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How do I prepare myself for my personal Day of Judgement?

by Rabbi Naftali Silberberg

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Perhaps this statement from the Talmud¹ will help:

The following are the first questions the Heavenly Court poses to each new arrival:

1) Were you honest in all your business dealings?

Were you honest in all your business dealings?

2) Did you have established times to study Torah in the morning and evening?

3) Did you engage in procreation?²

4) Did you yearn for the Salvation?

5) Did you approach life with objective wisdom?

6) Did you suffice with what was taught to you, or did you use that information to infer other concepts?³

Footnotes

1. Talmud Shabbat 31a.
2. According to the Talmudic commentator Maharsha, the question is whether the person participated in “hachnasat kallah” – participating in the wedding costs of orphans and paupers. Perhaps this specific question is a general allusion to the person’s charitable disposition.
3. According to chassidic teachings, this is a veiled reference to a person’s ability to recognize the Divine reality concealed behind nature’s veil. Do we only recognize that which is plainly apparent, or de we use the information provided to us to deduce that there must be a Prime Mover who provides life and existence to all?

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Life Cycle » Death » Afterlife

Torah

Torah is G–d’s teaching to man. In general terms, we refer to the Five Books of Moses as “The Torah.” But in truth, all Jewish beliefs and laws are part of the Torah.

Talmud

Usually referring to the Babylonian edition, it is a compilation of Rabbinic law, commentary and analysis compiled over a 600 year period (200 BCE - 427 CE). Talmudic verse serves as the bedrock of all classic and modern-day Torah-Jewish literature.