Where is the Afterlife Mentioned in the Torah?

Kobi asks: "Hello. My father passed away about two weeks ago, and I wanted to know where in the Torah are the soul and the afterlife mentioned, and why is this not emphasized more in the written Torah? Thank you."

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Hello Kobi. I am sorry to hear of your father's passing, may his soul be bound in the bond of life. Nonetheless, I commend you on your desire to explore important topics in Judaism. Our sages taught that a son who strengthens in faith elevates his parents' souls in the afterlife.

We possess a very deep inner knowledge of the soul's existence within us, a knowledge that spans time and cultures, as it is deeply embedded within us. We say "my hand," "my body," "my brain," knowing that we are not the hand, body, or brain, but rather they are in our possession. We feel deep within that we are merely temporary guests here, using an aging, decaying body, and we have a higher purpose than this world.

Wise individuals from all times and ages understood that the human soul, fundamentally different from all other living creatures, has an inherent spiritual nature seeking spirituality and eternity. This spiritual essence, which fundamentally determines all our actions, is not material, and therefore we know that our "inner self" will continue to exist even after the body's demise.

If we observe nature, we see that all animals act according to instincts, without free choice. Thus, humans are the only beings with the ability to choose between good and evil. Free choice proves that there is an unnatural reality within humans that does not comply with the laws of material nature. The power of choice given to humans between good and evil and the internal struggle of inclinations within us proves that the Creator tests us in this world to determine our place in the afterlife.

The Tanakh explicitly mentions the existence of the soul and that there is reward and punishment for all our actions. This is promised to us both in the Torah and the prophets.

In the book of Genesis, it is stated that unlike all other living creatures, only man received a divine soul: "Hashem God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). It was said to our forefather Abraham: "And you will go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age" (Genesis 15:15), and about Rachel it is told in the Torah: "And as her soul was departing (for she died)" (Genesis 35:18).

Moreover, there are transgressions in the Torah for which there is no earthly punishment; however, it is said about the intentional sinner: "That soul shall be cut off from its people" (e.g., Exodus 12:19; Leviticus 7:27). From many such verses, we learn that the souls of Israel are united in the afterlife, and the sinner is cut off from them. Of course, the Torah provides an opportunity for everyone to repent and merit the Garden of Eden, as it is also said in the book of Samuel I: "Hashem causes death and gives life; he brings down to the grave and raises up" (Samuel I 2:6).

The Torah also explicitly prohibits communicating with the dead in the afterlife: "You shall not learn to do like the abominations of those nations, there shall not be found among you... one who conjures a spell, or consults a ghost or spirit, or inquires of the dead" (Deuteronomy 18:11).

In the Tanakh, it is told how Saul, when possessed by an evil spirit, sought to bring up the prophet Samuel from the dead and spoke with his soul from the afterlife (see Samuel I, Chapter 28).

King Solomon teaches us an important lesson in faith in his book Ecclesiastes (Chapter 12, 1): "And remember your Creator in the days of your youth... before the silver cord is snapped... and the wheel is broken by the well, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to Hashem who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says Kohelet, all is vanity... The end of the matter, all has been heard, fear Hashem and keep His commandments; for this is the whole of man. For Hashem will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether good or bad."

These verses teach us that Hashem judges each person after death according to their good and bad deeds.

The prophets also tell us about the end of days and the resurrection of the dead: "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2).

Our sages taught us that the afterlife is not material like this world (Tractate Berakhot, 17a): "In the afterlife, there is no eating or drinking, nor business transactions, nor procreation, nor competition, neither jealousy nor hatred, but the righteous sit with their crowns on their heads and enjoy the radiance of the Divine Presence." The reality of the afterlife is not physical. From this, we also learn that all the sages' statements about eating and drinking in the afterlife were said metaphorically and in imaginative descriptions understood by human intellect.

You asked why the Torah did not emphasize the afterlife more. We must understand that the Torah's purpose is for the Israelites to serve Hashem out of true love that is not dependent on anything, and not to seek a reward, as the Torah commands: "Hear, O Israel: Hashem our God, Hashem is one. Love Hashem your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:4) - as Rabbi Akiva explained - even if he takes your soul! The righteous Jew sacrifices his life for the sanctification of Hashem's name out of love that is not dependent on anything. This is the true meaning of life: pure love. Hashem loves us and receives no reward from us, and therefore this is the highest divine level - to love Hashem without seeking a reward.

Thus, the Torah says: "You shall be wholehearted with Hashem your God" (Deuteronomy 18:13), and Rashi explains: "Walk before Him wholeheartedly and hope for Him, and do not inquire of the future, but whatever befalls you accept with wholeheartedness, and then you shall be with Him and part of His lot."

The Israelites received many details and secrets about the afterlife through oral tradition, but the Torah did not want this to become the main focus, as the true objective is to serve Hashem without expectations, despite the immense reward and Hashem's desire to benefit us eternally in the Garden of Eden. In later generations, with the decline of the generations, there arose a need to tell more about the secrets of the afterlife, about what is in the Garden of Eden and Gehenna, in order to draw hearts to serve Hashem even not for its own sake, because from not for its own sake one can come to for its own sake (Tractate Sanhedrin, 105).

Yours sincerely, Daniel Bles