Thread by @MaNishtana

Alright. Jews and the afterlife. A thread.
Judaism has always talked about the afterlife and always had one. Its in fact codified into the first blessing of the Amidah with the concept of "tchiyat hametim/the resurrection of the dead."

Where are the dead being resurrected from? From the afterlife that they hang out in after passing and judgement, and where the wait until the coming of Mashiach. There is much discussion on the topic in the Talmud.

Now, do Jews *focus* on the afterlife? No. Bc the focus is the here and now which is building our afterlife "credit" as it were.

Unfortunately, both individually and sometimes denominationally, "we don't focus on the afterlife/the focus is the here and now" has been taken as "there is no afterlife/only now matters because there is no later". Which is false.

While our concepts of"Heaven" and "Hell" do not neatly overlap with the Christian conceptions of it, we still DO have a Heaven/Hell cosmology.

Most distinctly, Jewish Hell lasts *at most* for 12 months [barring few examples in the Talmud of individuals doomed to an eternal stay in Hell], and *everyone* goes thru it as a purification as part of the judgment process after death.

The only thing that varies is the length of time spent, and only the most wicked stay the full 12 months. The act of saying kaddish for the deceased acts as a merit for their soul and provides a buffer from the pains of Hell.

In fact, the reason why kaddish is only said for 11 months after the passing of a parent is that to say it for the full 12 months would intimate that the parent was among the most wicked and needing of that protection for the full 12 months, thus being disrespectful.

Also, it should be obvious of the intellectual incongruency of denominations that dont believe in an afterlife yet still say kaddish, as the entire point of kaddish is to protect/give merit to souls in the afterlife.

The most condensed compilation of traditional Jewish Heaven/Hell cosmology can be found in the 18th century Ladino work Me'am Loez by Rabbi Yaakov Culi (1689-1732), HUGELY summarized here both for content, activities, and concepts beyond the scope of a Twitter thread:

Seven Chambers of Heaven:
1-Livnat HaSapir: Overseen by the angel Tahariel, who scrutinizes the sincerity of prayers, gathers them up and delivers them to Gd.

Insincere/lip-service prayers are rejected and given to the angel Sahadiel who then ascends with them to enumerate a person's sins to Gd

2-Etzem HaShamayim: Overseen by the angel Orpeneyel, who collects the souls of those executed by the Sanhedrin and the souls of the victims of antisemitic deaths

3-Nogah: Overseen by the angel Malkiel, where heavenly decrees are delayed/weighed, and also where the four angels Igael, Iriya, Iriel, and Yahirael reside, who oversee the souls of those who desire to do good but are prevented from completing it

4-Zechut: Overseen by the angel Sansayah and multiple others, mostly concerned with weighing the sins and merits of people

5-Ahavah: Overseen by Sanigoriah, who speaks up for the Jews before Gd, so that those that wish to do them harm will have no power. Also in this chamber are all the souls that are destined to be born. When all these souls are used up, Mashiach will come

6-Ratzon: Overseen by Raziel. Not much is known about here, but when its gates are open it is a sign of good for the world. Also here are the angels Chalchaliel and Karsapyahel, who collect the blood of circumcision and present it to Gd in times of divine anger to invoke mercy

7-Kodesh Hakodashim: The souls of the holy come here and remain until the coming of Mashiach

Seven Chambers of Hell:
1-Bor: Overseen by Dumah. In this chamber are various forces that gather up every loose or malicious word. It is the lowest of the chambers and the one where punishments/torture for evildoers in the vein of "classic" Hell take place.

2-Shachat: Overseen by Astirya. Forces here have power over all who commit incest, bestiality, and adultery.

[Note, the definition of extramarital affairs by a married man or woman is actually Xtian. The Jewish definition is extramarital affairs conducted by married woman. Judaism is polygamous, so if adultery also included married men, then polygamy would inherently be adultery].

3-Dumah: Overseen by Sakpurita. Pains, diseases, and fevers reside here, and evil heavenly decrees are received here and dispensed

4-Tyt HaYaven: Overseen by Arirya. The souls of those who cause others to sin are brought here.

5-Sheol: During times when there is harmony among non-Jews but strife among Jews, forces from this chamber take the bounties that descend from heaven and distribute them to solely to the non-Jews

6-Maveth: All sins of sexual immorality and thoughts leading up to such acts are inscribed here

7-[Unnamed]: A chamber of unclean souls which descend and attach to a person when they sin

You're welcome. So *PLEASE* stop saying "Jews dont have/believe in an afterlife/Heaven/Hell". Thank you.

Oh and that not even discussing the "hell of fire" and the "hell of ice"