Does Judaism Believe in an Afterlife?

I have received many questions regarding Jewish views of the afterlife.
In the Five Books of Moses belief in the afterlife is little pronounced.  Some Bible scholars have conjectured that this was intentional in order to ensure that Judaism did not evolve in the direction of the Egyptians, who were obsessed with death and the mummification of its leaders.
During the rabbinic period, the afterlife begins to assume a prominent place in the Jewish faith. A doctrine of the immortality of the soul suggested that the body returns to the earth, dust to dust, but the soul, which is immortal returns to God, who gave it.
In addition, rabbinic Judaism also affirmed the eventual resurrection of the body with its soul that occurs in the time of the Messiah.
The more liberal branches of Judaism generally reject the idea of resurrection, and both Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism understand the messianic idea in more abstract terms.
This remains an area in which each of us must confront the wonder of existence on our own, and make peace on our own terms with the mystery of death.
Jewish mystics went so far as to embrace a belief in reincarnation, positing that the soul has an independent life, existing before and after the death of the body.
The soul, they say, joins the body at an appropriate time, remains with it for a specified period, and then takes leave of the body at the time of death, prepared to assume its new assignment in the physical world.
A soul can return again and again in different bodies, and how it conducts itself in each reincarnation determines its ascent or descent in the next visit. Mystics often use reincarnation to explain odd or unusual occurrences of human characteristics. For example, if a person seems to be behaving like an animal, a mystic might well conclude that such a person is carrying the soul of a beast
Regarding animals and whether or not they possess a soul, there are no consistent Jewish views. Over the years my pets have given me love, companionship and many happy days. All of my dogs have been uplifting to have as loving companions and have been the light of my life. As Proverbs 20:27 reminds us: “The soul is God’s candle. My dogs have been my light!”
Since nobody has ever gone to the World to Come (as it is known in Judaism) and returned, everything written about what happens in it is purely a matter of faith and speculation.
The Talmud (Berachot 17a) describes the future world as a place where “there is no eating, drinking or procreation or business. There is no jealousy or hatred or competition, but the righteous will sit with crowns on their heads feasting on the radiance of the Divine Presence.”
There are many Jewish ideas about the precise meaning of immortality and what form it can take. Ultimately, each of us, on the basis of our faith and what we have been taught, must choose an understanding that fits with our own faith and belief.
Here are several of the forms in which Jewish people conceive of immortality and life after death today:
•    Influence through family: we live in and through our children. This naturalistic view says that eternal life occurs biologically through the children that we bring into this world.
•    Immortality through influence: when we influence others to the point that they fashion themselves after us and use us as a role model, this kind of eternal significance is itself a form of immortality.
•    Influence through deeds and creative works: we continue to live on through our work. This notion of immortality is expressed in the Midrash: “We need not erect monuments to the righteous; their deeds are their monuments.”
•    Reincarnation:  (Jewish mystics) taught that a person’s soul returns again and again in different bodies.
•    Resurrection: Here the belief is that the physical body will be resurrected during the messianic era.
No matter which understanding most resembles your own, the basic question always remains: How did you live your life?  And how you live your life will likely influence how people will remember you.
Please feel free to go to my website and click on the Ask Rabbi Link to email me your questions. It will be my pleasure to hear from you and learn what’s on your mind.
L’Shalom, with blessings of peace.
Rabbi Isaacs is the rabbi at Beth Judah Temple, Wildwood. He invites questions emailed to his website www.rabbiron.com