The World Before the After: How Folktales Relay the Heart of Jewish Mysticism's Afterlife Beliefs
Date of Award
Spring 4-23-2025
Document Type
Honors Project
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Classics, Philosophy, and Religion
Department Chair or Program Director
Mentore, Laura
First Advisor
Mary Beth Mathews
Major or Concentration
Religion
Abstract
There is a deeper motive than reward and punishment in the eschatological thought of the Jewish mystics. The underlying longing to earn a desired afterlife is the hunger for liberation– the freedom from physical, spiritual, and eternal exile from God, the source of sacred abundance and wholeness. Folktales told and retold by Kabbalistic, Lurianic, and Hasidic communities illuminate this core desire. Through stories of yearning for the Messiah and ascent to the Divine abode, to the legends of inescapable reincarnation and the purifying flames of Gehenna, the folktale is a medium for the storyteller to communicate with the receiver messages regarding that which is most treasured and valued among the cultural consciousness.
URL of Digital Project
Original Project URL: https://linnieulick.com/
Archived Project URL:
https://umw.access.preservica.com/IO_9ce130dc-e94b-4825-ba70-0b4ed92090b0/
Recommended Citation
Ulick, Linnie M., "The World Before the After: How Folktales Relay the Heart of Jewish Mysticism's Afterlife Beliefs" (2025). Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects. 670.
https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/670