Life After Death
The Jewish Soul After Death: Mystical Teachings From the Zohar
Why the eyes are closed, the role of angels, the final confession, and the soul’s path to Gan Eden
Rabbi Abba said to Rabbi Chizkiyah… the eyes of the deceased must be closed so they will not remain open. For at the moment a person leaves this world, his soul remains with him, and just before the soul departs, the person’s eyes behold the vision of the Divine Presence. Because of the pleasure and delight the soul experiences from this radiant vision, the person’s eyes remain open from the sight they just beheld.
Those present at the time of passing close the eyes immediately, so that this holy vision will be the final image the person saw, and so that the Sitra Achra (negative spiritual forces) will have no opportunity to rest upon the eyes. Additionally, as we said earlier, the soul remains near the body right after leaving it; if the eyes were left open, the Sitra Achra could attach itself to them, and anything the deceased “looks upon” could become cursed.
(Zohar Vayechi, “Matok Midvash” pp. 500–502)
The Zohar teaches that at the time of resurrection, no physical remnants of the original body will remain. To remove the impurity of the primordial serpent that caused death, the body must fully return to dust. At the Resurrection, a new body will be formed from that dust. There is therefore no need to leave the eyes open to show the deceased the sights of this world, since the World of Resurrection has no connection to the physical world. Rather, we close the eyes so the soul fully departs from worldly vision and is prepared for the higher visions of the upper worlds.
(Zohar, Parashat Shelach 169; Matok Midvash p. 159)
Three Angels Appear at the Moment of Death
On the day when a person’s allotted time in this world ends — when the body weakens and material strength fades and the soul prepares to depart, permission is granted for the person to see what a healthy body could never behold: the revelation of the Divine Presence.
At that moment, three angels stand over him:
The right-side angel records his merits,
The left-side angel records his sins,
The middle angel counts his days and sees that his destined lifespan has been completed.
He is shown all his deeds, and he verbally acknowledges each one. Then he signs upon them with his own hand. Every person signs off on his own judgment — on early sins (from youth), and later sins (from old age), on sins inherited from ancestors and sins newly invented. Not a single wrongdoing is forgotten.
All deeds done with both body and soul are judged while the soul is still within the body, so that both receive their judgment together.
(Zohar, Lech Lecha 79; Matok Midvash pp. 225–226)
The Soul Confesses and Returns Its Deposit
The day of death is the day of judgment, when soul and body are separated. These three angels accompany the Divine Presence to receive the soul — if the person is righteous.
These angels “inspect his deeds,” and the person “acknowledges them with his mouth.” When the soul sees the body being judged, it rises from the body to the entrance of the throat and waits there until the body confesses all it has done with it in this world. Only then does the soul depart.
At that moment, the soul of the righteous rejoices in its deeds and in the fact that it can return its “deposit,” the soul entrusted to it, intact and pure, ready to delight in the World to Come.
(Zohar, Vayeira 98; Matok Midvash pp. 444–445)
Who Helps a Person at the Time of Death?
Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer (ch. 34) teaches that a person has three “loves” during his lifetime:
His children and family
His wealth
His good deeds
At the moment of death, the dying person pleads with his children:
“Please save me from this harsh judgment!”
They answer: “Have you not heard that no one rules on the day of death? As it says: ‘A brother cannot redeem another…’ Go in peace.”
He turns to his wealth: “I worked so hard for you — redeem me!”
His money replies: “Have you not heard ‘Riches do not save on the day of wrath’?”
Finally, he turns to his good deeds and begs: “Do not abandon me! Come with me and save me!”
They answer: “Go in peace — we will go before you.”
As it says: ‘Your righteousness will walk before you; the glory of God will gather you.’
A Parable
The Sages tell of a man with three friends — Reuven, Shimon, and Levi. When he was summoned by the king and feared he would be sentenced to death, he begged each friend to accompany him:
Reuven refused entirely.
Shimon agreed only to accompany him to the palace gates.
Levi said: “I will go in with you and plead your case.”
In the parable:
Wealth is Reuven — never accompanying the person beyond this world.
Family is Shimon — they walk with him to the grave and no further.
Torah and mitzvot are Levi — they accompany him before the Throne of Glory.
Money does not mourn a person — it immediately finds a new owner. But Torah and mitzvot do mourn, for it is hard to find another righteous person who serves God as he did.
(From “Otzrot Acharit HaYamim” and “Kohelet Yitzchak”)
The Soul’s Journey Toward Gan Eden
After death, the soul enters the Cave of Machpelah and sees what it is permitted to see. On its way to the Lower Garden of Eden it encounters the cherubim and the “flaming, ever-turning sword” placed by God to guard the way to the Tree of Life. If the soul is worthy, the gates are opened and it is admitted.
(Zohar Vayechi, p. 412)
Why Yaakov Wanted Burial in the Cave of Machpelah
Yaakov instructed his sons not to bury him anywhere except the Cave of Machpelah, because it is close to the Lower Garden of Eden — evidenced by the fact that Adam and Eve are buried there.
(Zohar Vayechi 208; Matok Midvash p. 794)
