What happens after death? – Acharei Mot
The sidra of Acharei Mot deals with “after death”, but it does not ask what happens to the person or persons who have died.
Its theme is what happens in earthly history after someone has concluded their lifetime. It is an important issue, since we all hope that we have made such an impact on other people that we have changed the course of history.
As for the person who has died, Kohelet confesses his puzzlement. Mi Yode’a, he says in his final chapter, “Who knows what happens?”
Later on the Tanach expresses firm, strong belief that there is life after death, and clues were found in the Torah to verify that the soul is immortal. That is why Maimonides inserts the doctrine of the afterlife and the resurrection of the dead in his thirteen principles of Judaism.
