What Happens in the Afterlife?

We often hear about the afterlife—the ultimate promise for those who live a good life, follow mitzvot, and benefit the world. But the big question hovers: what is in the afterlife? In Islam, material pleasures are promised, so why don't Jewish descriptions focus on that? And why put in so much effort now for something we'll enjoy in the distant future? 

"The righteous sit with their crowns on their heads, enjoying the splendor of the Divine Presence" is the most famous depiction of the afterlife by the sages. What does this mean exactly?

Rabbi Zamir Cohen, head of the Hidabroot organization, explains: "It's a metaphor for a type of pleasure that belongs to the world of souls. We can't talk about eating, drinking, or other material pleasures there, as there's no body, desires, or pleasures like in the physical world. It's a different level of pleasure. And when the sages said 'on their heads'—it doesn't mean a physical crown.

The crown represents sovereignty, liberation from dependence and enslavement to desires, unlike a person who enters the spiritual world still bound by desires without the ability to fulfill them. In contrast, the righteous are like kings—their pure souls connect to their divine source, depending on the observance of the 613 mitzvot, or the seven Noahide laws for non-Jews".

How is it that throughout history no one asked for a more tangible description?
"Maimonides indeed asks why there is no physical description of the afterlife in Judaism, unlike other religions. Then he answers that just as it's impossible to explain color to someone blind from birth, it's impossible to convey to anyone in this world what the afterlife is. A material person can't grasp pure spiritual pleasure. And because the Torah is the truth and doesn't deceive people with false material promises, its promises are more abstract. Other religions, which borrowed the concept of paradise from Judaism, attempt to make promises based on imagination, but anyone understanding can see these are not relevant to a spiritual world".

With all this spirituality, including delight in the Divine splendor—isn't it a bit boring there?
The Zohar begins with a story of Rabbi Hiya asking to see Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai's place after his death. Only after fasting twice for forty days did he witness him teaching Torah to the righteous in the afterlife, and when the lesson ended, they rose to a higher hall. Kabbalistic texts explain that even someone studying Torah in this world feels joy and inner fulfillment—each according to their labor and purity—but still doesn't experience the true joy of the soul. The physical body serves as a barrier to the sun's light. In the afterlife, alongside the pleasure of uniting with the divine source, a person enjoys studying Torah and ascends from hall to hall according to their spiritual rank.

Still, it's hard to accept a reward whose essence we don't quite understand. It's like working for someone who promises you something you're not familiar with.
"The question is whether the person is a believer or not. If they don't believe—even if they were promised a million dollars in cash, they wouldn't believe it. It wouldn't affect them. But someone who believes in a Creator who wants to bring them joy—believing the purpose of creation is to benefit us—trusts the Creator will provide more than any pleasure in this world.

Our sages note that one moment of spiritual fulfillment in the world to come is better than a lifetime here. Fulfillment means you haven't even enjoyed the thing itself yet. It's like walking past a bakery and smelling the aroma, already bringing you delight. Kabbalists explain that if we gathered all humanity's pleasures—from Adam to the end of days, including royal delights, grand prize winners, exquisite meals through the ages—it wouldn't compare to an hour of spiritual fulfillment in the afterlife. Because material pleasure is limited, while spiritual pleasure is unlimited.

Is this afterlife the same paradise where Adam and Eve lived?
Before Adam and Eve sinned with the Tree of Knowledge, the afterlife was merged within this world, like a spiritual soul inside a physical body. The first human lived with a different kind of illumination. For example, it's written that he could see from one end of the world to the other, meaning everything was of a different quality. The Vilna Gaon writes that everything then was concentrated—Adam's soul included all future souls, the Tree of Knowledge's command included all 613 mitzvot, and so on. When he sinned, everything dispersed and fragmented.

Today, we work to restore the world to its pre-sin state, and add to achieve the complete restoration Adam was meant to accomplish had he passed the test of the Tree of Knowledge. In the end times, when the Messiah comes, the upper paradise will return and merge with this world.

So why change our lifestyle for a reward we will only receive much later? Rabbi Yiftach Sofer provides an interesting answer. "Even in this world, you can see people willing to work an entire week or month just to get their salary at the end. Some study at university for years while working different jobs to pay tuition, all to earn a particular degree. They think to suffer for a few good years, and then I'll have a good job without problems, even though they know that's not certain, and they might not get a job in their field. Yet they try anyway. 

"The Mishnah in Avot states that the employer is faithful to pay you your wages—be certain the employer will pay your wages. Clearly, according to Torah and countless testimonies, there is a world to come, and the righteous and wicked do not get the same reward, so there is a return. Not maybe, not could be, but certainly. And as mentioned, the reward is unparalleled, being the greatest of delights possible."