffering, although the nature of that suffering is not described, except by saying that earthly fire is "one sixtieth" of the fire of Gehinnom. Interestingly, the word "Gehinnom" is actually the name of a valley next to Jerusalem, in which people used to sacrifice children to the pagan god Molech.The Talmud tells us that the maximum sentence for Gehinnom is twelve months, with most people receiving lesser sentences. Gehinnom, therefore, is more like the Catholic Purgatory than Hell. Some individuals, however, are not so fortunate. There is a fascinating story about three whose punishment is ongoing; Bilaam, Titus and Jesus, due to the enormous ongoing damage they caused. When people exit Gehinnom, they achieve Paradise. There are some aggadic statements that people can be aided in the next world by the good deeds of others, especially their children. This would later be hotly debated. There are also stories of individuals who return to this world temporarily, to teach or aid others.
As to the Resurrection, it is described in glowing terms as the righteous arising from their graves, dressed in many beautiful garments. They will encounter a very different world from the one they left behind. It will be a world in which spirituality will be manifest in all things. The unity of the material and spiritual will have been accomplished. Many later rabbis consider this, rather than the afterlife, as the main "World to Come".
Both philosophers and mystics enlarged on these ideas, giving profound insights on the meaning of these ideas. Especially in Kabbalah, the spiritual world takes on more tangible meaning, and is intrinsically connected with our lives now. To be continued.