When You Know Something's Fishy...

The Talmud in Berachot 12b forbids thinking about idolatry:

אלא דעת מינים הרהור עבירה והרהור ע"ז מנלן דתניא אחרי לבבכם זו מינות וכן הוא אומר (תהילים יד) אמר נבל בלבו אין אלהים 

But where do we find [warnings against] the opinions of the heretics, and the hankering after immorality and idolatry? — It has been taught: After your own heart (Bemidbar 15:39): this refers to heresy; and so it says, The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God (Tehillim 14:1).

Maimonides, in his Mishne Torah, codifies this principle (Hilchot Avoda Zara, ch. 2, halacha 3):

וכל הלאוין האלו בענין אחד הן והוא שלא יפנה אחר עבודת כוכבים וכל הנפנה אחריה בדרך שהוא עושה בו מעשה הרי זה לוקה ולא עבודת כוכבים בלבד הוא שאסור להפנות אחריה במחשבה אלא כל מחשבה שהוא גורם לו לאדם לעקור עיקר מעיקרי התורה מוזהרין אנו שלא להעלותה על לבנו ולא נסיח דעתנו לכך ונחשוב ונמשך אחר הרהורי הלב מפני שדעתו של אדם קצרה ולא כל הדעות יכולין להשיג האמת על בוריו ואם ימשך כל אדם אחר מחשבות לבו נמצא מחריב את העולם לפי קוצר דעתו כיצד פעמים יתור אחר עבודת כוכבים ופעמים יחשוב ביחוד הבורא שמא הוא שמא אינו מה למעלה ומה למטה מה לפנים ומה לאחור ופעמים בנבואה שמא היא אמת שמא היא אינה ופעמים בתורה שמא היא מן השמים שמא אינה ואינו יודע המדות שידין בהן עד שידע האמת על בוריו ונמצא יוצא לידי מינות ועל ענין זה הזהירה תורה ונאמר בה ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם אשר אתם זונים כלומר לא ימשך כל אחד מכם אחר דעתו הקצרה וידמה שמחשבתו משגת האמת כך אמרו חכמים אחרי לבבכם זו מינות ואחרי עיניכם זו זנות ולאו זה אע"פ שהוא גורם לאדם לטרדו מן העולם הבא אין בו מלקות:

All these prohibitions have one common thrust: that one should not pay attention to idol worship. Whoever performs a deed that reflects his concern with [idol worship] receives lashes [as punishment].

The worship of false gods is not the only subject to which we are forbidden to pay attention; rather, we are warned not to consider any thought which will cause us to uproot one of the fundamentals of the Torah. We should not turn our minds to these matters, think about them, or be drawn after the thoughts of our hearts.

In general, people have limited powers of understanding, and not all minds are capable of appreciating the truth in its fullness. [Accordingly,] were a person to follow the thoughts of his heart, it is possible that he would destroy the world because of his limited understanding.

What is implied? There are times when a person will stray after star worship, and times when he will wonder about God's oneness: Perhaps He is one, perhaps He is not? [He might also wonder:] What exists above, [in the heavenly realms]? What exists below [them]? What was before time? What will be after time? Similarly, [one might wonder about] prophecy: Perhaps it is true, perhaps it is not? And [one may also wonder] about the Torah: Perhaps it emanates from God, perhaps it does not?

Since he may not know the guidelines with which to evaluate [ideas that will lead him] to the truth in its fullness, he may come to heresy. The Torah has warned about this matter, saying [Numbers 15:39]: "Do not stray after your hearts and eyes, which have led you to immorality" - i.e., each one of you should not follow his limited powers of understanding and think that he has comprehended the truth.

Our Sages [interpreted this warning]: "After your hearts," this refers to heresy; "after your eyes," this refers to immorality. This prohibition - though [severe,] causing a person to be prevented [from attaining a portion] in the world to come - is not punishable by lashes.

What happened to the myth that Judaism encourages asking questions?

If the Torah forbids you to think about something that may cause us to be drawn after foreign thoughts, what does this say about the strength of its claim?

Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi on the Afterlife

The topic of Yosef Mizrachi's video as posted on Facebook is the afterlife in the Torah. Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi, one of the most famous kiruv clowns appears to claim that the afterlife and rewards in the afterlife is something he can prove from the Written Torah. When I was still frum, I was bothered why the Torah never mentions anything about Olam Haba (the afterlife).

Let's first watch the video (it is just under 4 minutes), and then let's address Mizrachi's claims one by one.

First claim: The Torah speaks about the afterlife in Devarim

Quote: להטיב לך ולבניך עד עולם

The pasuk quoted does not seem to exist, but he probably means this verse in Devarim 12:28:

שְׁמֹ֣ר וְשָׁמַעְתָּ֗ אֵ֚ת כָּל־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י מְצַוֶּ֑ךָּ לְמַעַן֩ יִיטַ֨ב לְךָ֜ וּלְבָנֶ֤יךָ אַחֲרֶ֙יךָ֙ עַד־עוֹלָ֔ם כִּ֤י תַעֲשֶׂה֙ הַטּ֣וֹב וְהַיָּשָׁ֔ר בְּעֵינֵ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃

"Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the eyes of the LORD thy God."

The context of the verse is the prohibition of eating blood. This is not directed at one person but to the Jewish people as a whole. The promise is that all will go well with you if you refrain from eating blood.

Ad Olam here translates as "forever", but does not necessarily mean anything outside of the physical world. It definitely can't mean someone's specific afterlife. Rather, it refers to the perpetuity of the Jewish people: thee, and with thy children after thee for ever.

Claim 2: The Torah says there is reward in the afterlife

Quote: כי מנסה ה' אתכם לראות התשמור מצוותי אם לא להטיבך באחריתך

Perhaps he meant Devarim 8:2:

וְזָכַרְתָּ אֶת-כָּל-הַדֶּרֶךְ, אֲשֶׁר הוֹלִיכְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ זֶה אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה--בַּמִּדְבָּר: לְמַעַן עַנֹּתְךָ לְנַסֹּתְךָ, לָדַעַת אֶת-אֲשֶׁר בִּלְבָבְךָ הֲתִשְׁמֹר מִצְו‍ֹתָו--אִם-לֹא

And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that He might afflict thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no.
It then says 14 (!) verses down:

הַמַּאֲכִלְךָ מָן בַּמִּדְבָּר אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדְעוּן אֲבֹתֶיךָ לְמַעַן עַנֹּתְךָ וּלְמַעַן נַסֹּתֶךָ לְהֵיטִבְךָ בְּאַחֲרִיתֶךָ׃

...who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that He might afflict thee, and that He might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end

Lehativecha ba'acharitecha means to reward you later on in life, just like it says (Mishlei 19:20):

שְׁמַע עֵצָה וְקַבֵּל מוּסָר לְמַעַן תֶּחְכַּם בְּאַחֲרִיתֶךָ

I assume he agrees that the author of Mishlei did not mean that you become smart after you die. That would be really weird.

Notice that I am not saying here that 'acharitecha' can not possibly mean eternal life. I am only saying that since it can be explained otherwise, you can't bring 'proof' from there.

Claim 3: The Torah says that there is a world where the souls go

Quote: ותצא נפש רחל ותמת רחל

Again, the pasuk is not quoted correctly. I found it in Bereishit 35:18-19:

יח וַיְהִי בְּצֵאת נַפְשָׁהּ, כִּי מֵתָה, וַתִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ, בֶּן-אוֹנִי; וְאָבִיו, קָרָא-לוֹ בִנְיָמִין. יט וַתָּמָת, רָחֵל; וַתִּקָּבֵר בְּדֶרֶךְ אֶפְרָתָה, הִוא בֵּית לָחֶם.

18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing--for she died--that she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. 19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath--the same is Beth-lehem.

The verses only mention that Rachel's nefesh (life force) went out of her body, it doesn't mention that it is a self-contained entity called soul travels up to another world. Rather, it refers to the life spirit people thought to be in the air (see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_in_the_Bible)

He then proceeds to quote Kohelet which is already after the period of the Babylonians where they learnt the concept of the afterlife from.

Claim 4: The Torah believes there is a separation between body and a soul

Quote (Bereishit 2:7):

וַיִּיצֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה

"Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
Same thing. The concept of the breath of the living spirit is a belief that people had that the life force was in the air (proof: you choke someone and he dies), so this life force entered the body and it came to life.

Notice here that it didn't say that man embodied the soul, but he became a living creature. It just says that the body came to life. This does not equal the concept of an immortal soul.

In summary:

- We have no proof that the Torah mentions anything about an afterlife
- And nothing either about a reward in that afterlife
- Mizrachi is wrong. Again.