Life on Earth and the Afterlife Flashcards
Describe Jewish Beliefs About Pikuach Nefesh
-Jews believe that God “created mankind in His own image,” and therefore, all life is sacred.
-As a result, Jews uphold the belief in Pikuach Nefesh. This means that all mitzvot can be broken if it is in order to protect a life.
-Jews are taught, “You shall live by the Torah, not die by it.” This shows that saving a life takes priority over everything else.
-In turn Jews should focus on preserving the life others as life is a gift from God and the only thing placed above the mitzvot which are also God-given.
Explain how Jews are Influenced by Belief in Pikuach Nefesh
-Jews will be influenced to take jobs which help to save lives rather than focussing on following all mitzvot.
-This may be through working as doctor or an ambulance driver, even on Shabbat, which directly goes against one of the ten commandments.
Describe Jewish Beliefs About the Sanctity of Life
-Jews believe that God gave life so only He can take it and choose when people die. Jeremiah states, “When I had not yet formed you, I knew you”.
-This shows that God had a relationship even before we were born.
-Therefore, only he can decide what happens to us meaning no one else can take a life nor should we work to preserve it as God has already decided when we will die.
-Hence, Pikuach Nefesh may not be a necessary belief as preserving life is not vital because God has already chosen when we will die.
Explain how Jews are Influenced by Belief in the Sanctity of Life
-Jews will be influenced to oppose actions such as euthanasia.
-God decides our fate and when we die so ending a life prematurely goes against His will.
Describe Jewish Beliefs About Free Will
-Adam and Eve’s disobedience in Genesis teaches Jews that God has allowed them to choose how they live their lives.
-Jews believe everyone has two inclinations- yetzer ha tov (the inclination to do good) and yetzer ha ra (the inclination to do bad).
-A person is born with these in balance, but the more good or bad actions performed, the more the balance shifts.
-Choosing to act in a way that pleases God should bring about a life of fulfilment and a guarantee that God will judge them well in the day of judgement.
-Jews believe that you should not use free will as an excuse for doing wrong actions. It will not bring them closer to God.
Describe Jewish Beliefs About the Relationship Between Free Will and the Mitzvot
-Some Jewish people see the mitzvot as a guide line, others as a path to follow or be punished.
-However, all Jewish people believe God has given humans free will to choose to follow the mitzvot.
-This is because Torah teaches that God has given Jewish people freedom to choose what is right or wrong.
-Each Jewish person is believed to be born with two inclinations -to do bad or to do good.
-Studying the Torah can help humans to choose to do good.
Describe Jewish Beliefs About Mitzvah Day
-Mitzvah day is a day set aside for people to reduce poverty, care for the environment, care for others and perform good deeds.
-Tikkun Olam is of particular importance on mitzvah day. It means healing or protecting the world. This concentrates on looking after the environment and those in it.
-Jews also focus on Gemilut Hasadim which means the giving of loving kindness while expecting nothing in return.
-Jews will also practice Tzedakah (righteousness and justice) shown through social actions and loving acts.
These must not be done for any other reason than because the Jewish faith educates that it is the right thing to do.
Describe Reform Jewish beliefs About The Importance of the Afterlife
-Reform Jews believe their souls live on after death so they should continue to perform good actions in this life.
-In turn, they believe that they should work to keep their souls clean in preparation for the afterlife.
-The Wisdom of Solomon states, “The souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God.”
-Hence, the afterlife may be more important than this life because the souls of the faithful will be with God.
-However, for this to happen, Jews must have done good actions and fulfilled the commandments on Earth..
Explain how Reform Jews are Influenced by Belief in the Afterlife
-Reform Jews will be influenced to place importance on the festivals of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah and the Ten days of Return.
-This is because God will judge them during that time so they will want to have repented in order to be forgiven of sin before the afterlife.
-They may wish each other to be inscribed in the Book of Life so in God’s eyes they have done good, ready for the afterlife.
Evaluate Reform Jewish Beliefs About the Importance of the Afterlife
-Reform Jews provide a convincing argument because the soul is a God- given gift and uniquely human.
-Therefore, keeping it free from sin is important as only humans will be with God in the afterlife since only we have souls
Describe Orthodox Jewish beliefs About The Importance of the Afterlife
-Orthodox Jews believe they must work on their actions in this life to be able to get into Gen Eden (paradise) after death.
-The Book of Daniel states, “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake; some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.”
-This shows that everyone will be judged after death so only those who have performed good actions and fulfilled the mitzvot will gain the reward of life in Gen Eden.
-Therefore, ideas about the paradise to come or fearing Gehenna are important as they motivate Orthodox Jews to work towards living a better life now in preparation for death.
Explain how Orthodox Jews are Influenced by Belief in the Afterlife
-Orthodox Jews will be influenced to perform Teshuvah (repentance).
-The process of repentance, as laid out by Maimonides, includes three stages: confession, regret and a vow not to repeat the misdeed.
-Orthodox Jews may do this to be confident that they have lived a good life to make it to Gen Eden.
Evaluate Orthodox Jewish Beliefs About the Importance of the Afterlife
-Orthodox Jews provide an unconvincing argument because many Jews believe what happens after death should be left to God.
-The Mishnah states, “Be not like servants who serve their master for the sake of receiving a reward.”
-Therefore, Orthodox Jews should perform good actions for the sake of everyone; not just working their way to Gen Eden.
Describe Kabbalist Jewish beliefs About The Importance of the Afterlife
-Kabbalist Jews believe everyone will be reincarnated until they complete all the mitzvot (based on Kabbalist understanding).
-Therefore, it is more important for them to complete the mitzvot rather than think about their next life. Arizal wrote that, “every soul must be repeatedly reincarnated until it has fulfilled all 613 mitzvot.”
-This shows that souls can be reincarnated in different bodies if those souls have not completed their missions on Earth.
-In turn, these Jews focus on following the commandments and living good lives on Earth.
-They will be reincarnated until they have completed all mitzvot so believe this life is more important than the next.
Explain how Kabbalist Jews are Influenced by Belief in the Afterlife
-Kabbalist Jews will be influenced to try to follow the mitzvot so that they can complete their mission on Earth.
-By doing so, they will not have to be reincarnated many times but can move on to the next life sooner.
