Customer Reviews

What Happens After I Die?: Jewish Views of Life After Death

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This book is obviously an attempt on the part of the Reform movement to correct the misconception, common among Reform Jews, that there is supposedly no Jewish belief in an afterlife. The authors explore a variety of beliefs about life after death from different periods and branches of Judaism. I was pleasantly surprised to see a section on reincarnation, acknowledging that Hasidim and some others believe in it.

All in all, although the book takes a more rationalist approach than I would prefer, it does give the average reader a nice introduction to Jewish afterlife doctrines. Best of all, it's short and very reader-friendly.

This book's usefulness is certainly not limited to a Jewish audience. The wide range of essays included in Sonsino & Syme's book provide insight into the views of other faiths as well, especially Christianity. I was required to read this book as a college religion student to better understand Jewish views of the afterlife, but it is just as well suited for someone who wants to sort out their own personal views. I am confident that regardless of your own opinions and the level of your reflection on the afterlife, you will be moved by several of the included essays.

My gentile friends (and my less educated Jewish ones) occasionally ask me what Jews think about the afterlife. After reading this book, I know the answer. The answer is: there's no consensus. Certainly Jews don't have the precise picture of Heaven and Hell that some fundamentalists have. There is (outside the leftward fringes of Reform Judaism) a consensus that there is some sort of afterlife -- but no consensus (even within Orthodox, Conservative or Reform as far as I could tell) as to what that afterlife looks like, except for some vague notion of some sort of reward and punishment in the world to come.

This is a book of 12 essays by Jewish Rabbi's and other intellectual thinkers expressing their individual views on what happens to us after death. All well written, some uplifting, some chilling in their precision and logic which concludes that there is nothing to look for after this life. Interesting that, if you are Jewish, you can believe anything you want on this subject and still belong to the club.

What is the Jewish view of the afterlife, anyway? "What Happens After I Die?: Jewish Views of Life After Death" looks into the Jewish views of the afterlife as two rabbis converge and offer a series of essays from numerous Jewish writers who offer their own insight on the after life which should prove an intriguing read for both Jewish readers and simply curious readers of other faiths. "What Happens After I Die?" is an enlightening read, well worth considering.