# Does Judaism Believe in Heaven? > The Mishnah says all Israel have a portion in the world to come. Maimonides says that world is life without a body, and that the righteous delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence. Daniel 12 says the dead will awake. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/judaism/does-judaism-believe-in-heaven - Religions: Judaism - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: judaism, afterlife, resurrection - Updated: 2026-10-10 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul)) The Mishnah says all Israel have a portion in the world to come, and it names people who have no portion, including one who says the resurrection of the dead is not in the Torah. Maimonides says the world to come is life without death, and that there the righteous have no body and delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence. [Daniel 12:2](/bible/daniel/12/2) says many who sleep in the dust will awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame. That is not the same sentence as Jesus’ words in [John 14:2](/bible/john/14/2) about his Father’s house. ## Key points - Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1, in Joshua Kulp’s translation, says all Israel have a portion in the world to come, and it cites [Isaiah 60:21](/bible/isaiah/60/21). [(1)](#ref-1) - The same mishnah withholds that portion from one who says resurrection is not a biblical doctrine, that the Torah was not divinely revealed, and from an *epikoros*. [(1)](#ref-1) - Mishneh Torah, Repentance 8:1, in Eliyahu Touger’s translation, says the good hidden for the righteous is the life of the world to come, life not accompanied by death. [(2)](#ref-2) - Repentance 8:2 says in the world to come there is no body, and it quotes the sages: the righteous delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence. [(2)](#ref-2) - [Daniel 12:2](/bible/daniel/12/2) says many who sleep in the dust shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. - Maimonides’ thirteenth principle, “The Revival of the dead,” is on [What Do Jews Believe?](/judaism/what-do-jews-believe). The world to come in Repentance 8 and the revival of the dead are both his, and they are not the same paragraph. - [John 14:2](/bible/john/14/2) says that in the Father’s house are many mansions. Christians confess that Jesus, who says that, is the Messiah and is God. [Why Don’t Jews Believe Jesus Is the Messiah?](/judaism/why-dont-jews-believe-jesus-is-the-messiah) is the Jewish test beside that claim. ## The world to come in the Mishnah Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1, English by Dr. Joshua Kulp (Mishnah Yomit, CC-BY), on [Sefaria](https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Sanhedrin.10.1?lang=en): [(1)](#ref-1) > All Israel have a portion in the world to come, for it says, “Your people, all of them righteous, shall possess the land for ever; They are the shoot that I planted, my handiwork in which I glory” (Isaiah 60:21). And these are the ones who have no portion in the world to come: He who maintains that resurrection is not a biblical doctrine, that the torah was not divinely revealed, and an epikoros. The Isaiah line inside that paragraph is Kulp’s English of the verse the mishnah quotes. The King James text of [Isaiah 60:21](/bible/isaiah/60/21) is on this site separately. They are not the same translation. Kulp’s paragraph then records Rabbi Akiva and Abba Shaul on further cases, including one who pronounces the divine name as it is spelled. This page quotes the opening exceptions because those are the mishnah’s own list. It does not call them “the three biggest sins.” The fetched text does not use that phrase. The mishnah’s world to come is tied, in this paragraph, to resurrection as a biblical doctrine. A person who denies that resurrection is from the Torah is named among those who have no portion. [What Do Jews Believe?](/judaism/what-do-jews-believe) quotes Maimonides’ commentary on this mishnah and his thirteenth principle, the revival of the dead. ## What Maimonides says that world is Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 8:1, English by Eliyahu Touger (Moznaim Publishing, CC-BY-NC), the translation already quoted on this site for Kings and Wars: the good hidden for the righteous is the life of the world to come, “life which is not accompanied by death and good which is not accompanied by evil.” The reward of the righteous is that they merit this pleasure. The retribution of the wicked is that they will not merit this life, but will be cut off and die. [(2)](#ref-2) [Repentance 8:2](https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah,_Repentance.8.2?lang=en), the same translation by Eliyahu Touger: [(2)](#ref-2) > In the world to come, there is no body or physical form, only the souls of the righteous alone, without a body, like the ministering angels. The same paragraph says there is neither eating nor drinking nor the other bodily functions of this world. It then quotes the sages of the previous ages: “In the world to come, there is neither eating, drinking, nor sexual relations. Rather, the righteous will sit with their crowns on their heads and delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence.” Touger says “sit” and “crowns” are metaphors, and that the delight is comprehending the truth of God which they cannot grasp while in the body. The paragraph cites Berakhot 17a inside that quotation of the sages. This page did not fetch Berakhot 17a itself. So the mishnah ties the world to come to resurrection as Torah. Maimonides, in this chapter, describes the world to come as bodiless life. [What Do Jews Believe?](/judaism/what-do-jews-believe) keeps his thirteenth principle in view: the revival of the dead. This page does not collapse those two paragraphs into one picture, and it does not treat either as a Christian “heaven” sentence. ## What the Hebrew Bible says [Daniel 12:2](/bible/daniel/12/2), King James Version: > And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. That is an awakening from the dust, to life or to shame. It is the verse the resurrection clause in the mishnah is standing near, even though the mishnah’s proof-text in Kulp’s paragraph is [Isaiah 60:21](/bible/isaiah/60/21), the people who possess the land for ever. [Ecclesiastes 12:7](/bible/ecclesiastes/12/7) says the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns unto God who gave it. The verse says the spirit returns to God. It does not describe crowns, a body, or a house of many rooms. The Christian page on judgment and punishment is [Is Hell Real? What the Bible Says about Hell](/moral-questions/hell). Daniel’s “shame and everlasting contempt” is the line on this page. The churches’ own words about hell are on that one. ## What Christians confess about the Father’s house [John 14:2](/bible/john/14/2), King James Version: > In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. Those are words of Jesus. Christians confess that he is the Messiah and that he is God the Son. [Why Don’t Jews Believe Jesus Is the Messiah?](/judaism/why-dont-jews-believe-jesus-is-the-messiah) quotes Maimonides’ test: a king from the house of David who keeps the Torah, rebuilds the Temple, and gathers Israel. [What Is the Difference between Judaism and Christianity?](/judaism/what-is-the-difference-between-judaism-and-christianity) sets the two confessions side by side. [What Does Messiah Mean?](/christianity/what-does-messiah-mean) is the word. The resurrection Christians confess is [the resurrection of Jesus](/christianity/resurrection-of-jesus). John’s “Father’s house” and Maimonides’ bodiless delight in the Divine Presence are not the same paragraph. A reader can hold both texts open. This page does not rewrite one into the other. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do Jews believe in an afterlife? The texts fetched here say yes, in their own terms. The mishnah says all Israel have a portion in the world to come, with named exceptions. [(1)](#ref-1) Maimonides says that life is not accompanied by death, and that the righteous there have no body. [(2)](#ref-2) [Daniel 12:2](/bible/daniel/12/2) says many who sleep in the dust shall awake. [What Do Jews Believe?](/judaism/what-do-jews-believe) is the thirteen principles, including the revival of the dead. ### Is the world to come the same as heaven? Maimonides’ chapter says no body, no eating or drinking, and delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence. [John 14:2](/bible/john/14/2) says the Father’s house has many mansions and that Jesus goes to prepare a place. The words are not interchangeable. Jews and Christians can both use “heaven” in English. These paragraphs show what the fetched sources actually say. ### What are the three biggest sins in Judaism? Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1, in the Kulp translation quoted above, names people who have no portion in the world to come. It does not call that list the three biggest sins. This page did not fetch a different tractate for that phrase, so it does not supply one. ### What about cremation, covering mirrors, or “rest in peace”? The mishnah and the Mishneh Torah chapter fetched here do not rule on cremation, on covering mirrors, or on that English phrase. This page does not invent those rulings. ### What do Jews believe about God and the Messiah? [What Do Jews Believe?](/judaism/what-do-jews-believe). The Shema is [Deuteronomy 6:4](/bible/deuteronomy/6/4). The names in that verse are [What Is God’s Name?](/christianity/what-is-gods-name). ## Keep reading - [What Do Jews Believe?](/judaism/what-do-jews-believe) - [Why Don’t Jews Believe Jesus Is the Messiah?](/judaism/why-dont-jews-believe-jesus-is-the-messiah) - [What Is the Difference between Judaism and Christianity?](/judaism/what-is-the-difference-between-judaism-and-christianity) - [What Does Messiah Mean?](/christianity/what-does-messiah-mean) - [Is Hell Real? What the Bible Says about Hell](/moral-questions/hell) - [The Resurrection of Jesus](/christianity/resurrection-of-jesus) - [What Is God’s Name?](/christianity/what-is-gods-name) ## Passages quoted on this page ### Isaiah 60:21 King James Version. > Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. ### Ecclesiastes 12:7 King James Version. > Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. ### Deuteronomy 6:4 King James Version. > Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Mishnah Sanhedrin, 10:1](https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Sanhedrin.10.1?lang=en) (English by Dr. Joshua Kulp, Mishnah Yomit, CC-BY, on Sefaria. Not the William Davidson edition.) 2. [Mishneh Torah, Repentance, 8:1–2](https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah,_Repentance.8.2?lang=en) (English by Eliyahu Touger, Moznaim Publishing, CC-BY-NC, on Sefaria. The same translator is quoted on Kings and Wars 11:4 in What Do Jews Believe?) 3. [Book of Daniel, 12:2](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/daniel/12/2). King James Version 4. [Book of Ecclesiastes, 12:7](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/ecclesiastes/12/7). King James Version 5. [Gospel of John, 14:2](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/14/2). King James Version 6. [Book of Isaiah, 60:21](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/isaiah/60/21). King James Version ## See also - [Is the Sabbath Saturday or Sunday? Must Christians Keep It?](https://apologetics.wiki/judaism/is-the-sabbath-saturday-or-sunday) — The Sabbath in Exodus is the seventh day, Saturday. The apostles also met on the first day of the week, and Colossians 2 calls sabbath days a shadow. Christians are not bound to keep Saturday. - [What Do Jews Believe?](https://apologetics.wiki/judaism/what-do-jews-believe) — Jews confess the God of Israel, one and not a body, the Torah from heaven, a Messiah from the house of David who is still to finish his work, and the revival of the dead. That is Maimonides’ confession, read beside the Shema. - [What Does Messiah Mean?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/what-does-messiah-mean) — Messiah means anointed one. The King James Version uses that word in Daniel and “anointed” for the same idea elsewhere. Christians confess that Jesus is this Messiah and that he is God the Son. - [What Is the Difference between Judaism and Christianity?](https://apologetics.wiki/judaism/what-is-the-difference-between-judaism-and-christianity) — Jews and Christians share the God of Israel, the Shema, and the Hebrew Scriptures. Christians confess that Jesus is the Messiah and is God the Son, and that his death and resurrection are salvation. - [Why Don’t Jews Believe Jesus Is the Messiah?](https://apologetics.wiki/judaism/why-dont-jews-believe-jesus-is-the-messiah) — Maimonides says the Messiah is a Davidic king who keeps the Torah, rebuilds the Temple, and gathers Israel, and that a king who was killed is not that redeemer. Christians say Jesus is that son of David, cut off and raised, and that he is God the Son. ## History [View history on GitHub](https://github.com/Apologetics-Wiki/apologetics-wiki/commits/main/src/content/articles/does-judaism-believe-in-heaven.md)