Do Animals Go to Heaven? The Jewish View on Animal Souls & the Afterlife

Moran asks: “Why don’t animals have continuity in the World to Come like human beings? Thank you in advance.”

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Hello Moran, and thanks for your question.

The previous article dealt with instincts, and explained why animals do not have awareness and free choice, so their love is not like human love. From that fact we can learn about the human being’s importance and spiritual essence, and the reason we were created for life in the World to Come. That is our focus here.

Animals do not merit a share in the World to Come because they do not “separate” from this world the way humans do, and therefore do not require it. Since a dog or a cat does not possess free will and all its traits are imprinted within it, it has no true individuality of its own. Its entire existence is summed up in nature’s processes of reproduction and death. So long as there are living dogs in our world, no single dog has truly “died,” because all dogs are minted from the exact same “coin” the Creator struck at the beginning of creation; from then on they do not differ essentially from one another. There is a “canine species” with an assembly line of canine traits, but there is no individual, singular “dog” in the human sense.

The human being is the crown of creation because he has consciousness and free choice between good and evil. A person shapes his own nature with his own hands; therefore each human being has a unique soul. Our sages taught that every person is an entire world, with a unique mission, and with the choice of whether — and how much, to fulfill that mission to draw close to God. This makes the human being an individual self, a conscious person whose very creation points to his eternity.

When God created billions of individual souls, He in effect created billions of distinct worlds. Every person is a world unto himself, and therefore his existence is not destined to end with death like that of an animal.

Our sages said: “Therefore man was created alone, to teach you that whoever destroys a single soul of Israel is considered by Scripture as if he destroyed an entire world; and whoever sustains a single soul of Israel is considered as if he sustained an entire world… to declare the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He: a man mints many coins with one stamp, and they are all alike; but the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, mints every person with the stamp of Adam the First, and yet no one is like his fellow. Therefore each person is obligated to say, ‘For my sake the world was created’” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5).

From here we learn that a person’s existence in this world is only a test and a means for his soul, which will receive its reward for its deeds in the World to Come. As our sages said: “At a person’s passing, neither silver nor gold nor precious stones and pearls accompany him, but only Torah and good deeds” (Avot 6:9).

For this reason, a human being seeks spiritual meaning and cannot find lasting satisfaction in material pleasures, whereas animals are fully satisfied with material life. You’ve surely noticed how, every morning you set down your dog’s food, he wags his tail and drools with excitement as if this were the finest meal of his life — even if it’s dry kibble. Even after years he’s just as excited by the very same meal. It’s not that he’s “senile”, but that the material satisfies his material nature. By contrast, a person will tire even of a superb meal if he eats it daily for years; likewise he will tire of material achievements after a short time. A person has a divine soul, and that soul will not be sated by material life — only by closeness to the Creator through deeds that match its spiritual nature.

Animals are not “missing out” on the World to Come, just as a table or chair does not “miss out” by not being a living creature. Each achieves the maximum it can according to its nature and asks for nothing beyond that.

God did not imprint in animals a thirst for spirituality, because they have no soul that seeks it. They receive complete satisfaction from this-worldly life as part of nature and do not seek eternity. Their existence and continuity are expressed only in the continued life of the species according to its nature to reproduce.

Animals have no understanding at all of concepts like “death” or “life after death.” (A dog does not understand the idea of “death.” Even if its owner passes away, the dog assumes he has left it or is locked somewhere, and so it waits for him to return.) You grieve over the deaths of animals, but they do not grieve their own deaths. They live only in the “here and now,” and their aspirations are limited to material, temporary pleasure.

Even so, it’s important to clarify that animals are not some “virtual reality,” but real creatures with a temporary nefesh (animating life-force), part and parcel of the living, breathing material reality of nature around us. Although they lack human thought and free choice, animals still feel pain according to their level. Nature has levels of mineral, plant, animal, and human. Animals are the feeling, sensing part of nature. Our love and concern for them is love and concern for the natural world in which we live, and which we are obligated to protect.

Animals were created for us to use; and of course we must also care for them, safeguard them and nature, avoid causing them suffering, and use them only within the bounds permitted by Jewish law: “It is forbidden by the Torah to cause suffering to any living creature. On the contrary, one is obligated to rescue any animal from suffering — even if it is ownerless, and even if it belongs to a non-Jew. However, if they cause a person suffering, or if a person needs them for healing or for another need — it is permitted even to kill them, and we do not regard their suffering, since the Torah permitted slaughter…” (Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, 191: The Prohibition of Causing Pain to Animals)

At the same time, remember that true, reciprocal emotional bonding is intended for human beings with souls — those who recognize who you truly are and can choose the level of emotional connection with you by the power of their soul.

Try not to anthropomorphize animals, even if you enjoy their company and caring for them. The animals you raised are still in your memories, and they may well have helped you through certain periods of life. You should rejoice in their existence, because the blessed Creator fashioned a rich and varied world for our joy and benefit. We should be grateful for beautiful gifts, even when they are temporary.