Theos-Talk Archives (April 2002 Message tt00124)

Compiler wrote:
> I did a quick search after someone here said "There is no Jewish
> theology dealing with an afterlife, except for the time of the Messiah."
> Based on this quick search of the subject, that statement may not be
> correct. Here's the search page that came up. I hope it proves a
> somewhat useful start for those interested in searching and learning
> about this subject:
> http://search.netscape.com/search.psp?search=Gilgoolem&cp=ntserch

Sorry if there was a misunderstanding. I meant to say there is no
OFFICIAL Jewish theology dealing with an afterlife. Many Jewish scholars
have pondered about it, and there are many theories. Most Jews believe
in a Paradise and an equivalent of the Catholic Purgatory (but no Hell).
But, as there is no official theology on the matter, some Kabbalists
have theorized reincarnation by reading "in between the lines", so to
speak. Note that Kabbalism is considered to be part of mainstream
Judaism, albeit a highly advanced and specialized part. 

To be more precise, Judaism certainly does not exclude the possibility
of reincarnation; neither does it exclude the possibility that this is
our one shot, and we get rewarded and punished accordingly based on our
actions in a single lifetime. The only thing that would be incorrect
would be to state what THE Jewish view of the afterlife is, and that was
the point I was trying to make.

Bart Lidofsky