Why are we afraid of death and don't rush to the World to Come?

Question

I agree the question seems stupid, but hear out my logic:

1. We all are promised to get a share in the world to come (WTC), and acc. to Rabbinical interpretation, even Kareth can't take that away.

2. In this world, we tremendously suffer our detachment from G-d and His seeming absence (הסתר פנים).

3. Even ones that sin with the death penalty, can repent and eventually enjoy the WTC.

4. This world is anyway only a means (a corridor) to get to the final destination (WTC) we should all rush to arrive.

5. Assuming, we're G-d's servants: Since there are no physical enjoyments in the WTC, the idea of a "larger" share of it or "better" or "higher" share is meaningless to me to justify the collection of rewards for the Mitzvos in this world.

6. Assuming, we're G-d's sons: if the reward is G-d's love, it is meaningless to envy others as long as G-d loves us (just as siblings in a family or the traditional polygamy).

Now, in our imagination, death is associated with illnesses and physical pain, which most people suffer on the way, or with the idea of suffering in Hell (very vague), but both are temporary, and it is surely worth the eternal (?!) pleasure.

Of course, there are many verses that prescribe us to choose life - "ובחרת בחיים" - but the other world is also called "ארץ חיים".

This might sound crazy, but the best algorithm for living this life might be committing a capital sin at 13, being sentenced, and repenting - no punishment for the sins until 13, and the only sin is executed - one is free to go straight to Eden.

I understand that the Sages were obsessed with the idea of the reward (and punishment) so that wasn't a question for them, but I wonder whether the later Rabbis speculate on this issue, considering specifically #4 and 5?

Answer 1

Avot 4:17

הוא היה אומר יפה שעה אחת בתשובה ומעשים טובים בעולם הזה מכל חיי העולם הבא

He used to say: "One moment of repentance and good deeds in this world is better than all of the life in the world to come".

This is presumably because while in this world you can arrange for the world to come to be better.

Answer 2

Maybe you're just speaking on the level of the eternal soul, before being born?
^{(based on Talmudic, Midrashic, Kabbalistic, and Chassidic sources, all quoted)}

The soul doesn't initially want to come to earth, but ends up liking it¹. This is because here she can actually do something for Hashem, vs in Heaven, where she can only receive from Hashem², which creates a bread of shame³, that makes the receiving of goodness, flawed.

Weigh that against the idea that, the only world where it is possible to truly serve Hashem is a world where we can also sin. The soul is objecting to sin. Once she gets down here though, she is taught about teshuva⁴, and that a baal teshuva stands where no other man can stand⁵, and she realises she has nothing to be scared of she is happy to say.

That's the point of view of our eternal soul. Now, where does she reside? In the body of, effectively, a very developed animal⁶. Specifically, the soul of that animal, which has a yeitzer hara. The yeitzer hara is like a trap, that locks the eternal soul into the body, aligning things with the will of the creator⁷.

The soul is forced to enjoy this lowly world, because its yeitzer hara stirs it to, and it goes 13 years totally under the rule of the yeitzer hara⁸. In those golden years, the soul sees the world exactly how Hashem sees it. Beautiful, exciting, a place to make a dira betachton, and have gan eden in it. This beautiful love of life, which is initially taught to the soul by the animal soul, and yeitzer hara, is what keeps this eternal soul in the body, otherwise she would flee, because she is too scared of sin⁹, and distance from Hashem, and would rather not be born, as we said. The animal soul has its own in-built mechanisms, and one of them is the burning desire to survive, and not die¹⁰.

So, there are 2 answers to your question:

1. Our animal soul, and its yeitzer hara, make us instinctively want to object to your logical suggestion of Olam Haba.

2. Our eternal soul eventually comes to appreciate the value of being here, serving Hashem, and would much rather do that, than focus on her "Olam Haba", and is glad to finally have shaken off the bread of shame.

---

<sup>1. Many sources, e.g. Midrash Tanchuma, Parashat Pekudei
2. Classic Torah concept, do I need sources? Kiddushin 31a "greater is the one who is commanded"; "1 hour of repentance is better than all the life of the world to come"; Zohar II 86b "the purpose of creation is for the lower beings to perfect the world"; Tanya "Hashem desires a dira betachton" etc. I strongly recommend Rebbe Rayatz's maamar "Ki Ka'asher HaShamayim HaChadashim VeHa'aretz HaChadasha", you can hear a shiur on it here
3. נהמא דכסופא, bread of shame. Many sources, originating in Talmud Yerushalmi Orlah 1:3; see Zohar 1:4a, R. Yosef Karo's Maggid Mesharim 2:8 etc. See the Baal HaSulam's intro to the Zohar for an exquisite explanation.
4. Avot 4:17. See Maamer Basi Legani 1972 for a full explanation
5. Berachot 34b; Yoma 86b "great is repetenance"
6. Bereshit Rabbah 9:7, Tanya 1-2, Derech Hashem 3
7. Sukkah 52b, Chesed LeAvraham 7:9
8. Pirkei Avot 5:21, Avot D'Rabbi Natan 16
9. See Ohr Hachama on Zohar II 96b בעל כרחה נחתת
10. Tanya Chapter 19</sup>

Answer 3

One can use the idea of midrash Eicha Rabba 4:15

“The kings of the earth and all the inhabitants of the world did not believe that an adversary and enemy would enter the gates of Jerusalem” (Lamentations 4:12).

“The kings of the earth and all the inhabitants of the world.” There were four kings, what this one demanded that one did not demand, and these are: David, Asa, Yehoshafat, and Hezekiah. David said: “I will pursue my enemies and overtake them…” (Psalms 18:38). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘I will do so.’ That is what is written: “David smote them from twilight until the evening of their next day” (I Samuel 30:17). What is “of their next day”? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: For two nights and one day. The Holy One blessed be He would illuminate for him with comets and lightning, as we learned there: Over comets, over earthquakes, and over lightning. That is what is written: “For you will illuminate my lamp…” (Psalms 18:29).

Asa arose and said: ‘I do not have the power to kill them, but I will pursue them and You do [the killing].’ He said to him: ‘I will do so,’ as it is stated: “Asa…pursued them…as they were broken before the Lord and before His camp; they carried a great many spoils” (II Chronicles 14:12). “Before Asa” is not written here, but rather, “before the Lord and before His camp.”

Yehoshafat arose and said: ‘I have the power neither to kill nor to pursue; rather, I will recite song and You do so.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘I will do so,’ as it is stated: “At the time that they began with song and praise, [the Lord set ambushes against the children of Amon, Moav, and the highlands of Se'ir]” (II Chronicles 20:22).

Hezekiah arose and said: ‘I have the power neither to kill, nor to pursue, nor to recite song; rather I will sleep in my bed and You do so.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘I will do so,’ as it is stated: “It was on that night that an angel of the Lord went out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians” (II Kings 19:35).

The difference between David and Hezekiah is that David put significantly many more efforts into his accomplishments. Perhaps, because of it, David was able to compose many Shiros and Tehilim, but Hezekiah did not, Sanhedrin 94a:

The attribute of justice said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, and if with regard to David, king of Israel, who recited several songs and praises before You, You did not designate him as the Messiah, then with regard to Hezekiah, for whom You performed all these miracles, delivering him from Sennacherib and healing his illness, and he did not recite praise before You, will You designate him as the Messiah? It is for that reason that the mem was closed, because there was an opportunity for redemption that was thwarted.

Aside from historical consequences, we see from these sources that David hamelekh has a much higher ranking in Shamaim because he accomplished more.

A person who chooses life in this world is also chooses to accomplish more, even though he may fail in his attempts. Why is this important? Because of the ability to learn to sing the shirah of grattitude i.e. be fully appreciative of the other side (Hashem, people). One can say that quantitatively, both David and Hezekiah received the same reward (even if in this world) but because David put an effort to earn it, he was able to sing. Perhaps, so will be the shame in the World to Come for those who receive reward without putting any effort as they will not be able to sing. But those, who put an effort, will be able to sing.

Answer 4

We are afraid of death because our Bible isn't completely convinced that there is a World to Come.

Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

וְע֥וֹד רָאִ֖יתִי תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ מְק֤וֹם הַמִּשְׁפָּט֙ שָׁ֣מָּה הָרֶ֔שַׁע וּמְק֥וֹם הַצֶּ֖דֶק שָׁ֥מָּה הָרָֽשַׁע׃

And, indeed, I have observed under the sun: Alongside justice there is wickedness, Alongside righteousness there is wickedness.

אָמַ֤רְתִּֽי אֲנִי֙ בְּלִבִּ֔י אֶת־הַצַּדִּיק֙ וְאֶת־הָ֣רָשָׁ֔ע יִשְׁפֹּ֖ט הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים כִּי־עֵ֣ת לְכׇל־חֵ֔פֶץ וְעַ֥ל כׇּל־הַֽמַּעֲשֶׂ֖ה שָֽׁם׃

I mused: “God will doom both righteous and wicked, for there is a time for every experience and for every happening.”

אָמַ֤רְתִּֽי אֲנִי֙ בְּלִבִּ֔י עַל־דִּבְרַת֙ בְּנֵ֣י הָאָדָ֔ם לְבָרָ֖ם הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וְלִרְא֕וֹת שְׁהֶם־בְּהֵמָ֥ה הֵ֖מָּה לָהֶֽם׃

So I decided, as regards men, to dissociate them [from] the divine beings and to face the fact that they are beasts.

כִּי֩ מִקְרֶ֨ה בְֽנֵי־הָאָדָ֜ם וּמִקְרֶ֣ה הַבְּהֵמָ֗ה וּמִקְרֶ֤ה אֶחָד֙ לָהֶ֔ם כְּמ֥וֹת זֶה֙ כֵּ֣ן מ֣וֹת זֶ֔ה וְר֥וּחַ אֶחָ֖ד לַכֹּ֑ל וּמוֹתַ֨ר הָאָדָ֤ם מִן־הַבְּהֵמָה֙ אָ֔יִן כִּ֥י הַכֹּ֖ל הָֽבֶל׃

For in respect of the fate of man and the fate of beast, they have one and the same fate: as the one dies so dies the other, and both have the same lifebreath; man has no superiority over beast, since both amount to nothing.

הַכֹּ֥ל הוֹלֵ֖ךְ אֶל־מָק֣וֹם אֶחָ֑ד הַכֹּל֙ הָיָ֣ה מִן־הֶֽעָפָ֔ר וְהַכֹּ֖ל שָׁ֥ב אֶל־הֶעָפָֽר׃

Both go to the same place; both came from dust and both return to dust.

מִ֣י יוֹדֵ֗עַ ר֚וּחַ בְּנֵ֣י הָאָדָ֔ם הָעֹלָ֥ה הִ֖יא לְמָ֑עְלָה וְר֙וּחַ֙ הַבְּהֵמָ֔ה הַיֹּרֶ֥דֶת הִ֖יא לְמַ֥טָּה לָאָֽרֶץ׃

Who knows if a man’s lifebreath does rise upward and if a beast’s breath does sink down into the earth?

וְרָאִ֗יתִי כִּ֣י אֵ֥ין טוֹב֙ מֵאֲשֶׁ֨ר יִשְׂמַ֤ח הָאָדָם֙ בְּֽמַעֲשָׂ֔יו כִּי־ה֖וּא חֶלְק֑וֹ כִּ֣י מִ֤י יְבִיאֶ֙נּוּ֙ לִרְא֔וֹת בְּמֶ֖ה שֶׁיִּהְיֶ֥ה אַחֲרָֽיו׃

I saw that there is nothing better for man than to enjoy his possessions, since that is his portion. For who can enable him to see what will happen afterward?

Source: https://www.sefaria.org/Ecclesiastes.3.16?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en

If we take the religious argument that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes, then we have to consider that the wisest king we ever had, who was also a prophet, might not have believed in an afterlife. Also, the Sadduccees, who were mostly comprised of priests who believed they had inherited the proper Jewish tradition, also did not believe in an afterlife.

So to answer your question, I believe we are scared of death because we are too intellectually honest. Yes there is room to believe in an afterlife in Jewish thought, especially those of us who follow the Rabbinic tradition. But by keeping the ambiguity of the afterlife in our Bible we have avoided becoming like other religions who rely on the afterlife to keep their followers in line to a fault. The Christian scriptures are so much shorter than ours, yet it discusses the afterlife way more than ours. The same is true for Islam, and so it's a shock to no one that martyrdom and religious wars are more prevalent in their traditions than in ours. Because in their traditions, to deny the afterlife is a denial of faith.

Whereas in Judaism, questioning the afterlife is a sign of intellectual honesty. There could be an afterlife, but as the author of Ecclesiastes points out, it's not observable. We can write all the books we want about the soul, the levels of the soul, its different types and where it goes after death. But these teachings will never be a fact. Because a fact is provable, it can be demonstrated in multiple ways, it can be repeated by others. And so as Ecclesiastes points out, the only fact we have is the one the God says at the start of our tradition. To dust we shall return.

I believe Rabbi Telushkin does a good job summarizing the belief in the afterlife from our tradition as follows:

In Judaism the belief in afterlife is less a leap of faith than a logical outgrowth of other Jewish beliefs. If one believes in a God who is all-powerful and all-just, one cannot believe that this world, in which evil far too often triumphs, is the only arena in which human life exists. For if this existence is the final word, and God permits evil to win, then it cannot be that God is good. Thus, when someone says he or she believes in God but not in afterlife, it would seem that either they have not thought the issue through, or they don't believe in God, or the divine being in whom they believe is amoral or immoral…. Because Judaism believes that God is good, it believes that God rewards good people; it does not believe that Adolf Hitler and his victims share the same fate. Beyond that, it is hard to assume much more. We are asked to leave afterlife in God's hands.

Source: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/afterlife

Rabbi Telushkin points out that it's not an established faith in our Bible that tells us to believe in an afterlife. Rather it's notions of good and morality that leads Jews to believe there must be something more to death. Therefore if a Jew believes in a "good God" then such a Jew would take the next intellectual thought that the fate of an evil person will be different than the fate of a good person. This idea also takes for granted that death is "bad," and therefore death should be reserved for "bad people." It's very logical, but it starts off with a definition of God that's based on our sense of morality, our sense of what Goodness is, rather than accepting the God as described in the Bible/Tanakh. But to me, death is not evil in the Bible, it's just a given, no different than gravity or hunger. Everyone dies because death is what gives life meaning, not the other way around. And from my read of the Bible, death is considered a GOOD thing since we have eaten from the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, and therefore it would be bad for us to now live forever.

Genesis 3:22-23

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ׀ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֗ים הֵ֤ן הָֽאָדָם֙ הָיָה֙ כְּאַחַ֣ד מִמֶּ֔נּוּ לָדַ֖עַת ט֣וֹב וָרָ֑ע וְעַתָּ֣ה ׀ פֶּן־יִשְׁלַ֣ח יָד֗וֹ וְלָקַח֙ גַּ֚ם מֵעֵ֣ץ הַֽחַיִּ֔ים וְאָכַ֖ל וָחַ֥י לְעֹלָֽם׃

And God יהוה said, “Now that humankind has become like any of us, knowing good and bad, what if one should stretch out a hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever!”

וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֵ֛הוּ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים מִגַּן־עֵ֑דֶן לַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֻקַּ֖ח מִשָּֽׁם׃

So God יהוה banished [humankind] from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which it was taken:

From this Biblical perspective, death is a good thing and is here to make sure no one like Hitler could ever live forever. In my opinion, if someone accepts the God of the Bible, the God who promised the first man that he would die and return to dust, the God who expects us to take care of the earth for the next generation of life, the God who expects us to do what is right BECAUSE IT IS RIGHT.... Then one comes away with a set of logical thoughts presented by Ecclesiastes.

My answer is not an attempt to say the afterlife doesn't exist. But I don't think it's an accident that our Bible doesn't mention an afterlife, and questions the concept when it arises. If belief in an afterlife leads a Jew to do good and righteous things then great. But for me, I find great comfort that our holiest book doesn't ask us to deny the reality of death, nor does it demand that we live for the sake of heaven. If the void is what awaits me then that's fine, if heaven happens to exist then I'll be very grateful for the bonus.