Please check back weekly, as new questions will be added:
How do we know there is an afterlife?
How do we know there is an afterlife?
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto (18th century Italy) proved the existence of the afterlife with logic. He explains that G-d created mankind, in order so that he could give of his goodness to another. However, if he were to give of his goodness indiscriminately it would detract from the goodness. That is because, if one were to receive this "goodness" for free, he or she would be embarrassed. This embarrassment would in turn blemish the "goodness." To illustrate this, we can compare it to a man who has lost all of his money and forced to beg. Although he is glad to receive money, he would find it embarrassing to have to survive solely on the goodness of someone else, since he would rather earn his money.
In order not to cause this embarrassment, and maintain the "good" of the "goodness" that G-d wanted to give, He created two separate time periods. The first period is called the "Period of Effort and Striving." This is the period we are living in. In this period we struggle to live a Torah life and perform Mitzvahs despite the various distractions that we run into everyday. This is where we EARN the goodness. This period is temporary, as it ends with death. The second period called "Period of Reward," starts after death. During that time the soul will receive the "goodness" that he earned while he was connected to his body in the time of "Effort and Striving." According to the Effort and Striving he put in during the first period, will be the amount of reward he will receive in the period of Reward. This period is eternal. (The Way of G-d, 1:3).
The creation of man also testifies to the eternal life of the soul. The Torah says, "And the Almighty formed the man of dust from the ground, and He blew into his nostrils the SOUL of life." (Genesis 2:7) On this verse, the Zohar states that "one who blows, blows from within himself," indicating that the soul is actually part of G-d's essence. Since the soul is part of "G-d's essence" it is impossible that it should die.
However, in the words of Maimonides (12th century Egypt), "We have merely skimmed the surface. These are very deep matters" (Foundations of the Torah 4:9). |
