ABSTRACT
Judaism teaches that death is not the cessation of life, but only an incident in it. The idea of eternal punishment is repugnant to the genius of Judaism. Those who avoid wrongdoing merely from fear of punishment are not really the better for their obedience. Their behaviour only is affected; their character is unchanged. Human existence continues after death, but under different conditions—conditions that favour the growth of the soul. The future state is one of spiritual growth, a state in which the soul has room to expand, to attain to a continually increasing stature. It is a state in which sinners are purged of their transgressions, and the good made better still. The Talmud, like the Bible, knows how to inflame the ardour of the commoner minds for the noble life by depicting the pleasures of obedience and the pains of rebellion.
