Does Judaism teach all good people can go to heaven?

It’s my understanding that Judaism doesn’t have a penal afterlife, and that everyone goes to the same place.

I was born and raised Jewish, and we were always taught that heaven and hell are figurative, not real places. The way I was raised, you were supposed to be good in THIS lifetime, because the whole afterlife schtick wasn’t a part of Judaism.

But the Christians have never understood Judaism and have lied about it for centuries – usually as propaganda for their own (Christian) ends. So why should this speaker be any different?

@elbanditoroso He should be different, because he seemed interested in the “tolerance” of the Eastern religions. He was giving a presentation about his trip to Tibet. He talked about religion, and the religious history in that part of the world. It’s why I went up to him afterwards, because I felt he was interested. But, he seemed to have a fixed image of the Abrahamic religions, and my best guess is he is, or was, Christian. I agree that Christians often make wrong assumptions…well, I would say all the religions make the wrong assumptions here and there about other religions, but the Christians do seem to project their way of believing onto others.

I just wanted to check my knowledge regarding the teaching of Judaism on the topic. I was not raised religiously, and there was basically a complete absence of talk about life after to death. I think that’s typical of Jewish households, but especially atheist Jewish households.

Moreover, no one in my house was saying another religion was wrong. We just said things like Jews don’t put ketchup or mayo on pastrami.

I was taught that it was part of the covenant of Abraham that the Israelites were the Chosen people. But no one is going to heaven until the Messiah comes.

@zenvelo But, can the people who aren’t Jewish go? Once the Messiah comes?

http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm

I linked to it because I love the name. Jew FAQ

It sounds like you’re in a room full of people who know nothing about Judaism. I agree with @elbanditoroso.

I’m Jewish and was taught that life should be our focus—not some possible afterlife.

Yup. Pachy got it in one.

No idea, I’ve never met a religious Jew.

And yes, eastern religions can be just as intolerant as western ones, especially Buddhism. In Thailand, in Burma (Myanmar), in Sri Lanka, in Japan people have been shunned, prosecuted, assaulted, even murdered for not being Buddhist, for “disrespecting the Buddha”, for refusing to convert to Buddhism or for practicing the wrong flavor of Buddhism.

It seems like you were dealing with a speaker who was fixated on his presumed view about the intolerance of certain groups while conveniently ignoring his own intolerance (combined with appalling ignorance about certain groups)

In other words, he’s complaining about the “speck” in someone else’s eye while having a mote (log) in his own eye, to borrow a biblical metaphor.

Feel free to ignore everything he said.

A friend of mine’s daughter converted to Judaism, which I thought was interesting. She converted while in college. I’ve never heard of a young adult converting to Judaism, except for marriage. I was just telling her that it’s a much more “earthly” religion. It’s about the here and now. So, I think for people who aren’t very religious, but want something, Reform Judaism is easy to be a part of.

I also am thinking about how two days ago I was in Arby’s and a Christian station was playing. The first few sings were recognizable to me. They were classics redone. The third song I had never heard and talked about waiting to be with or in heaven or something like that, and how it’s the best place to be. How is that any different than wanting to be with 72 virgins? Sure, it sounded “nicer” and more “wholesome” than the virgins, but it’s still some sort of yearning for death. I don’t get it. But, I’m Jewish.

@Rarebear Thanks for that link. It basically says what I have always believed about Judaism and death, when I bothered to think about it. It’s in line with the answers I have given on Fluther previously. I just started to question if I really knew what I was talking about.

I’ve always understood it the way @JLeslie and the others above do. It’s one of the things I like about Judaism. But a reading of the old testiment—and I really don’t know how faithful the KJV is to the Jewish book—but the God of the OT repeatedly punishes those who are unfaithful or even question his authority. Examples are the Golden calf thing for which He denies a whole generation of Egyptian Jewish refugees entry into the promised land, the repeated threats to Moses of complete anhilliation of His chosen people for things like complaining about the lack of variation of their diet while they are wandering through the wilderness…. it goes on and on.

“I am a jealous god, have no other gods before me,” pretty much says it all. But I don’t believe He ever actually describes a tortuous afterlife. I think separation from family and tribe through death was considered an adequate threat to keep these people in line.

I think the guy described in the question above is just another jackboot preacher, only of a different variety than the usual..These guys suffer from half-assed educations, often willfully, and just make up most of their shit as they go along. Ignore him.

@Darth_Algar—never met a religious Jew? I rather doubt that, unless you’ve never met a Jewish person. You see, some of the most religious Jews and people of other faiths I have met keep their religious beliefs where I happen to believe they should: to themselves.

@Pachy

Obviously I do not know the ethnic background or religious views of every person I’ve ever met. However, of those folks I’ve known who are Jewish none have particularly concerned themself with the Jewish faith.

… At least not that you’re aware of.

Certainly. I mean I’m only going by their own statements, but I suppose they could be lying.

Not lying. Just not articulating.

For fuck’s sake…

@Darth_Algar @Pachy A very large percentage of Jews aren’t religious. About 40% of Jews identify as secular. It’s still the minority, but still a very big number. Of the 40% I would guess the majority still identify strongly as Jewish.