More on Noachide Souls
QUESTION: “I don’t understand the difference between a Jewish and non-Jewish soul. I have heard that Judaism sees the Jewish soul as divine and the non-Jewish soul as not.
Does the gentile soul live on after death also? Is there a difference with the two in what happens at death, and is there awareness after death?”
ANSWER: What you heard was a bit distorted. We believe that Jews are given an extra layer of soul, in order to accomplish all the extra commandments we have, and it is true that we call this soul “the divine soul”. But obviously, all souls are from G‑d, so all souls are divine in that essential sense. Souls don’t die; only bodies do. Souls go on to their reward and punishment, with Jewish souls being judged more strictly than others because of this extra layer of soul. It is, by the way, because of these greater expectations of G‑d upon us and the resultant stricter judgment that we are advised to discourage potential converts. The awareness of souls in the spiritual worlds is directed towards G‑d and the spiritual realms, not towards this physical earth.
