When a Soul Goes Home: The Neshamah’s Journey Beyond Life
As life draws to a close, the boundary between worlds begins to thin, and loved ones who have passed may come to guide the soul home. Ancient accounts from the Rabbinic literature seem to reflect modern end-of-life research, affirming the belief that no soul makes the journey alone.
In the year before my grandmother passed, we had many conversations about the afterlife. Her Catholic upbringing had provided little insight into this aspect of life, and she welcomed what I had learned from the Jewish tradition.
We often spoke about her family who had passed on, what they might be doing, and inspiring ideas about the World to Come¹. I remember the look on her face as she listened. She seemed comforted, maybe even relieved to know that what was ahead was not the end.
In that time, she also shared with me many of her [paranormal] experiences, dreams, and intuitions - all of which aligned with the tradition. Her experiences fell within the range of observations recorded by the Talmudic Sages and accorded with modern NDE accounts.
We will look at some of these ideas below, as many find them comforting in times of loss.
Levels of the Soul
As we've explored, Jewish tradition speaks of the human soul² in cascading levels. There is the Nefesh, the animating life-force of the body; the Ruach, the emotional self; and the Neshamah, our inner essence.
The Neshamah³ is pure, holy, and breathed directly into us by G_D. Some say it is who we truly are.
Eternal Connection
The Neshamah enters this world for a mission of growth, whether to learn how to love, repair, help, or experience something specific. Paradoxically, during life on Earth, the Neshamah is never severed from the World of Souls. It retains a spiritual connection to the upper worlds and is even believed to return there nightly, to recharge.