Questions about Judaism

[Levite]

Shalom,

Thank you very much for your answer. Though not expected from a Muslim (I am a Muslim) I am always interested in Jewish history and culture. And not from a antisemitic point of view. I do have two more questions though in relation to your answer. Forgive me for any mistakes and strange questions, I am not familiar with judaism or jews from personal experience.

I asked this question because I would like to know if there are any theological consequences for Atheistic Jews regarding life after death. Is there any "punishment/reward system" according to jewish understanding or religious scholars for example, related to the actions/choices made by Jews in this life and especially the act of "apikorsut"? If so, what is the consequence?

PS: Just one more question. Are there jewish groups who "proselytize" among jews who lost their connection with the Jewish religion or are not practicing it at all?
Has it been discussed, present and past, by jewish scholars and/or groups?
I can understand you do not proselytize towards non-jews but could also understand if you do towards jews who seem to have been lost by "foreign" philosophies for example.

Well, first of all, there's nothing wrong with questions! It's nice that you have an interest, and it's good that you're asking.

As to metaphysical consequences for negative actions (such as heresies or errors), there is no universal agreement among Jews concerning what happens after death, although the belief in an immortal soul is well-nigh universal. There are some who believe in a place called Gehinnom, which is something like Purgatory: a place where the souls of those who have erred or done wrong can work off their sin over time, until, having been purified, they may enter the World To Come, which is something akin to Heaven. Not all Jews believe this, but some do. Some other Jews have believed that the souls of those who are truly doers of evil are refused immortality, and on the death of the body, the energy of the soul returns to God, and the individuality of that person is lost. However, few Jews, historically, have believed this, and it is a theology that has a number of difficult flaws that have never been adequately resolved. Many Jews, most notably those influenced by Kabbalah, which is Jewish mysticism, believe in a process called gilgulei neshamot, which is a cycle of reincarnation. Those who have erred, or have failed to fulfill their mission in the Divine Plan, or have simply not fulfilled the total number of commandments every Jew is responsible for, or have some other overriding reason attached to their lives, are after death, reborn into other bodies, often more than once, in order to repair their wrongs, or do what they need to do, before they are ready to enter the World To Come. And these days, many Jews are simply unsure about what happens after death, and do not know. And because the focus of Judaism is on this life, and one's actions here in this world, there has never been an overriding requirement to believe anything specific about the afterlife, although most traditional Jews do agree that there is something, that the soul is immortal, and that somehow good is rewarded and evil dealt with.

Now, regarding your final question, which is an excellent one, yes, such movements do exist. What you are describing is called kiruv (meaning "to cause to come closer"), and a number of extremely large and well-organized efforts exist in the Orthodox world to attempt to bring secular, assimilated Jews back to the fold of tradition. A smaller, and rather less well-organized effort exists in the Conservative movement, with the same goals, albeit from a Conservative standpoint. Kiruv has been frequently discussed and often initiated over the past couple of hundred years, and as necessary through history before then.