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From: sher@rochester.UUCP (David Sher)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: Afterlife
Message-ID: <4166@rochester.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 28-Nov-84 00:51:16 EST
Article-I.D.: rocheste.4166
Posted: Wed Nov 28 00:51:16 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 30-Nov-84 07:45:31 EST
References: <1902@pegasus.UUCP> <27400007@uiucdcsb.UUCP>
Organization: U. of Rochester, CS Dept.
Lines: 21

> I posted the original question.  I received exactly one (1) reply, by
> private mail.  (I wonder why there were no more replies -- was I
> offensive? was it a simple-minded question?) 
> 

I guess its time to add some flame to the fire.  I can describe the
attitude transmitted to me from my familly of devout nonobservant
Jews.  This is hardly an expert opinion, more like the opinion of the
common man (caveat caveat!).  Anyway I believe that Judaism
concentrates entirely on the living.  The only responses I got as a
kid from the normative sources (parents and hebrew school) is that the
dead live on in the memory of the living.  At the time of the messiah
there will be no death (this is more from my recent reading for
Maimonides I think Judah Ha Levi had  a different opinion on this).
I have however read some stuff that purports to be Jewish mythology or
stories and legends.  In it a concept of heaven which is taken to
various levels of sophistication is described (the most sophisticated
described a hierarchical multilevel heaven only some of which are used
to hold soals).   In any case such ideas are irrelevant except as
mysticism since Judaism tells one how to live not how to die.  
-David