What do Jews believe about life after death

[SuzAn]

I have a good friend who is a Jewish convert from a Southern Baptist background. In a discussion one evening she told me that she does not believe there is anything after death. She said Conservative Jews can believe that the only way your soul continues after death is through your children and what values you instill in them. Her father has just been diagnosed with terminal brain and lung cancer. I would like to help her through this time of suffering but she doesn’t want to hear about faith in God or life after death. She told me that nothing good ever came to her from God and that all her strength comes from herself. Does anyone have suggestions on how to approach her with compassion to help her accept what is happening to her Dad? Her mother died last year which complicates the issue even more. Thanks for your help.

 

[Zski01]

SuzAn:

I have a good friend who is a Jewish convert from a Southern Baptist background. In a discussion one evening she told me that she does not believe there is anything after death. She said Conservative Jews can believe that the only way your soul continues after death is through your children and what values you instill in them. Her father has just been diagnosed with terminal brain and lung cancer. I would like to help her through this time of suffering but she doesn’t want to hear about faith in God or life after death. She told me that nothing good ever came to her from God and that all her strength comes from herself. Does anyone have suggestions on how to approach her with compassion to help her accept what is happening to her Dad? Her mother died last year which complicates the issue even more. Thanks for your help.

Jews they believe that they are saved by works of the Law of the Torah. That is why they held annual sacrifices to attone for their sins. That’s an extreme reader’s digest version, but they certainly do believe in the afterlife.

Sounds like your friend has her own theology, as opposed to mainline Jewish belief. That’s a tough situation she’s facing, so that doesn’t make her situation any easier for her to start re-contemplating her theological views. You may want to read the Old Testament with her (then try to progress gently back into the New Testament).