Daily Jewish Wisdom

Boy Scout Motto: Do a good deed daily. Consistant with Jewish, Christian, Moslem, Buddhist, Bahai, Jain, Karmic Yoga.................
Commonality. The family of man. We all live in the same garden.

Sorry for the double post, I'm new here and not the brightest bulb in the chandelier.

Eddie, while you make a good point, you also miss the point as well. In Judaism, at least, there is a distinct lack of emphasis in the hereafter; it is what you do in this world that matters and there is little effort made to define/figure out what the afterlife is going to be like for the very reason you mention.

So how can one assert that doing these deeds are more beautiful than the hereafter? Simply. It is not a belief in what the afterlife has to offer but rather an understanding of what G-d would expect. In other words, there is a belief that G-d wants from us to do good deeds in this world, not concentrate on the hereafter, and not to concentrate on the unknown rewards. If we do these good things, then perhaps we can make Earth the paradise it once was. This is utopian, but we have that capacity.

I don't know if this is the best explanation, but its the best I can do at the spur of the moment.
-Aaron