The Soul’s True Journey: What Jewish Wisdom Reveals About Life Beyond This World

“Everything in this world is only a reflection of what exists Above… After a person’s death, the soul returns to its Source and its root. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, warned us in the Torah: ‘Do not cut yourselves and do not make a bald spot between your eyes for the dead’ — meaning, do not engage in extreme mourning practices that imply the soul is lost forever.

The soul of a Jew never dies and is never lost. It remains eternally in the good and precious spiritual worlds. Therefore, we should rejoice when the righteous leave this physical world, for they ascend to their supernal root.” (Zohar, Shelach 159; Metokh Midevash pp. 37)

The warning refers to excessive mourning practices expressing belief in permanent loss of the soul — which Judaism rejects.

What Do the Righteous Enjoy in the World to Come?

Maimonides writes (Mishneh Torah): In the World to Come, there is no body and no physical form — only the pure souls of the righteous, like the ministering angels. Therefore, there is no eating, drinking, sleeping, death, sadness, laughter, or any physical phenomenon.

As the sages said: “In the World to Come there is no eating, no drinking, no physical relations — only the righteous sitting with their crowns on their heads, enjoying the radiance of the Divine Presence.”

This means:

• “Sitting” is metaphorical — meaning the soul exists effortlessly, without toil.

• “Crowns on their heads” refers to the knowledge with which they earned eternal life — this knowledge itself is their crown.

• “Enjoying the radiance of the Shechinah” means that the soul perceives and understands truths of God’s essence that it could not grasp while enclosed in a physical body.

This “soul” is not the life-force dependent on the body, but the higher spiritual form — the intellect, understanding, and awareness that connect to God.

Since there is no death in that state — because death applies only to bodies, these eternal spiritual lives are called “the bundle of life”, as in “and the soul of my master shall be bound in the bundle of life” (Shmuel I, 25:29).

This is the highest reward, the ultimate good, which the prophets longed for. Scripture calls it metaphorically: God’s mountain, His sanctuary, His courts, His tent, the delight of God, His palace, etc.
The sages called it “the Feast” — the reward prepared for the righteous — and everywhere else it is referred to as the World to Come. 

(Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah, ch. 8)

The Soul as a Person’s Personal Advisor

The soul gives a person good advice — to survive in this world and protect him from the evil inclination. For as soon as a person is born, the evil inclination appears and joins him — “sin crouches at the door.”

Animals, from birth, instinctively protect themselves from danger. But a newborn human has no sense of danger because the evil inclination clouds his mind. For this reason, Jews train their children early in mitzvot, even before reaching obligation, so that when the good inclination arrives, it finds a place to dwell.

(Zohar, Vayeshev 179; Matok Midevash pp. 1–2, 5)

The Purpose of Life: To Seek the Root of Your Soul

“…Stay away from seeking knowledge of worldly powers, the structure of the earth, or astrological influences. Instead, search for and understand the root of your soul — from where it was hewn, and work to purify, complete, and restore it to its source.

Do not investigate the nature of other nations, lands, or spiritual forces that govern them — they have no connection to you. Do not pursue astrology or destiny charts. Do not examine the hour, day, or planetary alignments of your birth.

For Israel is not bound by mazel, and everything depends on God’s decree. Do not rely on your ancestors’ merits or destiny. Your task is to work on your soul, not on the forces of the cosmos.”

(Zohar, Lech Lecha 78; Matok Midevash pp. 215)

In Moments of Anger, the Soul Leaves a Person

Anger is akin to idolatry and the domain of the Other Side (the sitra achra). A person must avoid and separate from it.

The verse “You shall not make molten gods for yourself” (Shemot 34:17) hints that anger harms oneself, because anger defiles the soul so deeply that it is considered a form of idolatry.

The sages said: “Whoever becomes angry — if he is a prophet, his prophecy departs from him.” My teacher (says the Zohar) was stricter about anger than any other sin — even anger “for the sake of a mitzvah.” 

He explained: All other sins damage only one limb or aspect of the soul. But anger damages the entire soul, replacing it entirely. When a person becomes angry, the holy soul leaves him completely, and instead a soul from the realm of impurity enters. 

(Zohar, Tetzaveh 182; Matok Midevash pp. 41–42)

Withholding a Worker’s Wage Diminishes One’s Share in the World to Come

One who shortens the life of a poor person by withholding wages shortens his own life, while one who sustains the life of a poor worker — God adds life to him, even if his own time to die has arrived.

One who withholds payment steals the very life of the poor person and his family. Because he diminishes their life through poverty and hunger, God diminishes his days in this world and his soul’s portion in the World to Come.

(Zohar, Kedoshim 85; Matok Midevash p. 367)

Healing the Soul (Tikkun HaNefesh)

A person must repair his soul in the exact spiritual place where he damaged it.

Those who sinned at Shittim (sexual immorality) damaged the holy covenant, represented by the “sun,” and therefore their cleansing came through an aspect connected to the sun/covenant.

From here we learn that a person must repair the soul in the precise spiritual sphere where the sin occurred. If he does not, even if he improves other traits, the original flaw remains unresolved.

Editor’s note: This has implications for someone struggling with suicidal thoughts. One cannot escape the reality of one’s spiritual deficiencies. In a future incarnation, the soul will face the same conditions again — possibly in more difficult circumstances, and must confront the same spiritual challenges. Suicide does not end suffering; it multiplies it. Only repair (tikkun) brings healing.

(Zohar, Pinchas 212; Matok Midevash pp. 63–64)